Executive Management

Servant leadership is a driving force behind who we are and what we do. It means we are here to serve — our clients, our shareholders and each other — and together shape a vision everyone can own.

Philip W. Tomlinson
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
TSYS

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Phil Tomlinson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of TSYS, has been the driving champion for excellence in client service for the company's entire history. In his former role as president, Tomlinson directed the company's strategy of technological growth and advancement. But among clients, colleagues and team members, he is better known for his tireless efforts to exceed clients' expectations every day.

Tomlinson joined Columbus Bank and Trust Company (CB&T) in 1974, after a successful management career with General Electric Corporation. Since TSYS was established as a spin-off in 1983, Tomlinson has played a key role in almost every major relationship that has shaped the company's development. Tomlinson is a graduate of Louisiana State University's School of Banking of the South.

In addition to his role as Chairman of the Board and CEO of TSYS, Tomlinson is a member of the TSYS Board of Directors, and also serves on the Board's Executive Committee. He serves on the boards of directors for TSYS de Mexico, TSYS Acquiring Solutions and GP Network Corporation, a gateway for more than 120,000 merchants in Japan, in which TSYS owns a controlling interest. Tomlinson is also a member of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, American Cancer Society Board, the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation Board (MEEF), the Columbus State University Board of Trustees, the Columbus State Cunningham Center for Leadership Development Advisory Board, the United Way Board, the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus and the Financial Services Roundtable. He also served as the 2006 Chairman of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce and remains on the Executive Committee.

M. Troy Woods
President and Chief Operating Officer
TSYS

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Troy Woods, president and chief operating officer of TSYS, has been a critical influence in the company's strategic decisions for the past two decades. Woods has been involved in directing the company's international expansion, strategic planning activities, negotiations with major clients, and the continual improvement of TS2, the company's core payments engine. Under Woods' leadership, the company has expanded to Canada, Mexico, Europe, Brazil and the Asia-Pacific.

Woods started his career at Columbus Bank and Trust Company (Columbus, Ga.) in 1970, working part-time in the bankcard department and eventually becoming a vice president. He left the company in 1977 to become a senior vice president for consumer lending with AmSouth Bank in Birmingham, Ala. He rejoined TSYS in 1987.

Woods is member of the TSYS Board of Directors, along with serving on the Board of Directors for China UnionPay Data Services, Ltd. (CUP Data), TSYS’ joint venture with CUP Data in China; GP Network Corporation, TSYS’ joint venture in Japan; and First National Merchant Solutions (FNMS), TSYS’ joint venture with First National Bank of Omaha. He also serves on the Board of Directors for several civic organizations, including the YMCA of Metropolitan Columbus (Ga.), West Georgia Honor Flight and the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Columbus State University.

Woods earned a bachelor's degree from Columbus State University (Columbus, Ga.), and also graduated from the University of Virginia's Graduate School of Retail Bank Management and Louisiana State University's School of Banking of the South.

G. Sanders Griffith. III
Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
TSYS

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Sanders Griffith, senior executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for TSYS, has played an integral role in the company since 1988. In his most recent role as senior executive vice president, Griffith is responsible for all aspects of TSYS' legal affairs around the world. Griffith provides oversight, guidance and direction regarding all legal matters, enterprise risk management, compliance, information security and business continuity.

Prior to joining TSYS in his current role at year-end 2007, Griffith served in numerous roles and capacities with TSYS and Synovus beginning in 1988. From 1977 to 1988, he was engaged in the private practice of law.

Griffith earned a bachelor's degree from LaGrange College, and received his J.D. fromThe University of Georgia School of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Georgia Bar Association, the Financial Services Roundtable Bank Counsel Section, the Association of Corporate Counsel and the American Society of Corporate Secretaries.

James B. Lipham
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
TSYS

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Jim Lipham is senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of TSYS directing the Financial Services group.

Lipham joined Synovus Financial Corp., formerly Columbus Bank and Trust Company (CB&T), in 1984 as vice president and assistant treasurer of the Financial division. In December 1987, he transferred to TSYS as treasurer where he later became executive vice president and CFO.

Prior to joining Synovus, Lipham was senior vice president and CFO of First Federal Savings and Loan in Columbus, Ga. Prior to First Federal, he was employed with Ernst & Whinney as a senior accountant. A graduate of West Georgia College, Lipham earned a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Lipham serves on the Board of Directors for Columbus Productions, Inc., TSYS Acquiring Solutions and Columbus Hospice.

William A. Pruett
Senior Executive Vice President, TSYS
President, North America Services, TSYS

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Bill Pruett is senior executive vice president, and president of North America Services, of TSYS. He is responsible for the North American segment of the business, which includes all the retail, consumer and commercial business, as well as Value Added, Columbus Productions, TSYS Prepaid, TSYS Loyalty and TSYS Healthcare. He has also served as executive vice president, senior vice president, vice president and assistant vice president for the company.

