Meet the Team

  • Co-Founder & CEO

    Mr. Furman is the Co-Founder and CEO of James-Furman & Company, an LLC based in Nevada with offices in Zephyr Cove, Nevada and Lake Oswego, Oregon. Prior to his current role, Mr. Furman co-founded and served as a board member of The Greenbrier Companies, Inc., NYSE GBX (“Greenbrier”) since 1981 and as Greenbrier’s Chief Executive Officer since taking it public in 1994. He served as its CEO and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors for many years until January 2023 and as a Board member until January 2024. He has been associated with Greenbrier and its predecessor companies since 1974.

    He led Greenbrier through geometric growth during his tenure, including international expansion on four continents, as well as transforming its market offerings and market share to become the leading freight car builder in North America, offering a broad range of services with engineering, manufacturing, leasing, repair, and freight car management. Currently, Greenbrier provides management services to about 20-25% of the entire North American freight car fleet.

    Prior to 1974, Mr. Furman was Group Vice President for the Leasing Group of TransPacific Financial Corporation, a publicly traded company based in Portland, Oregon. Earlier he was General Manager of the Finance Division of FMC Corporation, at FMC’s executive offices in San Jose, California. Mr. Furman also served as a Director of Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc., now Radius Recycling, a steel recycling and manufacturing company, from September 1993 to January 2016.

    Mr. Furman earned two degrees from Washington State University. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and was voted Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year. He then earned his Master’s degree in Transportation Economics. Mr. Furman also held a civil service appointment as a GS-6 smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and served in this capacity as an airborne wild-land firefighter for six summers, while putting himself through university.

  • Executive Assistant

    Elise Kinder has been an executive assistant at James-Furman & Company's Lake Oswego, Oregon office since March 2023. Over her 30-year career, she has supported high-level executives and boards of directors, and has experience in office management and event planning.

    Elise completed her MBA and BA at the University of Portland (Portland, OR). She also holds certifications in Human Resources from Portland State University (Portland, OR) and Wine Studies from Linfield University (McMinnville, OR).

    Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Elise has also spent time living and working in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, and San Francisco, California areas. In her free time, she and her husband enjoy traveling as much as possible, and when at home, they take advantage of the bounty the beautiful Pacific Northwest has to offer.

  • Business Analyst

    Hannah L. Crummé has been a business analyst at James-Furman & Company since 2023. She completed her doctoral research at King's College, London in 2015 and her Master's in 2010 at the same institution, and received her BA from Pomona College in 2008.

    Prior to joining James-Furman & Company, Hannah had experience as a department head at Lewis & Clark's Watzek Library, where she was in charge of the Rare Books and Archives team.

    An Oregon native, Hannah and her little dog Fred are based in James-Furman & Company's offices in Lake Oswego, where they enjoy workdays punctuated by afternoon walks.