Management Profiles
Mike Herman, Group Head
Mike has three decades of experience in financial services and equipment management. Mike was a principal architect and founder at GE Capital, Comdisco and Equitable Life. As president of the BBEM division, Mike plans to build a multi billion dollar equipment management business. At Comdisco, Mike was President of the Equipment Solutions Group, overseeing five of the company's largest divisions. Under Mike's management, GE Capital became the largest semiconductor equipment management company. A graduate of Arizona State University, Mike has a degree in Finance and Economics with a minor in Business Law.
Gary Atkins, OEM Program Manager
Gary has 27 years of sales and sales management experience in the financial services and equipment / asset management services, primarily in the semiconductor industry. Before joining Babcock & Brown, Gary was a Vice President for Strategic Accounts/Business Development for Comdisco, Inc. Previously, Gary worked in similar positions with GE Capital and Equitable Life. He holds a B.S. degree in Finance from Arizona State University.
Chuck Beckmire, Global Leasing Manager
Chuck has almost three decades of experience in the financial services and equipment management industries, with particular experience in Asian markets. Prior to joining Babcock & Brown, Chuck served as Senior VP, Comdisco Electronics and Chairman and Managing Director for Comdisco Equipment Solutions KK Japan. Chuck holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
Pat Walsh, Trade Sales Manager
With special expertise in deposition and etch technologies, Pat has more than 22 years of semiconductor technical and equipment executive sales management at AMAT and Lam as well as TRW and UTC-Mostek where Pat was a process engineering manager. Pat holds a BSME from the University of Illinois.
Jim Ezell, RVG Manager
Jim has 26 years of semiconductor industry sales and sales management experience in financial services and equipment asset management. Jim is a graduate of the University of Texas with degrees in finance and economics. Before joining Babcock & Brown, Jim was a Senior Manager and Founding Member of GE Capital's Electronics Financial Services Group. Before that, he was a Senior Vice President and General Manager at Connell Finance.
Elsa Anraku, Financial Operations Manager
Elsa has 20 years of diversified financial services experience, including 8 years of global equipment leasing and equipment management. Before joining Babcock & Brown, Elsa was CFO for the Comdisco Electronics Group with responsibility for portfolio management and supported deal structuring and pricing. Before Comdisco, Ms. Anraku held senior management positions at Bank of America's Leasing and Capital and International groups. Elsa holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of San Diego and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Tom Duft Equipment Operations and Product Group Manager
Tom has 31 years experience in the semiconductor capital equipment industry, and worked for 12 years at GCA which developed the first production step-and-repeat lithography tools. Tom also held positions in field service management, manufacturing operations, and research and development with several semiconductor equipment suppliers. Prior positions include Director of Technical Marketing with lithography tool supplier Nikon; founding partner of Hampshire Instruments, a start-up that developed X-ray lithography; and President and Sr. Associate of Systems Design and Associates, a consulting firm. Most recently Tom was the Product Manager for lithography and metrology at Comdisco Electronics.
John Cossins, Technical Marketing Manager
John has 25 years experience in the semiconductor industry, principally in photolithography. John's experience includes seven years at ASML where he was the US Strategic Marketing Manager and later the EUV product manager. Prior to joining BBEM, John was VP of Sales and Marketing at Litel Instruments. John has a BSc Hons degree in Semiconductor Physics from the Polytechnic of Newcastle Upon Tyne in the United Kingdom.
Ron Melief, Europe Regional Manager: Trading
Ron has 27 years of management experience in the Semiconductor Industry in the areas of Sales, Remarketing and Asset Management. Prior to joining Babcock & Brown, Ron served as VP Remarketing Services for ASML and was one of the founding members of the ASML Special Application Division. Before that, he worked for over 15 years as a Major Account and Sales Manager in the Semiconductor industry.
Steven Holden, Europe Regional Manager: Financing
Steven has 15 years of management, finance and investment banking experience in the Semiconductor and Technology sectors in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Babcock & Brown, Steven worked for GE originating and structuring lease and loan transactions for the semiconductor finance and trading business. Before that, he worked in various management and financial sales roles for Hewlett Packard and Macquarie Bank. Steven holds a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.