Hailey Benton-Thomas elected American Factoring Association president

The American Factoring Association has elected Bison Payments co-founder Hailey Benton-Thomas as its new board president, moving one of the US factoring industry’s prominent advocacy figures into the association’s top board position.

Benton-Thomas succeeds Cole Harmonson and steps up from her previous role as AFA vice-president. She has also chaired the association’s Government Affairs Committee, giving her experience in its work with legislators and policymakers on issues affecting factoring and commercial finance.

The change comes eight months after . Her move into the presidency therefore represents a further change in the association’s leadership rather than a continuation of the January appointment.
Benton-Thomas has worked in the factoring industry since 2014 and has held roles spanning the financing lifecycle. In 2023, she co-founded Bison Payments in partnership with Bison Technologies, developing working-capital financing products and technology aimed particularly at businesses in the oil and gas sector.

The AFA said her work as chair of its Government Affairs Committee has included advocacy around proposed federal factoring-disclosure legislation and wider efforts to represent the industry as states and federal policymakers consider rules affecting commercial finance.

Alongside the presidential appointment, Lori Gustaf, senior vice-president and national operations manager at FirstLine Funding Group, will become AFA secretary. Heather Villa, managing director at the International Factoring Association, will serve as treasurer.

The leadership changes come as the US factoring sector is recording stronger activity. Separate SFNet figures released this week show factoring volume rising across both large and smaller providers during the first half of 2026, while international client numbers and funds in use also increased.

Founded in 2009, the AFA represents the factoring industry’s interests in public-policy discussions and works to explain the role of factoring in providing working capital to businesses.
Benton-Thomas takes over the presidency as the industry faces an increasingly active regulatory environment around commercial-finance disclosure, while factoring providers are simultaneously seeing stronger demand for working-capital liquidity.