Our Team

<p>Jim Oberman joined Payroc in 2015 and brings decades of executive leadership experience in the payments industry. At Payroc, Jim has played a critical role in transforming the company from a domestic processor into a multi-national fintech organization. He has helped lead Payroc through significant organic growth and over 25 strategic acquisitions, expanding the company’s footprint across North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and the UK.</p> <p>Prior to Payroc, Jim held several senior roles at National Processing Company (NPC, formerly Retriever Payment Systems). After Vantiv acquired NPC in 2010, he was appointed Managing Director of Vantiv’s nationwide ISO business, which served more than 220,000 small to mid-sized merchants across the U.S. In 2013, he was promoted to Chief Merchant Risk Officer for the enterprise, overseeing risk strategy and governance across Vantiv’s entire merchant portfolio.</p> <p>During his tenure at NPC and Vantiv, Jim played a key role in developing and managing strategic ISO relationships, driving innovation in boarding, CRM, and risk management platforms, and leading various specialized business initiatives. These included the acquisition and management of merchant portfolios, oversight of POS equipment leasing and check processing operations, and the development of NPC’s terminal deployment and service division.</p> <p>Jim has also been an active contributor to the broader payments industry, serving on several boards and advisory committees, including the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), where he participated in the Government Relations and Risk Committees as well as the Strategic Leadership Forum. Jim also received the prestigious 2023 Industry Achievement Award for the Midwest Acquirers Association.</p> <p>A long-time resident of the Chicagoland area, Jim has been married for 45 years and is the proud father of four and grandfather of nine. He is deeply involved in his community, having served for over 39 years on the boards of Calvary Academy Christian School and Restoration Ministries. He also serves as a Board Elder at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Illinois.</p>

<p>President and Board Member Adam Oberman cofounded Payroc with his brother and cousin in 2003. In the ensuing decades, he served the company as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Revenue Officer before his appointment as President in 2018.</p> <p>In 2022 Adam was recognized by the Electronic Transactions Association as one of the Forty Under 40 young innovators shaping the future of the fintech. His extensive experience with complex ecommerce, compliance and risk management, and partner relationships has been key to Payroc’s continuous growth and exceptional reputation. Over the years he has guided strategic acquisitions of over 30 payments companies, elevating Payroc to the top 10 largest U.S. merchant acquirers and largest privately held processor—an upward trajectory with no end in sight.</p> <p>Adam is known as a transparent, open-door leader who believes in always doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. Though his team now numbers more than 2,000 and spans continents, he maintains an equal focus on cultivating their success and delivering excellent technology, service, and value to partners and merchants. His long-term vision for Payroc is to continue to build an organization that helps people flourish.</p> <p>Outside of work, Adam enjoys golfing, drumming, and fitness, but faith and family are the foundations of his life. He and his wife, Kimberly, are devoted parents to six young children. They make their home on Florida’s Gulf Coast.</p>

<p>Mr. Hodges is responsible for the company’s expanding financial organization and joined in August 2020. Before joining Payroc, Mr. Hodges served as a member of the executive team at EVO Payments (NASDAQ: EVOP) as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, where he was responsible for transforming the financial organization, leading numerous strategic acquisitions, and taking the company public via an initial public offering in May 2018.</p> <p>Before joining EVO, Mr. Hodges held various senior leadership positions at Global Payments Inc., serving as Vice President of Global Finance, Vice President of International Finance and External Reporting, and Director of Corporate Development and Strategy. Mr. Hodges began his career in investment banking with Deloitte &amp; Touche and Arthur Andersen, where he advised middle-market business services companies on their strategic alternatives. Mr. Hodges received his Masters of Professional Accountancy from Georgia State University and his Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hodges is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.</p> <p>Mr. Hodges is a native of Atlanta, where he lives with his wife and three children. Mr. Hodges is an active volunteer in various organizations including, Woodward Academy, Boy Scouts of America, and his church.</p>

