Excellent service comes from accomplished associates, and that’s why we are pleased to announce that Keith Courtney has been promoted to Senior Manager of Sales at Toyota Industries Commercial Finance.

With more than 25 years of experience in the captive commercial finance industry, Keith has honed his expertise through roles with companies including GE Capital, Isuzu Motors Acceptance Corporation, and Daimler Truck Financial. He joined TICF two years ago leading the Hino sales team and has been serving as interim Senior Manager for both forklift and truck since the beginning of the year, when Mike Schultze was promoted to Sr. Director of Sales & Operations.

In this his new expanded role, Keith will now also work with the TICF forklift RSMs as they continue to grow the TMH portfolio in both the Retail and Wholesale areas. Reporting to Ron Storz, Chief Operating Officer, Keith will provide most of the day-to-day support for both TMH and Hino sales.

“Keith has done a great job learning the intricacies of the forklift business during a challenging market environment of limited inventory and rising rates,” says Ron Storz, Chief Operating Officer. “We are delighted to have Keith bring his extensive commercial experience to the forklift team and look forward to introducing him to the dealer body during Toyota Week.”

“At the same time, we are thrilled to expand Mike’s role with the organization. Leveraging his previous operations experience and success in sales, Mike is now focus on operational excellence and shaping the dealer and customer experience. In addition to leading improvements in our customer service, major accounts, and collections areas, Mike oversees the Project Management Office which is responsible for facilitating all strategic initiatives and business transformational opportunities,” added Ron.

Please reach out to Keith, Mike, or any member of the sales team with questions.

During the pandemic, a remark from a dealer helped instill even more pride in TICF for Leisha Nalls. “He said, ‘What we do keeps the country moving,’ and during the recent supply chain disruption, we all have realized how vital this industry is. We need trucks and forklifts to move groceries, clothing, and everything we buy in the store,” she says. “It’s exciting to work behind the scenes, and it’s what makes my work with TICF so satisfying. “

Leisha has been with TICF for six years this summer—her first position was in retail credit as a credit analyst where she became involved in process improvement.

Next, she had the opportunity to cross train with the dealer credit department and most recently, was promoted to the sales team in January. It’s a position she finds particularly unique because while truck and forklift sales are typically divided, as the inside sales manager she can work with both. Leisha looks forward to working collaboratively with dealers to increase market share, serving as a liaison who can help rectify a situation or take care of a special request.

While Leisha says she never expected to pursue a sales career, she has found one of her favorite parts of the job to be interacting with the CFOs, dealer principals, and other top dealer personnel to understand how TICF’s financing tools can help their businesses grow. “It’s a significant part of what our sales team does—working with the dealer to understand their needs and showing them how captive finance can act as a partner to take their business to the next level.”

When Leisha joined TICF, she immediately noticed a difference from other companies where she had worked in how it prioritizes finding creative solutions for dealers’ unique needs. “While the requests can be specialized and occasionally challenging, we band together here in the credit, sales, and operations teams to figure out an answer. It’s what sets us apart from other lenders, and it is why dealers continue to work with us,” she says.

“I appreciate when dealers provide full transparency when they approach us,” she says. “Sometimes when they are making a request, they know is outside of industry norms, they hesitate to tell us all the details because they think we might not be as open to consideration; but in reality, it’s the opposite. The more we know, the better equipped we are to offer customized services.”

Leisha admires the fact that many dealers’ businesses are family-owned and operated. “Because both my father and grandmother own and operate businesses, I understand the mindset and am even more motivated to strive to help our dealers meet their goals as they aim to improve their business and preserve their legacy,” she says.

When she’s not working, Leisha enjoys spending time with her family and loves to try new restaurants and explore her local farmer’s market. She even has passed on these “foodie” tendencies to her nine-year-old fur baby, a Maltese Yorkie mix, and makes his wholesome food from scratch using chicken, rice, and vegetables.

“I find you can get in touch with places through food since it tells such a fascinating story,” she says. Given her love of travel, Leisha looks forward to getting on the road to visit dealers as soon as possible but also has her sights set on more exotic locations, like Cancun and the Mayan Riviera region, with an aspiration to eventually retire at the beach.

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