Management

Steve Glenn, CEO of ARF Financial, co-founded the company in July 2001 to meet the needs of restaurants who were looking for cheaper, simpler and more flexible financing. Mr. Glenn’s responsibility is to hire, train and supervise all sales representatives who originate and service loans in the company and handles all business development activities. Mr. Glenn was previously President and CEO of Gusto Marketing Services, LLC (“Gusto”) a niche restaurant advertising company that held contracts with many metropolitan newspapers, including The Houston Chronicle, The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News and the San Francisco Chronicle. Mr. Glenn joined Gusto in 1998 as Division Vice President. Mr. Glenn was promoted to President and CEO of Gusto, in December 1999, to lead the company’s sales and marketing growth. His background includes sales, marketing management experience in broadcast, direct mail, restaurant promotion and fundraising. Mr. Glenn has more than 13 years experience in a number of senior management positions with Entertainment Publications. He graduated with a Business Administration degree from Baylor University in 1982. He lives in Houston with his wife, Shannon and two children.

Les Haskew, President of ARF Financial, co-founded the company in July 2001. Mr. Haskew manages all functions of the company including Sales, Marketing, Underwriting, Finance, Systems, ACH Management, Operations, Bank Partner Relations and Regulatory Filings and Review. Mr. Haskew also serves as President of Advance Restaurant Investments, LLC (“ARI”) the holding company that owns ARF Financial. Prior to starting ARF Financial, Mr. Haskew was Chief Operating Officer of Gusto after originally joining the company as Vice President of Product Development in 1998. He previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of several metropolitan Chambers of Commerce in Florida over a 17-year career. While serving as President of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Haskew led the development of a multiple merchant rewards program linked to exclusive cardholder groups. Mr. Haskew has a degree in Accounting and Finance from Florida State University and an Organizational Management Degree from the University of Georgia. Mr. Haskew has attended several continuing education programs, including The Center for Creative Leadership and the Florida Executive Management Program. Mr. Haskew lives just outside Ft. Lauderdale with his wife Kim. He has three daughters, all of whom are teachers in the Florida School System.

Maria Interiano was appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer of ARF Financial in April, 2012. Previously, she served as the Senior Vice President of Underwriting and Operations and was in that position for 10 years. Ms. Interiano is responsible for managing all Loan Review, Loan Underwriting, Loan Audit and Loan Funding operations and procedures. She is responsible for managing the company’s third party servicing activities performed under contract to the company’s state chartered community bank partners. Additionally, Ms. Interiano manages the company’s overall information systems and core processes. She joined Gusto, an ARF Financial predecessor company, in 1996 from a position at the American Automobile Association. Soon after joining the company her responsibilities were expanded to include all contract administration and subsequently to all operations. Ms. Interiano has nearly 20 years of experience in credit analysis, having worked for Centrust and Norwest Financial. She has been in charge of underwriting and compliance since 2002, administering a staff of eight. She is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and lives in Miami with her son.

Vincent Monard, Chief Financial Officer of ARF Financial, has over twenty years experience in both public and private financial accounting and business development. Mr. Monard oversees ARF Financial’s financial operations and financial reporting and is integrally involved in the strategic management of the company to drive long-term revenues, market share and bottom-line profits. Mr. Monard was previously the Chief Financial Officer of IGT Services, Inc. a discount dining credit card corporation that provided advertising to restaurants throughout the US. Mr. Monard managed various equity funds, as Controller for all the dioceses of the Catholic Church for more than seven years. He started his career in public accounting with the firm of Laventhal & Horwath CPA’s, where he provided audit and tax services to both private and public clients. He is a Certified Public Accountant with licenses in New York and Florida. Mr. Monard has a BBA in Accounting from Pace University and an MBA in Finance from St. John’s University. Mr. Monard lives in Weston, Florida with his wife, Kathy, and three daughters.

Bob Lapidus serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel and is responsible for legal affairs, licensing and regulatory matters and manages ARF’s bank servicing platform, bank credit facilities, investor relations and special credits. Bob also heads up business development for ARF in the areas of affinity partnerships and ARF’s Boost™ customer services platform. Bob also serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the HSP Group, LLC, which controls ARF. Bob received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, cum laude, and his Juris Doctor degree from California Western School of Law, magna cum laude, where he served as an editor on the Law Review. Prior to joining HSP and ARF in 2004, while in private law practice, Bob’s emphasis was in the areas of corporate and business transactions and real estate and has represented both founders and early stage investors in emerging technology companies. Bob lives in La Jolla, California with his wife Susan and has two adult children.

Adam Robins joined ARF Financial in 2013, bringing more than 25 years of technology vision and executive management experience to his role with the company. Adam oversees ARF Financial’s technology strategy and resources, driving innovation and efficiencies throughout the organization. Adam has served in senior technology leadership roles for major healthcare services, direct marketing, and customer care firms, offering many Fortune 500 clients everything from complete CRM solutions to custom systems development and technical operations management. He has effectively orchestrated several entrepreneurial technology organizations through phases of start-up, explosive growth, IPO and merger/acquisition. Adam earned his MBA from Florida Atlantic University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Florida.

Celeste Deal-Maunoir assumed the position of Senior Vice President of Sales in June of 2013 after working for the company since 2003. Deal has worked in every sales related position in the company and over the last five years has consistently been the company’s top performer. Deal manages a nationwide sales force of 36 and is responsible for all day-to-day sales management, training, professional development, sales operations & budgeting and sales performance. Deal chairs the company’s Talent Management Committee, which is responsible for strategic sales development with input into the company’s product development, compensation and accountability plans. Prior to working with ARF Financial, Deal was an account representative for Gusto Marketing Services, ARF Financial’s sister company. Deal attended Louisiana State University and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Speech Communications. She lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and two children.

Robert Whited was appointed to the position of Vice President of Marketing at ARF Financial in January 2013.  Previously, he served as the Creative Director and was in that position for 8 years. Soon after joining the team, his responsibilities were expanded to include all facets of brand awareness via the design and distribution of product & promotional materials, sales collateral and direct mail advertising. Robert is now responsible for managing inbound lead generation, PPC advertising, SEO, social channels, email marketing and direct mail. Robert has nearly 25 years of experience in Visual Communication, Graphic Design and Marketing. Prior to working with ARF Financial, Robert was the Art Director for Gusto Marketing Services. He studied at David Lipscomb College and received a bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications and went on to receive a second bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Robert is originally from Nashville, Tennessee and now lives in Dania Beach, Florida.