<p>Matt Austin is the Chief Operating Officer for Payroc, establishing long-lasting strategic partnership relationships. Matt has an extensive history of building strong and lasting relationships with financial institutions, technology providers, and referral partners. Matt’s focus is to complement and broaden our partner’s relationship with their clients, and deliver cost-competitive customized card acceptance programs. As a payments industry veteran is known for his integrity and transparency, Matt builds relationships that last.</p> <p>Before joining Payroc, Matt founded an independent consulting firm focused on analyzing and addressing for merchants the confusing, inconsistent, and sometimes hidden fees that are prevalent in today’s card processing relationships. His efforts helped save millions of dollars for his clients, all while improving their contractual terms. Matt also worked with many ISOs, Merchant Acquirers, and other industry organizations to improve their efficiencies and grow their businesses. Matt was Senior Vice President of Risk Management with National Processing Company for over a decade, in which he was responsible for risk transaction monitoring, underwriting, collections, account boarding, and compliance. He managed a team of over 60 people across multiple locations. Under his leadership, his teams performed at the top of the payments industry.</p> <p>During his tenure, losses were reduced, approval levels were greatly increased and the company’s customer satisfaction was at an all-time high. Prior to becoming a payments industry veteran, Matt was with Arthur Andersen, at the time the world’s largest accounting firm. He headed up information management consulting teams serving Fortune 500 clients and other large multinational clients. Matt gained a reputation for blending the art and science of information management to both internal and external client needs. He was regularly called upon by Fortune 1000 clients to handle process design engagements. Matt holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Bradley University in Illinois. Matt serves on several boards and committees of various charitable and community organizations.</p>

<p>As Chief Technology Officer, Paul brings over 25 years of experience building and leading teams in support of technology-driven outcomes. Overseeing all elements of the organization’s Technology strategy, Paul and his team drive with a focus on simplicity and pragmatism.</p> <p>Passionate about technology and its possibilities, Paul aspires to create organizational structures that stimulate communication, creativity, and innovation. He possesses a broad engineering background in the areas of service-based architectures, data analytics, and information security. He has been responsible for architecting and implementing systems in the fields of healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and payments.</p> <p>Before Payroc, Paul held CTO positions and participated in successful exits with TSYS, Cayan, NaviNet, and NxStep Technologies. He has a B.S. in Management, Engineering from Southern Illinois University, and an M.S. in CIS from Bentley University.</p>

<p>Casey brings over 20 years of Product experience to Payroc’s executive team. In this newly created role, Casey is responsible for the strategic product direction. His role includes product vision, product innovation, product design, product development, and partnering with marketing on product messaging. Additionally, in this role, Casey will partner with the sales channels and strategy to ensure we bring products to market to meet our partner and merchant needs.</p> <p>Prior to joining Payroc, Casey spent 10 years with FIS | WorldPay starting out as a Product manager and growing into the SVP of Product Merchant and Partner Experience leading over 100+ technology products including sales and quoting, data automation, customer support, CRM’s, IVR, underwriting/risk, Merchant and Partner Portals, API integrations, billing, and partner payment residual systems. In his career Casey has been instrumental in merger and acquisition Product due diligence and buy recommendations, post-merger integration, and merchant base product and product consolidation.</p> <p>Husband and father of 2 boys, Casey’s free time is spent on the baseball field driving the boy’s around the country to tournaments and practices.</p>

<p>Angela is a multifaced, goal-driven, entrepreneur HR Executive starting in HR Consulting | BPO | RPO business with a proven record of accomplishments in union, nonunion, public fortune 50, private and family-owned businesses ranging to 97,000 employees. With lead HR roles in Caterpillar, GE | SABIC, AMETEK and most recently Head of HR for Plymouth. Her experience spans the globe with exp. in 4 continents, supporting employee populations from 275 – 11 K in multiple different countries; Asia (China, Japan, India, Philippines), Middle East (Saudi Arabia), Europe (Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Spain, France, and Germany), Bermuda, Mexico, and Canada.</p> <p>As a high energy influential leader and a certified 6 Sigma Black Belt, Angela has built her career around continuous improvement and trusted strategic partnerships in changing competitive environments. Strengthening the competitive advantage through the development of an HR strategy that focuses on talent, performance, and culture. A trusted advisor and partner in business organizational development, mergers and acquisitions, business strategy, and LEAN/6 Sigma solutions. Creating, and implementing innovative ideas and programs, while obtaining cost optimization savings through the eyes of a business leader who wears a HR hat.</p> <p>Angela has been married for 21 years to her husband David (Ted), two teenage boys (Steel &amp; Stone), and lives in the west suburbs of Chicago. Angela used to spend her time doing extreme sports, skydiving, cliff jumping and ziplining. But since kids, she has taken fewer personal risks and now spends her free time boating, jet skiing, and the occasional fix of “need for speed” through race car driving. One of these days, she also wants to try sandboarding.</p>

<p>Brock serves as Chief Revenue Officer. He joined in the team in 2023, leading our Integrated Sales and Marketing organizations.</p> <p>Brock brings with him an impressive career as a seasoned C-level executive, boasting over two decades of experience in leading growth strategies, establishing robust revenue streams, fostering alignment across business functions, and enhancing overall operational performance. He is a dedicated leader renowned for cultivating and inspiring high-performance management teams that consistently deliver value to clients, employees, and investment sponsors. Notably, Brock has a proven track record of creating enterprise value, contributing to the success of three recent company sales valued at over $1.5 billion.</p> <p>In his most recent role as SVP, Integrated Payments at PAYA, Inc., Brock played a pivotal role in transforming sales, integration, and revenue operations within Strategic Independent Software Vendor (ISV) verticals and organizations. He spearheaded the launch and execution of both internal and external go-to-market strategies, as well as revenue growth plans, focusing on integrated payment solutions within profitable vertical markets. This strategic approach ultimately led to the successful sale of Nuvei Corporation for $1.3 billion. Brock&#8217;s extensive experience also includes key roles such as President, CRO, and Board of Directors for Paragon Payment Solutions, as well as Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer at Element Payment Services.</p>

