Chris was born and raised in the Northwest. He spent most of his childhood in Corvallis, Oregon and was very active with ski racing, hiking, water skiing, golfing, playing soccer, baseball, running…just being a “normal” hyperactive kid. He was involved in a lot of clubs as well – including model UN (he was elected Secretary General of his state!) and other political clubs. He spent three months as an exchange student in Tunisia, North Africa during his junior year in high school.
Chris decided he wanted a bigger city university experience, so he attended UC Berkeley and received a degree in Political Economy (political science and economics). He took six months off and worked for a Senator in D.C and spent a semester in France but ultimately decided to learn Japanese and more financial skills so he ended up in Tokyo working for a leasing company in the late 1980s. Japan was booming, and he sold Japanese aircraft leases to investors in Japan and helped airlines and railroads finance equipment all over the world.
Eventually Chris moved back to San Francisco, started a family, and continued to do structured big ticket equipment finance for Bank of America and then the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). When he had his first child, he decided he needed a new job with less international travel, so he quit….and started Allegiant with a phone and an office! Chris now has three kids and they love mountain biking, hiking, skiing, and spending summers in the Pacific Northwest where they have a family home.
Chris loves the company and culture we have created at AP Equipment Financing and is proud how it has grown from a one-person operation to a substantial company that is now part of the TCUSA Group. Chris is currently the CEO of the TCUSA group, which consists of AP Equipment Financing, Work Truck Direct, and TCUSA.