Mr. Schaefer is the Chairman and Founder of Orion First. Since founding the company in 2001, Dave has been instrumental in establishing Orion as an industry leader in commercial loan and lease servicing. In his role as Chairman, he continues to advocate for capital formation focused on the small and medium business market.

With a career spanning 45 years in the commercial finance industry, Dave’s leadership has been shaped by a broad range of roles, including business development, treasury, operations, technology, accounting, and portfolio management. His experience spans both prime and subprime markets. Before founding Orion, Dave was President and a member of the Board of Directors at Financial Pacific Leasing Company. He also founded Checkmate Certified Collections in 1975, a consumer and commercial collection agency. He co-founded Mintaka Financial, as small ticket funding source that served brokers from 2004 through 2020.

Dave’s passion for the value small and medium businesses bring to their communities is a driving force behind his volunteerism. He currently serves on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council, where he contributes to shaping policies that benefit the small business community. Dave also served on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) Board of Directors from 2009 to 2019 and was Chairman of the Board in 2018. He chaired LeasePAC, a federal political action committee advocating for the industry, and previously served on the Board of Directors of the United Association of Equipment Lessors (now the National Equipment Finance Association). In 1996, Dave earned his Certified Leasing and Finance Professional certification, making him one of the industry’s earliest CLFPs.