<p>Aaron joined Payroc as Chief Technology Officer in May of 2014 further strengthening the organization’s executive leadership and technological capabilities. With an 11 year career in electronic payments and a lifetime passion for all facets of technology, Aaron was excited to join this rapidly growing company to focus on delivering a world-class experience. In addition to serving as Payroc’s SVP Payfac Trusty, Aaron also manages Payroc’s risk management and 3rd party vendor relationships.</p> <p>Since 2004, Aaron has held various key senior risk management roles with Vantiv (VNTV: NYSE) and National Processing Company (NPC) which Vantiv acquired in 2010. Since 2008 Aaron was the Senior Manager of Vantiv’s and NPC’s merchant risk division. In this role, Aaron focused on transactional risk while coordinating oversight of risk investigations, chargebacks, and underwriting. Aaron was primarily responsible for a merchant portfolio with a volume of over $300B per year, delivering industry-leading results year-over-year. Aaron was a key member of the NPC team that built NPC’s risk system and then most recently lead the Vantiv team that enhanced and upgraded Vantiv’s risk management alert and CRM systems to address the ever-changing new and complex risk challenges facing the payments industry, including omni-commerce, complex eCommerce marketplaces, payment aggregation, and mobile payments.</p> <p>Prior to joining NPC in 2004, Aaron gained a critical foundation in the payments industry including overseeing underwriting and collections for a POS equipment leasing company, executing POS system deployment and support for a leading NPC ISO, and managing the referral partner relationship and sales process for a large referral bank relationship in Chicago with over 100 branches. In Aaron’s spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, visiting craft breweries, and watching Chicago sports teams.</p>

<p>Rebecca Lee joined Payroc in 2021 and serves as Chief of Staff, a strategic and operational role reporting directly to Payroc’s CEO, James Oberman who she supports in the overall strategy of the company and in day -to-day operations. Rebecca is also responsible for driving critical corporate projects, tracking high-priority initiatives and communicating and coordinating these with the executives.</p> <p>Since 2002, Rebecca has held a variety of positions with Worldpay (FIS), Vantiv (VNTV:NYSE), Moneris Solutions, and National Processing Company (NPC). In her 19+ years with Vantiv, Rebecca managed the Risk Monitoring Department where the team minimized losses related to credit risk across the respective ASG/ISO Portfolios. She then served as Executive Assistant to James Oberman where she gained experience in Contract Negotiations, Retention, ISO Escalations and Portfolio Initiatives. In 2010 Rebecca moved to Relationship Management where she worked directly with 7 of Vantiv’s top ISO Strategic Partners assisting with residuals and billing, reporting and financial accounting, merchant boarding, risk, underwriting, and escalations. As Rebecca continued to work with these same Strategic Partners her role transitioned to Strategic Client Account Executive which focused on revenue generation and business development specific to each ISO.</p> <p>In her last five years with Worldpay/FIS (formerly Vantiv) Rebecca lead the implementation Team where she developed and implemented a training program for each newly signed Strategic Partner. This was followed by her final role with FIS as Senior Business Process Manager where she initiated and implemented ISO Incentives, conducted residual and pricing reviews, was part of the leadership team implementing the largest pricing initiative in FIS history and lead the Referral Process for FI, SAM And ISO with a Marketing Campaign for over 10,000 FI opportunities.</p> <p>Rebecca has been married for 35 years to her husband David and they have been blessed with two children, (and their spouses) and six grandchildren. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and serving in the special needs ministry at her church.</p>

<p>Rafael has led Payroc’s legal division as Senior Legal Counsel since January 2025, following his relocation to the company’s Atlanta office in 2024. He previously served as General Counsel at Dynamics Payments, Payroc’s Puerto Rico subsidiary acquired in 2021, where he guided its transformation from a retail ISO into a full-service payments provider.</p> <p>Before entering the payments industry, Rafael held senior positions with the Government of Puerto Rico, advising on fiscal policy, municipal finance, and intergovernmental relations with the U.S. Congress and the Department of the Treasury. As Executive Director of the Tourism Development Fund, he oversaw the financing and restructuring of major hospitality projects across the island.</p> <p>A significant portion of Rafael’s career has been spent in private practice, where he focused on commercial lending, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and banking and securities regulation. Since 2018, he has also served on the board of Coalición Legal para Puerto Rico, a nonprofit he helped organized after Hurricane María that provides free legal services and education programs to other nonprofit organizations.</p> <p>Rafael earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Michigan.</p>