Pruett is a 34-year TSYS veteran, and prior to joining TSYS, he held various positions at Columbus Bank and Trust Company.

Kenneth L. Tye
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer
TSYS

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Ken Tye is senior executive vice president and chief information officer for TSYS, leading the Technology Services group responsible for all aspects of innovation, systems development and operations.

A 37-year TSYS veteran, Tye has played a major role in shaping TSYS' technology initiatives and innovations. Most notably, he led the 200-person team responsible for building TS2, the industry's most technologically advanced payments processing system built in the mid-90s.

Tye has held numerous leadership positions in the banking and payments industry. In 1971, Tye joined Columbus Bank and Trust Company (CB&T) as an assistant computer operator in the Data Processing division. He later joined TSYS and has held numerous positions including assistant systems officer, assistant vice president and systems officer, vice president and systems officer, senior vice president, director of management information systems and executive vice president.

A 1971 graduate of Columbus Technical Institute, Tye received his degree in data processing. A past vice president of the Data Processing Management Association, he has also served on the Columbus Area Vocational Technical School Board, the Columbus State University Advisory Board, the MasterCard Technical Advisory Group and the Visa Development Advisory Committee.

Connie C. Dudley
Executive Vice President, Product and Client Development
TSYS

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As executive vice president, Connie Dudley leads all product and client development to include corporate portfolio management, client development, conversions, and training and documentation. She also serves on the management committee.

In 1976, Dudley joined Columbus Bank & Trust (CB&T) in the Accounting department. Since that time, she has held numerous managerial positions including director of Conversions and Training, documentation manager, and group executive for TSYS.

Dudley attended Pineville Baptist College and Columbus State University, where she studied computer science. She is a graduate of the American Bankers Association National School of Bank Card Management.

Ryland L. Harrelson
Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer
TSYS

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Ryland Harrelson is executive vice president and chief human resource officer for TSYS, responsible for administrative services, human resources, team services and corporate real estate. Harrelson also serves on the management committee. Partnering with the TSYS business units, he has designed and implemented innovative and contemporary human resources strategies that have materially improved the competitiveness of the organization..

Before joining TSYS, Harrelson was a human resources director at Sears, Roebuck & Co. He has been recognized by several national publications for his work in transforming the human resource role into one of strategic business partner, and he has spoken at several international conferences on the topic of emerging human resource practices for information technology organizations.

Harrelson earned a bachelor's degree from N.C. Wesleyan College. He is also a graduate of the human resource executive program at the University of Michigan's school of business.

Stephen W. Humber
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
TSYS

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Steve Humber is executive vice president and chief technology officer of TSYS, responsible for all software development and maintenance, and serves on the management committee.

Joining Columbus Bank and Trust (CB&T) in 1975, Humber began his career in operations, serving as an assistant operator. Joining TSYS at its inception, Humber became vice president of the TS1 Programming division in 1987. Since that time, he has held numerous managerial positions to include director, senior vice president and group executive.

Humber attended Columbus State University, in addition to management seminars at leading universities.

Gaylon Jowers Jr.
Executive Vice President, TSYS
President, TSYS International

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Gaylon Jowers is executive vice president of TSYS, president of TSYS International, and serves on the management committee.

Jowers also serves on the board of directors for China UnionPay Data Services, Ltd. (CUP Data), TSYS’ joint venture with CUP in China; GP Network Corporation, TSYS’ joint venture in Japan; and TSYS Managed Services EMEA, a joint venture between TSYS and Dimension Data of South Africa.

Since 1991, Jowers has served in several key management positions at TSYS, including serving as president and chief executive officer for DotsConnect, a wholly owned subsidiary of TSYS specializing in e-payments. In addition, he has held leadership roles responsible for the company's debit, prepaid, loyalty, debt management, Internet, global sales, corporate strategy and marketing initiatives.

Jowers earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in management from Troy State University.

Kelley C. Knutson
Executive Vice President, TSYS International
TSYS

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Kelley Knutson is executive vice president with day-to-day responsibility for TSYS strategic execution, global sales, relationship management, service delivery and operations outside North America (United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America). Additionally, Knutson is responsible for monitoring and driving growth initiatives with TSYS partnerships in Europe (TSYS Managed Services EMEA, a joint venture Dimension Data), China (China UnionPay Data Services, Ltd., a joint venture with China UnionPay in China) and Japan (GP Network Corporation, a joint venture in Japan). He is a member of the management committee and is the most senior TSYS executive based outside North America.

