Commercial Payments International Advisory Board

Steve Abrams
Steve L. Abrams was most recently a group executive, Global Commercial Products, at MasterCard Worldwide.  In this position, he was responsible for leading the development, management, and growth of the global business-to-business (B2B) programs, marketed through financial institutions to small, mid-size, and large corporations as well as public sector entities for MasterCard Worldwide.

Mr. Abrams joined MasterCard in 1990 as vice president, Member Relations, for the Eastern Region, and is an over 30-year veteran of the retail and commercial banking industry, with experience in credit card marketing, sales, product development, and portfolio management.  Mr. Abrams has managed the merchant business, ATM networks, home banking, and consumer credit businesses; developed new retail bank channels of distribution; and created innovative consumer credit and personal financial management products.  Prior to joining MasterCard, he served in various vice presidential capacities at Chase Manhattan, N.A. and Chemical Bank.

He is a member of the American Marketing Association and the Association of Financial Professionals.

Mr. Abrams holds a master’s degree in business administration in marketing and a bachelor of science degree in economics and marketing from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He also pursued a doctor of philosophy degree at Rensselaer.

Lance Blockley
Edgar, Dunn & Company - Managing Director
He has 30 years experience in senior management and consulting in the UK, USA, Asia and Australia. Lance has pioneered the use of transaction data to underpin marketing strategy development and market segmentation, and was the creator of the firm’s powerful Slice & Dice diagnostic tool. He has utilised this approach in credit card, insurance and other financial products for clients across Asia-Pacific, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. Lance holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University, England and an M.B.A. from IMD, Switzerland. He is a Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Chartered Management Institute (UK).

Des Cahill
First Data - Managing Director, Commercial Services
Des Cahill is Managing Director of Commercial Services for First Data, focussing on strategic developments in electronic payments and growing First Data’s commercial services business through our global resources and channels.

Des became part of the company in 2007 when First Data acquired Deecal International. The d.cal system, originally developed by Deecal International, provides commercial card management tools for use by banks, corporates and government agencies via a hosted ASP service model. Formerly a founding member and Managing Director of Deecal International, Des has 15 years experience in the commercial payments market.

Prior to this, Des developed a range of products for distributed data communications in the retail industry. He also has extensive experience in the large corporates market working with Guinness as an IT professional.

Des holds degrees in science and computing from London University and Trinity College Dublin.

John Casanova
Sidley Austin LLP - Partner, International Group
He advises clients on a wide variety of English, EU and US financial services regulatory and transactional matters. John works regularly with banks, investment firms, payment systems, investment managers and advisors and other financial intermediaries in the UK, the US and Europe. He is an editor of E-Finance and Payments Law and Policy. He has been a contributor to the Review of Banking and Financial Services, the Journal of International Banking Law and the American Bar Association’s Business Law Journal. He is a contributing editor for Electronic Money and Payment Systems to Butterworths Financial Regulation Service. John is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland bars and an English-qualified solicitor.

Rafael De la Vega 
Visa Inc. – Head of Large and Middle Market Products, Commercial Solutions
Rafael De la Vega is responsible for the development and management of Visa Inc.’s commercial products and services for mid- and large-sized companies and the public sector around the globe.

Previously, Mr. De la Vega was senior business leader for Visa Inc. in the Latin America and Caribbean marketplace, and was responsible for Visa Commercial products for governments, corporations, and small businesses in the region.

Mr. De la Vega joined Visa in Mexico in 1996 as product manager and subsequently held several positions including director of sales.

Before joining Visa, Mr. De la Vega worked with Procter & Gamble in Mexico and Latin America in the areas of distribution, planning, client sales and services.

He received a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Mexico's Pan-American University. In addition, he received a Masters in Business Management from the Pan-American Institute’s IPADE Business School in Mexico.

Patrick W. Diemer
AirPlus International - Chairman of the Executive Board
Responsible for Strategy, Marketing, Sales and HR as well as all activities concerning the international expansion of AirPlus. He has held senior roles in a number of organizations including PRODIGY Inc; Commerzbank; and Visa International in Germany where he was General Manager. Mr. Diemer concentrates his activities especially on international sales: The foundation of a subsidiary company in Switzerland and of a Headquarter in Hong Kong were very successful as well as the diverse strategic partnerships with airlines, car rental companies etc. At this time AirPlus has more than 30,000 corporate customers in more than 30 countries. Mr. Diemer is member of the Advisory Committee of the Marketing Club in Frankfurt as well as member of the Board of Directors of Universal Air Travel Plan (Washington) and of Travel Industry Club (Frankfurt).

