American Financial Services Association president and chief executive officer Chris Stinebert explained how AFSA organizes its annual Vehicle Finance Conference & Expo, which begins on Tuesday at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

“We plan this conference every year with input and feedback from our members,” Stinebert said. “They set the agenda based on the trends they are seeing in their markets whether its disruption by technology or by regulation.

“Because our members’ markets range from the captives, to the big banks to the independents, we get diverse viewpoints in our planning sessions, and this is reflected in our conference offerings. This is why members and non-members keep coming back to this conference year after year,” he continued.

Highlighting the creative and disruptive influence of innovation on the industry and held every year since 1996, AFSA declared that its conference has become the magnet event for industry executives, thought-leaders and innovators in the auto finance industry.

Nearly every captive auto finance company in the United States, as well as the auto finance divisions of major banks, and a large portion of the independent vehicle finance sources are members of AFSA.

“This conference will highlight the speed and level that disruptive innovation is having on our industry,” Stinebert said. “We’ve assembled leaders from outside and inside our industry to give their perspectives on where we are heading.”

Stinebert noted that guest speakers from outside the industry will address topics ranging from Gamification, to the future of retail, to start-ups in Silicon Valley. Two of the three have given popular TED talks.

Additionally, AFSA’s business partner members, whose products and services support the auto finance industry, will be on hand with 75 booths on display over the three days of the conference.

Dan Ammann, president of General Motors since 2014, will be the keynote speaker of the conference. He was previously vice president and chief financial officer of GM since April 2011, when he led the strategy to rebuild the company’s captive finance capability through the successful establishment and growth of GM Financial.

The conference’s CEO Panel will feature divergent views and market perspectives from:

—Dan Berce, president and chief executive officer at GM Financial

— Ravi Raghu, head of Capital One Auto Finance

— Rich Hyde, chief operating officer of Utah-based Prestige Financial

— Rich Morrin, president of Chrysler Capital and Auto Relationships at Santander Consumer USA

In addition to general session panel discussions on automotive market overviews and credit market overviews, there will be general sessions on topics ranging from diversity and inclusion, to cyber security, social platforms and risk management.

The AFSA Vehicle Finance conference, since 2004, is held in the same city and immediately before the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention to give executives in the automotive retail channel the opportunity to attend both events.

Based in Washington, D.C., AFSA is the national trade association for the consumer credit industry, committed to protecting access to credit and consumer choice. Its 450 members include traditional installment lenders, vehicle finance/leasing companies, consumer and commercial finance companies, mortgage lenders and servicers, payment card issuers, industrial banks and industry suppliers.

For more information, visit www.afsaonline.org.

Editor’s note: Watch out for future episodes of the Auto Remarketing Podcast originating from executives and experts on hand during the Vehicle Finance Conference. Current episodes can be found here.