EDUCATION
Cornell Law School
Doctor of Laws (JD, 1998)
University of California at Los Angeles
Master in Business Administration (MBA, 1992)
University of Michigan
Bachelor of General Studies (BGS, 1988)
“Financing New Frontiers”
Fox Business News
CNB Executive Leadership Series
CEO & FOUNDER
Bill is the Founder of Innovation Finance USA LLC and First American Commercial Bancorp, Inc. d/b/a First American Equipment Finance.
Bill served as the cofounder and CEO of First American Equipment Finance (from its launch in 1996 until 2015). While a student at Cornell Law School in 1996, Bill founded First American with his long-time friend and business partner, Guy Klingler. Today, First American serves as Royal Bank of Canada’s U.S. equipment finance business, with several Billion Dollars in assets.
Bill has J.D. from Cornell Law School (’98), an MBA from the Anderson Business School at UCLA (’92) and a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (’88). Bill is a member of the New York bar and is also admitted to the New York Court of Appeals and to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2009 Bill served as the Chairman of the ELFA in Washington DC.
Bill and Cyndee Verhelle reside with their four children in Naples, FL.
William Verhelle, was the 2008 Chairman of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA). The ELFA is the premier trade organization for the $1 trillion per year equipment finance sector. The organization has over 700 member companies, including the nation’s largest independent equipment leasing companies, captive equipment leasing companies, and commercial banks.
William Verhelle previously served on Entrepreneurship@Cornell as an Advisory Council Member. Entrepreneurship@Cornell works with all campus schools, colleges and organizations to help create and promote entrepreneurship, events, commercialization, and experiential learning opportunities.
William Verhelle was recently honored as one of the 10 best CEOs of 2020 by IndustryEra, a leading media brand offering technology-based content about the latest innovations and progressive leadership.