Greg Hammermaster
Sage Financial Systems - President
Mr Hammermaster is responsible for executive management of all of the Sage North America payment solutions business, including credit card operations based in Virginia and check operations based in Florida.

Mr Hammermaster was previously with SunTrust Banks where he was senior vice president of commercial card and payment services in the Treasury and Payment Solutions Division. His responsibilities have included sales, business development, direction of the vision and execution for commercial card practices, and developing strategic partnerships. Mr. Hammermaster has also had experience with a number of online businesses and with Visa International, the world’s largest card network, where he worked with banks in the areas of online merchant services, debit, credit, and payment solutions, and was instrumental in delivering Visa’s first corporate and purchasing card program.

Hubert J.P. Jolly
Citi, Global Transaction Services - Managing Director, Global Head of Commercial Cards and Procure to Pay
Hubert J.P. Jolly is Managing Director and Global Head of Commercial Cards and Procure to Pay for Citi’s Global Transactions Services business. In this role, J.P. is responsible for all aspects of these high-growth, global businesses.

Citi’s Commercial Card business serves the world’s leading corporations and public sector organizations - including 100 Fortune 500 companies and 1.4 million cardholders across 290 Federal Government Agencies. This global business has on-the-ground operations in over 45 countries and offers solutions that span across 32 currencies and 20 local languages.

J.P. played a critical role spearheading the launch of Citi’s Procure-to-Pay (P2P) solution in North America and globally. This integrated solution enables end-to-end financial supply chain management — from purchase order to supplier payment and reconciliation — to allow businesses to realize incremental value through operational costs savings, working capital optimization, and improved audits and controls.

Prior to assuming this role, J.P. was responsible for GTS’ Payments and Cards business in North America. Under his leadership, Citi became the third largest provider of domestic and global payments in the market - and was awarded the largest single commercial card program by volume in industry history.

Since joining Citi in 1997, J.P. has served the organization in a variety of capacities – with leadership roles in cash management, trade and project finance in Saudi Arabia, Argentina, New Zealand and Poland. J.P. graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown University and the London School of Economics with a Bachelor of Science in Operational Research and Finance. He currently serves on the Board of NACHA, the Electronic Payments Association.

Laura Kelly
MasterCard Worldwide - Senior Vice President Global Prepaid & Debit Product Solutions
Laura Kelly leads efforts to develop and deliver prepaid MasterCard program solutions to the global marketplace that deliver consumer value, enhance customer profitability and differentiate MasterCard. With direct oversight of the MasterCard prepaid business operations, Ms. Kelly is responsible for ensuring that MasterCard, its customer financial institutions and partners succeed and benefit from prepaid program innovation and growth. Prior to this position, she served as senior vice president for Global Debit Strategy and Business Administration at MasterCard.

Prior to joining MasterCard, Ms. Kelly served as a senior vice president and chief operating officer for Southwest Business Corporation, and additionally, she ran the Supply Chain and Process Improvement practices for The Concours Group. Ms. Kelly spearheaded USAA’s alliance management and business development efforts and served as CFO for USAA’s retail company.

Ms. Kelly was as an active duty military officer for the Department of the Air Force. Ms. Kelly holds a bachelor's degree from Samford University in Business. She has received the designations of Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and an Associate in Risk Management (ARM). She is also a former Board Director for the Risk & Insurance Management Society, Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and the Security Service Federal Credit Union. Ms. Kelly is married and has one son.  

Robert Kirby
Spendvision Holdings Ltd – Chief Executive Officer and Director
Robert Kirby has more than 20 years of experience in the expense management and payments industry. Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Spendvision, he was co-founder and Chief Executive of Circum Solutions - an Australian consulting company focused on expense management. Robert has previously held senior executive positions with Globeset Inc. (a global payments technology provider) where he was initially based in Austin, Texas as VP responsible for business-to-business transaction services. Later he moved to Australia to take on the role of VP and General Manager of the Asia Pacific and Japan business unit. In addition, Robert led the development and implementation of eCommerce and payments products and services at Telstra, Australia's leading telecommunications company. Robert is an expert in global payment systems and has held a position on the Board of the Australian Payments System Council - a body charged with advising the Australian Treasurer on the efficiency of the Australian payments system.