<p>Louis DeRose joined Payroc in early 2024 as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, and leads mergers and acquisitions at Payroc. Louis focuses on driving the company&#8217;s global growth strategy through acquisitions and equity investments and is responsible for sourcing, due diligence, and execution of strategic transactions.</p> <p>Louis joins Payroc from Ponto Software, a VC-backed fintech, where he was VP of Finance. Prior to joining Ponto, Louis spent a decade in investment banking, focusing exclusively on M&amp;A and capital raising in the fintech sector. Most recently, Louis was a director in the fintech group at Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods (KBW), an investment banking advisory firm focused on the financial services and fintech sectors. Earlier in his career, he was a management consultant.</p> <p>Louis graduated Cum Laude from Villanova University School of Business and is a CFA charter holder. Louis lives in New Jersey with his wife Katharine and their two young children. He enjoys spending family time at the beach, traveling, cooking, and golfing.</p>

<p>Gavin oversees the strategic growth and development of BlueSnap’s global sales team, partner management, business development and account management. Gavin originally joined BlueSnap as Chief Revenue Officer in January 2024 and brings over 20 years’ experience in FinTech, leading sales and support teams, and a deep understanding of the payments space.</p>

<p>Craig Hamilton is a seasoned accounting executive with more than 25 years of progressive leadership experience. As Chief Accounting Officer, he has broad functional responsibility across accounting, tax, and back-office operations, while serving as a key strategic partner to the rest of the executive team in driving margin growth, profitability, and scalable infrastructure.</p> <p>Prior to Payroc, Craig served as CFO of Payscape and spent more than a decade at Serta Simmons Bedding in a series of leadership roles spanning finance, sales operations, pricing/analytics, business development, and customer operations.</p> <p>Craig has been recognized externally for his impact, including as a finalist and honoree in Atlanta Business Chronicle’s CFO of the Year awards, reflecting his reputation in the Atlanta finance community and within Payroc’s investor ecosystem. He is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the state of Georgia, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Auburn University.</p>

<p>Stephanie Zirkle-Puerto serves as Executive Vice President of Operations at Payroc, where she leads the teams and processes that power the company’s customer experience, merchant support, and operational excellence. Since joining Payroc in 2012, she has helped shape a people-first culture rooted in service, empathy, and accountability; building scalable systems while keeping human connection at the heart of every interaction. Beginning her career in merchant retention and support, Stephanie developed a deep understanding of the customer journey and what it takes to deliver consistent, high-quality experiences that strengthen relationships and drive growth.</p> <p>Her leadership has earned her numerous honors, including Payroc’s 2023 and 2024 Hero Awards for community service, the 2021 Individual Diversity Champion Award from PayTech Women, the Executive of the Year for Excellence in Customer Service from the Business Intelligence Group, and earlier Executive Choice and Operational Top Performer awards. A passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, she is dedicated to mentoring emerging leaders and creating spaces where everyone can thrive. Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys a lively home with her two children, two dogs, two rats, and a fish.</p>

<p>With over 18 years of expertise in the payments industry, Cody began his career at Chase Paymentech in 2007 and has since built a robust track record in merchant services and card issuing. He has successfully led ISO/Agent and merchant bank programs, driven growth at JP Morgan Chase through innovative card issuing solutions, and most recently spent three years at WorldPay helping build a thriving partner success channel for their managed payfac portfolio, Payrix.</p> <p>Outside of work, Cody is a proud husband to Kendra and father to two wonderful kids—Harper (13) and Cash (10)—who keep life just as dynamic and rewarding as his professional journey.</p>

<p>Jason Green serves as Executive Vice President of ISO &amp; Direct Sales at Payroc, where he leads the company’s Direct and ISO/Agent channels. With more than 26 years of experience in the electronic payments industry, Jason brings a proven track record of driving growth, optimizing performance, and building high-impact sales organizations.</p> <p>Before joining Payroc, Jason held senior leadership roles at First Data, TransFirst, TSYS, and Global Payments. Throughout his career, he has focused on sales leadership, business development, organizational design, and process optimization—helping teams navigate a rapidly evolving payments landscape across Integrated Solutions, POS, and eCommerce.</p> <p>Based in Bradenton, Florida, Jason is an avid offshore tournament fisherman, competing across Florida, the Bahamas, Key West, and Costa Rica. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, he’s a proud father to two children, Presleigh, a sophomore at Florida State University, and Landon, a high school senior with aspirations to play college football.</p>

