For the full schedule of events, please click here. To register click here.

Featuring a new Tuesday-Thursday format, with a golf outing on Friday, this year’s SFNet Annual Convention offers unique networking opportunities and timely topical panels to help attendees continue to rise to the challenge. In a time of disruption and transformation, the secured finance community is resilient, innovative, and determined to thrive. The Convention serves as your opportunity to discover new business prospects, build meaningful connections, and gain critical insights to move your organization forward.

Those in Los Angeles on Tuesday can take advantage of several social and networking opportunities. A Pickleball & Tennis Outing at the Glendale Tennis Academy will offer open-play time following expert-led instruction.

Attendees can get a behind-the-scenes look at motion picture studio, Warner Brothers, by walking backlot streets.

For those looking to give back, a volunteer opportunity is available with local charitable organization, The Laundry Truck LA. The Laundry Truck LA is a mobile service that provides free laundry facilities to unhoused and low-income individuals across Los Angeles, helping restore dignity through clean clothes. Volunteers will assist with collecting, washing, drying, folding, and returning laundry.  

Following SFNet’s Member Director reception, and Hall of Fame and IMPACT Awards ceremony later on Tuesday night, will be Bowling at Lucky Strike at LA Live.

Returning this year will be the Convention’s interactive Functional Roundtables, on Wednesday, where participants will discuss strategies to address current challenges and capture opportunities in the areas of Business Development, Credit & Operations, Legal, Lender Business Head/CEO and Tech & AI.

New this year is the Capital Connections Event for Lenders, open to approved capital providers and capital users. This is a unique gathering of capital providers (debt, mezzanine, equity), non-bank finance companies seeking capital (asset-based lenders, factors), and lenders (bank and non-bank) seeking co-lending partners, in an investor-style session.

“The inaugural Capital Connections event has come together nicely, as we’ve accumulated a diverse group of independent specialty finance companies who will conduct one-on-one meetings with a variety of capital providers, including bank and non-bank providers of senior debt, plus subordinated debt investors, equity investors and prospective co-lending partners,” said Tim Stute, managing director, head of Specialty Finance, Hovde Group and member of SFNet’s Convention Planning Committee.

For Capital Providers, Capital Connections will offer an opportunity to engage in one-on-one, speed dating style “fireside chat” meetings with commercial finance company targets who specifically signed up in order to meet debt and equity investors who can help fund their growth objectives.

Attendees will have another way to build their brand within a rapidly growing niche of specialty lending that will continue to require capital as non-bank lenders seek to gain further market share versus traditional bank asset-based lenders.

For lenders seeking capital, this is a chance to meet with and pitch your business to investors and lenders who are specifically interested in deploying capital in the asset-based lending and factoring sector. For any lenders seeking co-lenders, it is an opportunity to connect with potential transaction partners.

Following Keynote Speaker Jerry Nickelsburg, an economist who plays a key role in the economic modeling and forecasting of the national, California and regional economies, will be The Intersection of Private Credit & ABL – Substantial Capital Continues to Flow panel. 

“We’ve organized a panel of four distinguished private credit leaders, whose firms have each played a substantial role in the convergence of direct lending asset managers and asset-based lending,” said Stute. “These panelists are better positioned than most to describe what led their firms to diversify beyond traditional leveraged lending and into specialty finance asset classes like asset-based lending, and in some cases factoring and equipment finance as well.”

In addition, panelists, including moderator Kevin Cox, Partner & Head of Capital Markets, White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC; Rodney Hutter, managing director, Structured Credit & Specialty Finance, TPG Angelo Gordon and Mitch Soiefer, partner, SLR Capital Partners, will provide their take on likely trends affecting the market, including declining interest rates and the potential for deteriorating credit quality.

Wednesday will close out with an Opening Reception, sponsored by AIO Logic, on the JW Marriott LA Live pool deck. Connect with industry leaders, enjoy creative cuisine and signature cocktails, and kick off the Convention surrounded by skyline views and buzzing conversation.

This year’s View from the Top Panel will focus on bank ABL, factoring and independent ABL. With the recent bankruptcies of First Brands and Tri Color having significant implications across the market, the secured finance community is facing big questions. At this timely session, panelists will address these high-profile cases head-on and unpack what they mean for lenders, borrowers, and the economy at large.

The discussion will also explore how ABL and factoring continue to evolve amid rapid technological change and growing uncertainty—examining how businesses are leveraging diverse finance solutions to unlock working capital, fuel expansion, and maintain agility.

Carrie Jenkins, financial consultant, will serve as moderator. Panelists include Kurt Marsden, executive vice president, head of Capital Finance, Wells Fargo; Jason Anish, President & CEO, Austin Financial Services, Inc. and Tina Capobianco, senior vice president, Operations, J D Factors LLC.

Rising stars in secured finance will reveal the insights they wish they’d had known son Day 1—about the industry, career opportunities, and navigating their first employer in the Day One to Decades: Building Lasting Careers in Commercial Finance panel. Panelists will explore how organizations can turn costly onboarding and training into long-term retention strategies, reduce turnover to competitors or other industries, and discover what it truly takes to cultivate loyal, 20-plus-year employees.

Jacob McCarthy, director, Appraisals and Valuation Services, Rouse Services LLC will moderate. Panelists include Lydia Gouhin, vice president, Originations, Wells Fargo Capital Finance; Hagop Nazarian, associate, concentration on corporate finance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters, Blank Rome LLP; Deni Volkoff, VP relationship manager, ABL, Huntington National Bank and Ying Yang, SVP, director of Business Development, Rosenthal Capital Group.

Cybersecurity & Artificial Intelligence in Finance will feature Doron Amir, Global Cyber Warfare Expert and CEO, CyTaka, who will demonstrate how Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be harnessed not only to defend against threats, but also to build trust, strengthen risk management, and create new opportunities for growth in the global financial markets.

“When technology becomes trust, and data becomes currency, Cyber and AI shape the new economy,” said Amir. “AI doesn’t replace people; it accelerates those who know how to lead it.”

The Discovering New Growth Opportunities panel will provide attendees with direct insight into how capital deployment is evolving across key U.S. industries and why strategic partnerships are more critical than ever. The session opens with SFNet’s CEO, Rich Gumbrecht and author Dan Varroney, who will frame the conversation around small business growth and the vital role lenders play in driving economic resilience. You’ll hear firsthand from leaders in the home appliance, distilled spirits, and tooling and machine manufacturing sectors—each sharing their capital needs, growth strategies, and the barriers they face.

In addition to its new format, panel topics and networking opportunities, the Convention will offer its traditional Nightcap Reception, sponsored by Otterbourg P.C. and Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs, LLP to close out the conference. Attendees can enjoy one last opportunity to network with fellow attendees in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere while bidding a fond farewell to this year’s event.

For the full schedule of events, please click here. To register click here.