William Long
Sidley Austin LLP  - Counsel
He advises international clients on a wide variety of payment, e-money, regulatory, IT and data protection matters including mobile payments projects. William has worked previously as in-house counsel to one of the world's largest international financial services groups and has been a member of a number of working groups in London and Europe looking at the EU regulation of online financial services. William was also seconded to the UK's Financial Law Panel (established by the Bank of England), as assistant to the Chief Executive working on legal issues for the financial markets.

William is a co- editor of E-Finance & Payments Law & Policy and contributing editor for e-money and payment systems to Butterworths Financial Regulation Service. William writes extensively for a number of journals including the Journal of Electronic Business Law, Journal of eCommerce Law and Policy, and the Journal of International Banking and Finance Law. William is an English-qualified solicitor. 

Cate Luzio
J.P. Morgan Treasury Services EMEA – Head of International Commercial Cards
Cate Luzio is responsible for J.P. Morgan's International Commercial Card business. Cate has been with J.P. Morgan for over 2 years and resides in London, UK. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Cate managed Bank of America's Latin America and Canada Global Treasury Services business, where she focused on the Large Corporate/MNC sector. Before joining Bank of America, Cate spent several years at MBNA, where she was a Senior Vice President within the Global Development/M&A organization. She was responsible for MBNA's start up joint venture in Mexico for consumer lending, a first of its kind for the financial institution and its entrance into Latin America.

Cate has a Master's Degree in International Relations and Economics from Georgetown University and a Bachelor's degree from University of Maryland in Political Science and Spanish.

Frank Martien
First Annapolis Consulting - Leader of Commercial Payments Practice Area
Frank Martien focuses on corporate cards, purchasing cards, small business cards, and fleet cards as well as automated procurement workflow and payment solutions.  His commercial payments engagement experience in North America and Europe includes a wide spectrum of strategy, market research, analysis, tactical execution, and vendor selection engagements along with M&A-related work.

Frank’s clients include leading commercial banks, payments networks, outsourcing providers, corporate end-users, manufacturers, and retailers.  For more than a dozen years, Frank has advised clients on where to focus resources and investment in payments businesses backed by creative thinking, market research, and rigorous analytics.  Through speeches at major industry events, published articles, and quotes in major payments-related publications, Frank is also a recognized industry expert.

Frank’s financial services work experience includes positions at 5Star Bank, Capital One, Citibank, and Alex. Brown & Sons Incorporated. 

Frank received his M.B.A. from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

Gary Palmer
Fidelity National Information Services - Executive Vice President
co-founded WildCard Systems in 1997, an issuing processor and services/technology company for network branded (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) prepaid cards.  WildCard pioneered many early prepaid innovations for consumer, commercial, and government payments.  After eFunds acquired WildCard Systems in July 2005, Gary served as Executive Vice President of Global Strategic Business Development for eFunds until Fidelity National Information Services acquired eFunds in September 2007.  Currently, Gary is Executive Vice President at Fidelity.  Gary’s responsibilities have included a wide range of executive, operational, business development and product innovation activities.  Gary is a frequent speaker at conferences associated with emerging electronic payment technologies around the world and serves on several boards. He graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.S. in Marketing.

Richard Palmer, Ph.D., CPA, CMA
RPMG - Co Founder
Chair of Accounting and MIS, Harrison College of Business, Southeast Missouri State University
Prior to academic work, he held management positions in both public accounting and the banking industry. Richard is the author of over 50 professional and academic publications, including award-winning articles about industry use of e-procurement and commercial cards.  Richard's commercial card research has been quoted in U.S. Senate hearings, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, CNN Money, CBS News MarketWatch, American Banker, Business Finance, Purchasing, CFO, Treasury and Risk Management, Financial Executive, Credit Card News, and Credit Card Management, among others.

Jeffrey M. Pape
U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems – Senior Vice President
Jeff Pape is a Senior Vice President in the Corporate Payment Systems division at US Bank. Pape is responsible for the strategy, profitability, and performance of the Payables and Corporate Travel & Entertainment businesses. His responsibilities include leading the strategic development of commercial cards, emerging payables products, and rapidly evolving business-to-business EIPP solutions. Pape has more than 16 years’ experience in the payments industry including roles in product management, relationship management, operations, technology and business development with US Bank. Pape has sat on various committees for Visa, MasterCard, and a current board member of Global Commercial Payment Solutions (GCPS) organization. Pape graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Lacrosse where he majored in Finance with a concentration in Economics.