<p>Ryan Hallett is responsible for developing and managing Payroc’s strategic referral partner business in the United States, working with financial institutions, association and accounting firm partners, and more. Hallett entered the payments industry right out of college, joining cousins Nicholas and Adam Oberman to as co-founders of Retriever of Chicago, a fledgling independent sales organization. The company incorporated in 2007, hiring its first office staffers and developing a sales agent channel with a focus on serving merchants with integrity and trusted advice while building lasting, personal relationships.</p> <p>Hallett focused on business development, cultivating relationships with major merchants and national accounts, especially field service organizations, restaurant chains, and B2B manufacturing companies, as well as managing Payroc’s sales agents and referral partners. Most recently, he was Payroc’s chief revenue and marketing officer. Hallett’s efforts through the years have been instrumental in Payroc achieving significant growth. Prior to the company’s four-way merger with Payscape, NXGEN, and BluePay Canada, Payroc served more than 30,000 merchants processing over $10 billion in annual charge volume. While serving on the Electronic Transactions Association Certified Payments Professional (ETA CPP) committee, Hallett authored portions of the Association’s credentialing curriculum and certification exam.</p> <p>He led the company’s charge to ensure all Payroc Payments Professionals are equipped with adequate knowledge and skill to help clients and prospects successfully navigate the complexities of payments through ETA CPP certification. Hallett is a frequent speaker at partner conferences on the topics Payment Processing and FinTech. Hallett earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and entrepreneurship from Illinois State University and has earned his ETA CPP industry credential.</p>

<p>Conn Byrne is a seasoned executive in the fintech industry, currently serving as the Executive Director of Integrated Payments at Payroc. With a wealth of experience and expertise, Conn is responsible for developing and implementing Payroc&#8217;s Integrated Sales strategies across the U.S. and European markets. His primary focus lies in driving the company&#8217;s tech-focused revenue growth through new business acquisition and strategic initiatives with key channel partners.</p> <p>Conn&#8217;s journey in the payments industry began over a decade ago when he joined Worldnet as a summer job in May 2012. What was initially intended to be a short-term position transformed into a 13-year career that equipped him with invaluable knowledge and experience in the field. Working for a startup like Worldnet gave him opportunities to assume various roles and collaborate with payments experts he otherwise wouldn&#8217;t have had access to. Through this experience, Conn developed a comprehensive understanding of the payments landscape, with a particular interest in tech-driven integrated solutions.</p> <p>Having successfully led Worldnet&#8217;s sales organization through a significant acquisition, Conn transitioned to Payroc, where he has been an instrumental force. His strategic vision and business acumen have contributed to the company&#8217;s growth, driving innovation and forging strong partnerships within the industry.</p> <p>Outside of work, Conn cherishes the opportunity to spend quality time with his family. He loves traveling with his wife and son, exploring destinations around the US &amp; Europe. An avid sports fan and self-proclaimed passionate (though not necessarily skilled!) golfer, Conn enjoys immersing himself in the game.</p>

<p>With a career spanning nearly two decades in the payments solutions industry, Andie brings a wealth of experience and insight to Payroc through her most recent role as Executive Vice President, Agent Sales. Andie’s experience began in 2003, and since then, she has significantly contributed to leading organizations such as First Data, NPC, Vantiv, and Visa, where she recently served as a Senior Account Executive.</p> <p>Andie&#8217;s leadership portfolio includes pivotal roles such as Regional Business Director, Vice President of Commercialization, and Senior Vice-President of Sales, where her focus on sales and strategic growth has led to numerous successes.</p> <p>Beyond her professional achievements, Andie is deeply committed to the industry&#8217;s community. She currently serves on the Southeast Acquirers Association (SEAA) board, contributing to a platform that fosters learning and networking among top professionals in payments and fintech. Furthermore, Andie&#8217;s active involvement with the Electronic Transaction Association and various Women&#8217;s and Hispanic organizations underscores her dedication to diversity and inclusion within the industry. Her passion for making a difference extends to her volunteer work with Mighty Moms, a charity combatting child hunger in her hometown of Denham Springs, Louisiana.</p> <p>Andie&#8217;s personal life is as full and vibrant as her professional one. A proud LSU Tiger fan, she enjoys life in the Baton Rouge outskirts with her husband and their four children.</p>

