As the president of Key Equipment Finance, Adam D. Warner directs Key’s commercial and bank-based equipment lease and finance efforts. In addition, he oversees equipment finance programs for the company’s primary vertical markets: IT, energy, healthcare, industrial and government. Warner also supervises the equipment finance programs for all Key commercial vendor customers, including equipment manufacturers and distributors in the U.S., as well as Key’s specialty finance lending and capital markets units.
A former Chairman of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s board of directors and executive committee, Warner serves on the Leeds School of Business Board of Alumni and Friends at the University of Colorado Boulder. Prior to joining Key, Warner held the roles of senior vice president of sales and marketing and chief operating officer at Mellon Leasing Corporation.
Deborah Brady was named senior vice president and finance director in December 2009. She joined Key in 1988 as a senior accountant. Since joining the company, Ms. Brady has held various roles of increasing responsibility, including positions as assistant accounting officer, pricing analyst and vice president of pricing. In 1997 she was named vice president of market development and in 2000 was promoted to senior vice president of global pricing and economics. Ms. Brady has served as a member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association's Financial Accounting Committee since 2001.
Peter K. Bullen was named executive vice president, Bank Channel and Clean Energy, for Key Equipment Finance in April 2019. In this role, he leads direct business and clean energy sectors. In 1996, he became vice president, area sales leader, for KeyCorp Leasing, followed by a promotion to regional sales director for the Great Lakes Region. He is a former board member and treasurer of the Chagrin Falls Educational Foundation. Prior to joining Key, Bullen was assistant vice president at Ameritrust Co.
Rian W. Emmett was named group head and managing director of the Specialty Finance Lending unit of Key Corporate Bank in 2002. He joined the company in 1998 as a senior transactor, Key Global Finance. He also holds Series 7 and 63 securities licenses. Prior to joining Key, Emmett was a senior transactor at Citicorp Securities and Citicorp Equipment Finance & Leasing.
Amy Gross was named executive vice president, Government and Commercial Vendor, for Key in April 2019. She oversees the municipal, federal and commercial vendor divisions, including alignment of the company’s government and commercial vendor capabilities to provide broader client offerings to manufacturers and distributors, as well as federal and municipal governments. Prior to joining Key in 2009, Gross worked for GE Capital. She is currently a member of the ELFA Financial Institutions Business Council and was recently honored by the Monitor as one of the top 50 women in equipment finance. Gross served as co-chair of KeyBank’s Diversity & Inclusion Council representing the commercial bank and is currently a member of KeyBank’s Women’s Network and mentor program.
Robert Hawley was named senior credit executive in August 2015. He manages all credit activities for each of Key’s primary business units: Bank Channel, Commercial Vendor, Key Government Finance and Specialty Finance Lending. Hawley also oversees Key’s Credit Portfolio Management team, as well as the underwriting groups that support Key vendor and Key Government Finance business units. Prior to joining Key, Hawley worked in the automotive finance industry, where he held a variety of leadership roles.
Jennifer L. Martin was named vice president of leasing and vendor program support in 2019. Martin and her team manage Key Equipment Finance’s technology initiatives, including its digital transformation. She also manages the sales enablement and vendor program development teams, which partner with sales to maintain, evaluate and optimize strategic plans while supporting activities like demand generation. Her team also partners with operations to launch and maintain efficient, profitable vendor programs. Martin has been with Key Equipment Finance her entire 25-year career and has held many roles across the organization.
Named underwriting executive in 2016, Sarah Palmer oversees underwriting and risk management within Key, including oversight of underwriting for Specialty Finance Lending, scored transactions, and Bank Channel origination activities. She also supervises portfolio management and compliance functions. Since joining the company in 2006, Palmer has held positions pertaining to credit risk management.
Krista Spada was named senior vice president of Originations, for Key Equipment Finance in March 2021. In this role, she oversees all aspects of onboarding new commercial business and government clients, including documentation, compliance and funding distribution. Her focus is on creating a quality service platform offering clients the best possible experience while maintaining Key’s risk position. Spada started her career at Key in 1992 and most recently led the company’s next-generation migration to a new onboarding system. In 2020, she received the Chairman’s Circle of Excellence Award for Innovation.
John F. State was named Assistant General Counsel of KeyBank National Association in May, 2023, and is responsible for coordinating the legal affairs of Key Equipment Finance. John brings over 30 years of experience to the equipment finance industry, including a prior 10-year stint with Key, when he served as senior vice president and general counsel of Key Equipment Finance. Prior to joining Key, worked at Cullen and Dykman LLP where he represented banks and non-bank lenders in complex commercial financing matters, including equipment leasing and finance transactions, asset-based lending transactions and commercial lending transactions. State holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Fordham University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University.
Named executive vice president and managing director of Capital Markets in 2021, Philip Turner manages the Key Equipment Finance Capital Markets team, syndicating loans and leases to mitigate risk concentrations and generate fee income, and buying transactions to diversify and enhance portfolio credit quality. Prior to joining Key in 2010, he worked for Barclays Bank Plc and Barclays Capital for 20 years.