I was born and raised in the North West. I spent most of my childhood in Corvallis, Oregon and I was very active with ski racing, hiking, water skiing, golfing, playing soccer, baseball, running…just being a “normal” hyperactive kid. I was involved in lots of clubs as well – including model UN (I actually was elected Secretary General of our state!) and other political clubs. I spent three months as an exchange student in Tunisia, North Africa my junior year in high school.
I decided I wanted a bigger city university experience, so I attended UC Berkeley and received a degree in Political Economy (political science and economics). I 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 I ended up in Tokyo working for a leasing company in the late 1980s. Japan was booming, and I sold Japanese aircraft leases to investors in Japan and helped airlines and railroads finance equipment all over the world.
I met my wife Margot in Japan (she is from Alberta, Canada) and we eventually moved back to San Francisco where I continued to do structured big ticket equipment finance for Bank of America and then the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). When I had my first child I decided I needed a new job with less international travel, so I quit….and started Allegiant with a phone and an office! I now have 3 kids, including one in college at Gonzaga, and we love mountain biking, hiking, skiing and spending summers in the Pacific Northwest where we have a family home.
I love the company and culture we have created at AP Equipment Financing and I am proud we have grown from a one-person operation to a substantial company!