<p>As Executive Vice President of Marketing &amp; Training at Payroc, Alex leads the company’s global marketing organization, shaping brand strategy, demand generation, communications, and partner marketing across six countries. She drives initiatives that position Payroc as a leading force in payments, integrating creativity, analytics, and storytelling to accelerate growth and strengthen market presence.</p> <p>Since joining Payroc in 2014, Alex has guided the company through major brand evolutions and global expansion, including the successful integration of more than 20 acquired brands. Prior to Payroc, she worked at top global advertising agencies with clients such as Delta Air Lines and Cox Communications.</p> <p>Alex was recognized by the Electronic Transactions Association’s Forty Under 40 and named a finalist by PayTech Women for Industry Innovation. She attended Florida State University and lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys travel, skiing, wine tasting and spending time with her girls.</p>

<p>Christe Eldridge serves as Senior Vice President of the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), where she leads Payroc’s enterprise-wide transformation and delivery initiatives. Since joining Payroc in early 2024, Christe has unified the Integration Management Office (IMO) and Project Management Office (PMO) under a single strategic framework aligned with the company’s corporate objectives. She is recognized for fostering trust, accountability, and collaboration across teams—driving disciplined execution, transparent communication, and measurable business outcomes.</p> <p>With more than 25 years of experience in the payments and technology industries, Christe began her career in software development after earning her degree in Computer Information Systems, coding early point-of-sale systems before transitioning into program and portfolio leadership. She also served as a SAFe Agile Coach, leading Vantiv’s transition to Agile and scaling delivery across large, complex enterprise programs. Her experience spans startups, mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, and large-scale implementations, holding key leadership roles at Springbok Services, Fifth Third Processing Solutions, Mercury Payment Systems, and Vantiv/Worldpay (FIS). Known for her hands-on leadership and focus on continuous improvement, Christe is passionate about building strong relationships, driving organizational discipline, and fostering change through structured delivery and data-driven visibility.</p> <p>Originally from Colorado, Christe and her husband of 20 years recently relocated to South Carolina with their two children, trading Rocky Mountain peaks for ocean horizons. Family time is a priority, and most weekends are spent supporting their daughter’s travel volleyball team at Coastal Carolina and cheering on their son as he balances both baseball and football. Together, they’re embracing the adventure of coastal living and enjoying new opportunities to relax and recharge after busy work weeks.</p>

<p>Darrel Anderson is senior vice president of Compliance for Payroc. Mr. Anderson has over 35 years of experience in the payments, privacy and banking industries and has provided advice and guidance to some of the largest processors, banks, ISOs, gateways and retail merchants in the world.</p> <p>Previously, Darrel was President and Founder of Conformance Technologies &#8211; one of the largest PCI service and AML security tool providers in the US and was also a senior vice president, strategic partnerships with TSYS, a worldwide payment processor and merchant acquirer.</p> <p>Mr. Anderson is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers, a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute, and also holds the Certified Payments Professional designation from the Electronic Transaction Association. Through the International Association of Privacy Professionals, he holds both the CIPP/C and CIPP/US designations. Darrel is also a member of the FBI Infragard expert network, having been appointed in 2012, and was accepted as an FBI Patriot Circle member in 2019. He has been a featured speaker at National Retail Federation CFO Forums, a Direct Marketing Association Guru, and has served the United Way as a Cabinet Member in the Leadership giving program.</p>

<p>Brian Golson is a Managing Partner and Co-CEO of Parthenon Capital and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Brian serves on the Board of Directors of Allworth Financial, BillingTree, BlueSnap, Coastal Credit, eSeclending, ICD, loanDepot, Mid Atlantic Capital Group, Payscape, Periscope Holdings, and Seaside National Bank &amp; Trust.</p> <p>Brian led Parthenon’s investments in AmWINS Group, Arrow Financial, and Rackable Systems and served on the boards of Cayan, H.D. Vest, Millennium Trust, Performant, Relation, and Wildlands. Brian is actively engaged in the development and scholarship efforts for the University of North Carolina, where he is Vice-Chair of the Honors Carolina board. Prior to joining Parthenon in 2002, he was the CFO and Vice President of Operations for Everdream, a software company sold to Dell providing outsourced IT infrastructure management.</p> <p>Before Everdream, Brian spent several years at Prometheus Partners, a middle-market private equity fund focused on recurring revenue service businesses and started his career at GE Capital focused on acquisitions and divestitures of financial services and insurance businesses. Brian earned a B.A. in Economics with Honors from the University of North Carolina, and his M.B.A. with High Distinction as a Baker Scholar from the Harvard Business School. Brian is located in Austin, TX, and enjoys spending time with his three daughters.</p>

