Payments players made moves in executive suites this month with an eye to improving their technological edge or expanding their geographic footprint.
Credit card behemoth Mastercard appointed Kelly Devine as the regional president for Europe, the card network said on April 24. She’ll replace Mark Barnett, who held the role for five years. Beginning on Sept. 1, she will report to Ling Hai, Mastercard’s president for Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a news release said.
Devine comes to Mastercard from the British retailer Dunelm Group, where she worked about three years, most recently as the company’s chief customer officer, according to her LinkedIn profile. Prior to that role, she served as president of the company’s U.K. and Ireland business.
“She led the company’s top consumer issuing and merchant relationships, leading to significant market growth,” Mastercard’s news release said.
Healthcare focused financial technology company PayZen said on April 1 that it hired Brandon Pace as chief legal officer. The San Francisco-based company emphasized Pace’s experience in tech and helping companies grow.
“As a seasoned legal executive, Brandon has a proven track record of guiding high-growth financial and technology companies with expertise in fintech, governance and regulatory compliance,” the PayZen release said.
Pace previously held leadership roles at PayPal and eBay, handling a range of regulatory matters, and also had been general counsel for LendingClub.
Redmond, Washington-based Pushpay, which provides payments services to “mission-driven organizations” such as churches, said on March 19 that it would promote Kenny Wyatt from president to CEO.
Pushpay played up Wyatt’s technology background in a news release. “He has held leadership roles at major corporations such as Bank of America, Sprint, Vonage, CenturyLink, and was previously CEO at think-cell [Software],” the release said.
At JPMorgan Chase, Tony Gerevics, the bank’s managing director of operations industry relations, plans to retire at the end of June, The Clearing House Senior Vice President Richard Dzina announced at a Nacha Faster Payments Conference panel discussion Tuesday. Both men had been speaking to the “Opportunities, Challenges and the Future of Core Payments Rails” during the discussion in New Orleans, with Dzina moderating.
He ended with a short tribute to Gerevics. “It’s the end of an era,” Dzina said, lauding his peer’s experience, expertise and willingness to be a resource.
Gerevics, who has expertise in payments and checks, is a part of JPMorgan’s consumer and community bank division, said a spokesperson for the company.
Across the border, Canadian identity verification platform Trulioo on April 1 appointed Vicky Bindra to CEO to replace Steve Munford. Bindra came to Trulioo from the payment platform Nuvei, where he served as chief operating officer and chief product officer.
While his background is largely in financial technology companies, Bindra also held leadership roles at card networks Visa, Mastercard and payments services provider Fidelity National Information Services.