Kevin Phalen 
Bank of America - Senior Vice President
for leading Integrated Debt and Treasury Solutions in the company's Global Product Solutions Division. Phalen is responsible for the end-to-end design, profitability and performance of a broad array of credit and treasury management solutions. His scope includes the bank's industry-leading and rapidly growing commercial card and working capital management products in the U.S. and internationally, Global Trade and Supply Chain solutions and the bank's Commercial Debt products. Kevin has more than 20 years' experience providing payable solutions to corporate, government and financial services industries, including roles in product development, client management, and operations, with JP Morgan, First Data Corporation, MasterCard International, and Sears Credit. Phalen has sat on various committees and advisory boards for MasterCard International, Visa, the International Prepaid Forum and speaks frequently on the changing landscape of the payments business. Phalen is a 1985 graduate of St. Luis University where he earned a double degree in Theology and Philosophy.

Kevin lives in the Chicago area with his wife Deb and 2 children, Liam and Quin.

Keith D Pierce
TSYS - Group Executive, Commercial Services
Keith Pierce is Group Executive, Relationship Management and business leader for the Commercial Card line of business at TSYS. In this role, Keith is responsible for account management, production support, business development and strategic planning for commercial card. He joined TSYS in 1985 and has been instrumental in leading the company’s commercial card endeavors since 1990. Keith has represented TSYS on the topic of commercial cards by speaking at industry conferences and has been quoted in numerous industry trade publications. TSYS process approximately 85% of all Visa and MasterCard commercial cards issued in the United States and100% of all U.S. Federal Government commercial cards issued under the GSA’s Smart Pay Program and are expanding globally to international markets where commercial cards are growing in acceptance.

Sid Vasili
Invapay - CEO and Founder
Sid Vasili is the CEO and Founder of Invapay – a Payments Platform provider. Prior to forming Invapay, Sid was the CEO and Founder of HMSL, an Accounts Payable outsourcing provider to companies such as Sun Microsystems, 3M, Gillette, Nestle Purina and Arla Foods. HMSL was acquired by Bottomline Technologies in 2005, where Sid became a Managing Director of Global Transaction Centres, designing and delivering Accounts Payable Automation solutions for Global Corporates.

Sid has developed a thought leadership position in the BPO and Payments industry, developing innovative Global Payables and Shared Services solutions to the world's largest corporations, and has chaired and presented at Finance & Accounting, Shared Service Transformation, and Purchase-to-Pay conferences around the world. Sid also serves as Chairman and Non-Exec Advisor of a number of firms in the Software Development, Consulting and BPO space.

Terry Wellesley
BMO Spend & Payment Solutions – Managing Director, North America
Terry Wellesley, the Managing Director of BMO Spend & Payment Solutions, brings three decades of corporate credit card leadership to the position. Prior to joining BMO Harris, Wellesley guided the key strategic growth of Diners Club International as that corporate card program’s Senior Vice President for Corporate Sales Middle Market & Travel Industry. Wellesley is a former Senior Vice President for the Travel Industry/North America for Diners Club International and Vice President of Corporate Card & Business Development Canada for Diners enRoute Canada.

Prior to his work with Diners Club, Wellesley was a trusted industry consultant, heading his own firm, The Resolute Group. In the mid- to late-1980s he headed the American Express Japan team after leading the Business Development and launch teams of the Visa Travelers check program in Canada for Chase Manhattan Bank. He began his corporate card career with several senior level positions in the sales management team at Amex. Prior to his corporate career, Wellesley was a running back with Ottawa and Hamilton in the Canadian Football League for six years.

Peggy Yankovich
HSBC - Senior Vice President
Peggy Yankovich is a Senior Vice President in the Global Transaction Banking division at HSBC Bank USA. She heads the Commercial Cards business, managing the directives of the Purchasing, Corporate, and Prepaid Cards, Cards Client Services and Merchant Services units. Prior to joining HSBC, Peggy was the Senior Vice President of Card Payments Solutions for Bank of America’s Global Treasury Services, where she was responsible for the Product Strategy & Development of the Commercial Card Payment Solutions, Credit Card and Prepaid products teams. She joined Bank of America in 1986 as a Credit Analyst in the Consumer Card Services division. During her tenure at Bank of America, she held numerous management positions within the Consumer Card organization, including Operations, Customer Service and Product Management. Yankovich graduated from Queens University where she majored in Business with a concentration in Marketing.