<p>Zach Sadek is a Partner in the firm’s Boston office. He joined Parthenon Capital in 2004 and is active in sourcing and executing new transactions and working with current portfolio companies. Zach focuses on business and financial services, including payments and financial technology, specialty lending, and software.</p> <p>Zach serves or has served on the Board of Directors of BillingTree, BlueSnap, CardWorks, Cayan, eSecLending, eTix, Injured Workers Pharmacy, Med-Tel International, Official Payments, Oasis Financial, Periscope Holdings, Restaurant Technologies, and Zelis Healthcare. Prior to joining Parthenon Capital, Zach worked in investment banking at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (f/k/a Wasserstein Perella) in Chicago as an analyst specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Zach earned his A.B. (with Honors) and A.M. from the University of Chicago and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.</p>

<p>RJ joined Parthenon Capital in 2025 and is a Principal in the firm’s San Francisco office. He is responsible for sourcing and executing new investments and working with current portfolio companies.</p> <p>Prior to joining Parthenon, RJ spent 8 years as President at SpotOn, a leading Point-of-Sale and Vertical SaaS provider for restaurants and small businesses. Before SpotOn, RJ served as CFO of UK-based Axsy, an Order-to-Cash Enterprise SaaS company. RJ started his career as an investment banker at Financial Technology Partners working with FinTech companies, including Parthenon portfolio companies Performant Financial and Cayan.</p> <p>RJ earned his B.S. from the University of Southern California</p>

<p>Thomas Nitopi is the Founder and CEO of NXGEN International, which in 2016 was named the ‘ISO of the Year’ by the ETA. Since 2002, under Thomas’s leadership, NXGEN has recorded double-digit growth year after year and grew to become the largest Elavon MSP in the USA by processing volume. In addition, NXGEN is the largest global MSP with an unparalleled global footprint in 30 countries.</p> <p>Thomas is also the Founder and Managing Partner of a proprietary software company with the most advanced workflow management system in the industry that serves over 250,000 merchants, with 1,200-1,500 daily users, and 170 MSPs through a SaaS model. Before founding NXGEN International in 2002, Thomas served as the President of Payment Processing Direct. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Bancard Inc. As an industry leader, he was chosen as the first Chairman of Elavon’s MSP Advisory Committee. Thomas has over 20 years of experience in the acquiring industry.</p>

<p>Jim Oberman joined Payroc in 2015 and brings decades of executive leadership experience in the payments industry. At Payroc, Jim has played a critical role in transforming the company from a domestic processor into a multi-national fintech organization. He has helped lead Payroc through significant organic growth and over 25 strategic acquisitions, expanding the company’s footprint across North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and the UK.</p> <p>Prior to Payroc, Jim held several senior roles at National Processing Company (NPC, formerly Retriever Payment Systems). After Vantiv acquired NPC in 2010, he was appointed Managing Director of Vantiv’s nationwide ISO business, which served more than 220,000 small to mid-sized merchants across the U.S. In 2013, he was promoted to Chief Merchant Risk Officer for the enterprise, overseeing risk strategy and governance across Vantiv’s entire merchant portfolio.</p> <p>During his tenure at NPC and Vantiv, Jim played a key role in developing and managing strategic ISO relationships, driving innovation in boarding, CRM, and risk management platforms, and leading various specialized business initiatives. These included the acquisition and management of merchant portfolios, oversight of POS equipment leasing and check processing operations, and the development of NPC’s terminal deployment and service division.</p> <p>Jim has also been an active contributor to the broader payments industry, serving on several boards and advisory committees, including the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), where he participated in the Government Relations and Risk Committees as well as the Strategic Leadership Forum. Jim also received the prestigious 2023 Industry Achievement Award for the Midwest Acquirers Association.</p> <p>A long-time resident of the Chicagoland area, Jim has been married for 45 years and is the proud father of four and grandfather of nine. He is deeply involved in his community, having served for over 39 years on the boards of Calvary Academy Christian School and Restoration Ministries. He also serves as a Board Elder at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Illinois.</p>

<p>Adam brings over 20 years of experience to Payroc’s executive team and is one of the original founders of Payroc in 2003. Since that time, he has operated in multiple capacities to serve the company. From 2003 through 2011, Adam’s role was focused on the development of larger and more complex eCommerce merchants, which remains one of the cornerstones of Payroc’s core capabilities. Then in 2012-2017, Adam became Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for all financial, risk, and compliance matters of the company, especially ensuring Payroc’s partners are paid accurately and on-time. In 2018, Adam was appointed Payroc’s President and played a pivotal role in Payroc winning ISO of the Year from the Electronic Transactions Association in early 2019. Adam currently serves on Payroc’s Board of Directors today.</p> <p>Prior to joining Payroc, from 2001 through 2003, Adam was the Senior Risk Manager &amp; Analyst for National Processing Company (NPC), formerly Retriever Payment Systems, overseeing NPC’s transaction and chargeback risk management activities. He also was a member of the NPC team that invented and developed what remains today NPC’s and its parent company Vantiv’s risk management system.</p> <p>In his free time, Adam is an active Sunday school teacher at his church, an avid golfer and drummer, and considers his most important job to be a husband and father of six kids.</p>

