EDITORS’ NOTE

Steven Posner is the Chief Executive Officer of Putnam Leasing, where he has built a legacy of leadership and industry expertise over nearly 47 years in the exotic and foreign automobile leasing space. Posner’s journey in the industry began on his 18th birthday in the summer of 1977, when he took a job as a transporter and driver for an automobile leasing company on Long Island. Over the next four years, he immersed himself in every aspect of the business, gaining a deep understanding of both operations and administration. His initiative and dedication quickly set him apart, leading to a role in sales and eventually Director of Operations for one of the region’s largest leasing companies. In May 1981, at just 21 years old, Posner became a junior partner in a newly formed leasing company that was later acquired by one of the industry’s leading firms. He joined Putnam Leasing in May 1989 as Vice President, and his career continued to ascend. He has since risen to CEO, a role in which he has made a lasting impact. Outside of his work at Putnam, Posner is committed to giving back. He has served for more than seven years on the Advisory Board of the Carrington Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting post-9/11 combat-wounded veterans and Gold Star families. Posner also served as Chapter Chairman of the New York/Connecticut chapter of the National Vehicle Leasing Association from the late 1990s through 2002, demonstrating his long-standing commitment to both the industry and the broader community.

COMPANY BRIEF

For more than 40 years, thousands of luxury vehicle owners and enthusiasts have trusted Putnam Leasing (putnamleasing.com) and its highly personalized and flexible lease-to-own program, Lease Navigator. Putnam Leasing’s mission is to turn luxury vehicle ownership dreams into financial reality, whether that ownership lasts months, years, or a lifetime.

Will you discuss your career journey?

I started my journey in the automotive industry on my 18th birthday, August 22, 1977. At the time, I was a driver for an automobile leasing company on Long Island that specialized in foreign cars. I had interviewed for the position a week earlier, and during the interview they asked me how old I was. I knew that if I told them I was 17, they probably would not hire me, so I said I was 18. They hired me, and I started the following Monday, which happened to be my birthday.

What excites you about leading Putnam Leasing?

What excites me about leading Putnam Leasing is the opportunity to guide our team into new ventures and new opportunities. I believe in empowering people and encouraging collaboration. I have a lot of smart people around me, and while I’ve been doing this longer than most of them, I certainly don’t have all the answers. I get charged up when someone comes up with a really good idea.

The business has changed dramatically since I first started, which is why having the right team is so important. When I started working in New York, there were probably 25 to 30 companies in the Tri-State area that did exactly what we do – now there are three or four. The leasing business changed in the early ’80s when manufacturers became more involved. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and BMW came out with programs that were less expensive than what we could do. They developed a lease with super high residuals that drove the payments down tremendously and they circumvented the rate. The 25 to 30 companies we started with had to find different niches in the automobile business like leasing different kinds of vehicles – street sweepers, trucks, funeral cars, ambulances, limousines – which I had no interest in. My forte has always been exotic cars.

How do you describe Putnam Leasing’s mission serving clients?

I’ve learned that relationships are everything. I have customers who have been doing business with me since the early 1980s. They’ve followed me throughout my career and continue to refer business to us. We also have employees who have been with Putnam Leasing for 20 to 35 years. Our niche in the business is how we value and believe at the core of what we do is personalized service.

When clients call Putnam Leasing, they aren’t speaking to a different person every time. We have specialized departments to give customers the best experience, guaranteeing they are being treated with respect. When a salesperson joins our team, I tell them to get back to everybody within 24 hours. We don’t keep anybody waiting, stringing them along. If it’s a no, tell them; if it’s a yes, tell them; if it’s a maybe, tell them. If our salesperson says they are going to do something, they have to do it. We work to make every aspect of the process easier for them, whether it’s helping with insurance, registration, recommendations, or answering questions along the way.

All of our salespeople are genuine car enthusiasts, and in many ways we become trusted advisors to our customers. We share their passion for automobiles and enjoy helping them navigate the process.

How do you define the Putnam Leasing difference, and what are the financial advantages of leasing cars through Putnam?

When people walk into a dealership to buy a car, the mission of the dealer is to sell a car. There is no room left for buyers to have a relationship with any individual there. At Putnam Leasing, we take a more relationship-driven approach. We’re large enough to offer extensive expertise, yet small enough to provide personalized attention. No client is ever just another number.

Financially, leasing can be one of the most efficient ways to structure vehicle ownership, particularly for business owners. The IRS cannot tell anyone what kind of car they can drive, commensurate with their income. Generally, if clients have a good income they can lease a car that’s within 50 percent of their income and write off a portion of that. Clients can no longer buy a car and finance it and write off the sales tax on it.

As far as other advantages, there are lower monthly payments on leases than financing a car. Lessees can buy more car for less money every month. The banks that we use are domiciled in the United States. Sales tax advantages depend on the state a client lives in, and in some instances, there are states that don’t give any sales tax credit when trading in a car and replacing it on an outright purchase. Our leases are not reflected on the various credit bureaus. Clients have control of what information is and is not disclosed.

Will you provide an overview of how Putnam’s clients can lease a collectible car?

When someone finds a million-dollar car, whether it is at an auction or through a dealer that we do business with, the dealer, principal, or salesperson will call to let us know they have a customer who is interested in leasing a specific vehicle. For example, with a million-dollar Mercedes-Benz, they will call us and ask for some lease numbers. At Putnam Leasing, we generally require a minimum of 20 percent down on the purchase price. The best way to use Putnam pre-approval is at a live auction. If someone is interested in going to an auction and bidding on a car, they have to provide a letter of credit to the auction company to get their paddle. If they are a previous Putnam customer and we’re comfortable giving them another car, we send a letter to the auction company saying that this person is good for this amount of money.

Once we have them pre-approved, they can bid on a car, and if they win, we handle the rest. We basically follow the same process we use with dealers. We require copies of the titles from the auction company and send the lease documents via DocuSign. The customer then sends us the down payment, initial lease payment, and auction fees. Once we receive the Bill of Sale and confirm continuity in the title documents assigned to Putnam, we pay the auction company and handle all motor vehicle paperwork.

Typically, people know what they want when they call us at a particular auction. If a customer is looking at a car like a Ferrari with an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000, we explain that if the car sells for X dollars, they’ll need a down payment of Y dollars.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for acquisitions in the collector car market?

Everything is really hot now – the Ferrari business has exploded. The Ferrari buyer right now has kind of moved away from buying the next big brand. They are looking at the naturally aspirated cars that Ferrari didn’t make a lot of, including the F40, F50, and Enzo.

Some cars that were $300,000 to $500,000 a year ago are now $850,000 to $1 million, and the market keeps going up. Stick-shift, six-speed cars, Ferrari coupes, 355 coupes, and 360 coupes are all off the charts.

The Lamborghini market is the same thing. Specifically, the market for the Aventador has really gone up. Air-cooled Porsches are on fire, and they’re going to keep going up since they don’t make them anymore. People love that market, plus there is an air-cooled portion of the market with especially low mileage that’s incredibly popular right now.

What are your priorities for Putnam Leasing as you look to the next generation of car collectors?

Looking to the next generation of car collectors, we want to keep with what we do right now which is educating the market. We want to educate the new consumer through social media, the internet, and continue to have our salespeople scan new opportunities in the automobile business.

I believe the internet – mainly social media – is the future of the business because people can find anything they are looking for. Thinking about the car market 25 years ago, if dealers didn’t have a website, they drew customers from the surrounding towns. Now people looking to lease can go on a website and search to find the exact specifications they want from any part of the world. The vehicle doesn’t have to be local anymore; the internet has changed the entire business. It’s a whole new territory.