<p>As a self-described “unemployable individual,” Jeremy Wing had no other choice but to be a serial entrepreneur. He attended college at the University of Alabama and started his career at MTV in 1998 as the SE Director of Business Development, where he was the youngest director in the company’s history.</p> <p>After leaving MTV in 2004, he founded Atlanta-based Payscape. His role within the company has been instrumental in establishing Payscape as a contender in the FinTech space. Jeremy focuses his time on Enterprise development, thought leadership, and strategic vision for Payroc. Outside the office, Jeremy is highly involved in the local community, whether it be charity or business endeavors. He serves on several boards, including the International Young Presidents Organization and The Buckhead Coalition. Jeremy is an active mentor, investor, and advisor at FlashPoint Accelerator, a Georgia Tech club that supports startups and young entrepreneurs, and a member of FinTech Atlanta. He has two boys with wife and fellow entrepreneur, Elizabeth.</p>

<p>A serial entrepreneur, Adam Bloomston founded his first business in high school and has spent his career building and scaling successful ventures. As Co-founder and CEO of Payscape, he grew the company from a basement startup in 2004 into a fintech powerhouse over 15 years, processing more than $23 billion in charge volume and generating $115 million in annual revenue.</p> <p>As CEO, Payscape earned widespread recognition, including placement on the Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies list, the Electronic Transactions Association&#8217;s ISO of the Year award, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution&#8217;s Top Workplaces designation, and a spot on the Atlanta Business Chronicle&#8217;s Pacesetter list. Bloomston himself was honored with the Atlanta Business Chronicle&#8217;s CFO of the Year award and a place on their 40 Under 40 list.</p> <p>He was instrumental in engineering the strategic merger of Payroc, Payscape, NXGEN, and BluePay Canada to create the new Payroc as a full-service payment processor, backed by Parthenon Capital. Today, he serves on the boards of Payroc and CardFlight, bringing deep expertise in payments and growth strategy to both organizations. He holds a bachelor&#8217;s degree in communications from the University of Alabama and lives in Atlanta with his wife and two children.</p>

<p>Mike Ponder started signing businesses up to accept credit cards in 1987 as an outside sales agent. After that, he grew into a regional sales manager. He continued his career as the Vice President of National Sales at one of the largest Independent Sales Organizations in the United States at that time. Leveraging his experiences with sales in the field and on a national level, he built the sales organization at Universal Savings Bank as the Vice President of Sales, boarding their first sales partners in 1992.</p> <p>Mike’s years of experience helping to build out operations that support sales led to the founding of First Savings Bank, Merchant Division in 1995. As the CEO/President of First Savings Bank, Merchant Division, overseeing all sales and business operations, Mike learned how critical a one-stop-shop was to supporting the sales partners and merchants nationwide. In 2001, First Savings Bank, Merchant Division was acquired. After selling First Savings Bank, Merchant Division, Mike recognized that there was still a void in the marketplace for a business like the one he had built before. In 2003, Mike founded Integrity Payment Systems, bringing with him many of the management team and staff from First Savings Bank, Merchant Division.</p>

<p>Helgeson brings to the board nearly 30 years of deep operational experience, industry relationships and understanding of emerging trends in the financial technology industry. Helgeson was the Founder and CEO of Cayan, which was sold to TSYS (now Global Payments) in 2018.</p> <p>Helgeson is involved in numerous industry associations and in 2012, he received the ETA Member of the Year Award, recognizing his contributions to the future success of the industry. Helgeson was also awarded the “40 under 40” award by the Boston Business Journal (BBJ).</p> <p>“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to join the board of managers at Payroc,” said Helgeson. “I appreciate the board’s confidence in me and could not be more excited to collaborate with the team in guiding Payroc’s continued success.”</p>

<p>Rob Metzger is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Finance, the Director of the Investment Banking Academy, and the Faculty Director of the Business Honors Programs at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to his roles at Gies Business, he also is a member of the Board of Directors of Payroc, LLC, a privately-held payments processing business, and South Mountain Merger Corp., a special purpose acquisition corporation. Rob also serves as a Senior Advisor to Mission OG, a Philadelphia-based investment firm.</p> <p>Previously, Rob was a Partner at William Blair &amp; Company, L.L.C., where he held several leadership roles, such as the head of the Technology group and the head of the Financial Services Investment Banking Group. Prior to joining William Blair, Rob worked in the Investment Banking Division of ABN AMRO Incorporated, in the Financial Institutions Group at A.T. Kearney, Inc., and in the Audit and Audit Advisory Services at Price Waterhouse.</p> <p>Rob holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Strategy from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.</p>