Prior to TSYS, Knutson served as CEO and acting chairman of Clear Money Ltd. (Clear), a provider of Electronic Bill Management Services to UK billers and financial institutions; SVP of GE Capital's Global Consumer Finance (GCF) cards business, where he was responsible for developing and executing GCF's cards strategy and driving card-based consumer finance initiatives in more than 15 markets around the world. Prior to GE Capital, he was SVP at Visa International, where he was responsible for developing/marketing Visa's debit products and introducing e-commerce solutions (security, chip and remote banking) throughout Europe. In addition, he worked for Simpson Paper Company, TRW and General Dynamics, where he focused on product and marketing strategies, pricing, risk and portfolio management.

Kelley holds a B.S. in Accountancy from Northern Arizona University and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University.

Colleen W. Kynard
Executive Vice President, Customer Care
TSYS

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As executive vice president, Colleen Kynard is responsible for managing many of the company’s client relationships for TS1 and TS2 to include production support, and serves on the management committee. A customer advocate, she works closely with all clients' senior executive leaders to understand their strategic initiatives and business plans. In addition, Kynard oversees Columbus Productions, TSYS’ wholly owned printing subsidiary, and the company’s Output Services group, which provides statement and card production as well as archiving and specialty services.

A TSYS employee since 1985, Kynard has held numerous management positions with the company. Prior to joining TSYS, she worked at Columbus Bank and Trust (CB&T), which she joined in 1970, and held many positions in the Operations division as well as working with all the CB&T affiliate banks.

Kynard attended Chattahoochee Valley Community College and the Fuqua School of Business Education at Duke University, and has received numerous American Institute of Banking Certificates. In addition, she received the James H. Blanchard Leadership Award in 1996, which is presented to individuals who show the greatest use of leadership and interpersonal skills like teamwork, communications and coaching in various corporate, departmental and community roles.

W. Allen Pettis
Executive Vice President, Major Account Relationship Management
TSYS

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Allen Pettis is executive vice president for major account relationship management to include major clients, as well as TSYS Loyalty and Prepaid, value-added products and debit,  and serves on the management committee. A 24-year TSYS veteran, Pettis was formerly responsible for the commercial card division as well as all production areas of support, card services and authorizations. He has also held numerous managerial positions, including group executive for relationship management and affiliate operations, senior director, manager of Authorizations as well as assistant vice president and vice president of Support Services.

Pettis received a B.B.A. in Production Management from Columbus State University and graduated from University of Oklahoma’s bank card school. He also serves on the board for junior achievement for Columbus and West Georgia.

Mark D. Pyke
President, TSYS Merchant Services
Executive Vice President, TSYS

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As president of TSYS Merchant Services, Mark Pyke uses his extensive banking and financial expertise to generate strong business results. Serving on the TSYS management committee, he brings more than 25 years of payments and financial services experience to the company.

Prior to joining TSYS, Pyke served as president of Bank of America Merchant Services. He also previously held the title of chief operating officer and executive vice president for National Processing Company, and served as vice president and chief credit officer of NaBANCO Merchant Services — a division of First Data Corporation — along with a variety of other positions in the payments and financial services industries.

Pyke holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University and master’s in business administration from the University of Michigan.

Paul Todd
Executive Vice President, Mergers, Acquisitions and Strategy
TSYS

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Paul Todd is executive vice president in mergers,  acquisitions and strategy, and serves on the management committee. He is responsible for developing strategies for leading TSYS into new and expanding markets in the United States and across the globe. He is also responsible for advising the company on acquisitions that serve to expand its corporate footprint in the future.

Todd returned to TSYS in 2008 from Synovus Financial Corp., where he was previously the President and Chief Executive Officer of Synovus Financial Management Services (FMS), including oversight for Synovus Mortgage and Synovus Insurance Services.  Prior to that role, Todd served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for FMS.  From 2002 - 2005, Todd was also responsible for corporate mergers and acquisitions at Synovus.  Before Synovus, Todd worked at TSYS in various capacities, beginning his career with The Procter & Gamble Company.

Todd earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Memphis and a master’s degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University.

Dorenda K. Weaver
Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
TSYS

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Dorenda Weaver is executive vice president and chief accounting officer, and serves on the management committee. A TSYS employee since 1985, Weaver is responsible for financial management, accounting, taxes, reporting, analysis and planning for TSYS and its subsidiaries worldwide.

A graduate of Columbus State University with a degree in accounting, Weaver also holds a master's degree from Troy State University, is a certified public accountant and a graduate of the ABA National School of Bank Card Management.

Weaver also serves the community in a number of roles. She is a member of the board of directors and executive committee of the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley. She also serves on the boards of the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame and the West Central Georgia Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Bruce L. Bacon
Group Executive
TSYS

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Bruce Bacon is group executive and serves on the management committee. Bacon is responsible for business development, North American sales and value-added product sales. He is also responsible for the TSYS Pricing Committee and works closely with product owners throughout the enterprise to ensure the alignment of price, product and promotion.

Bacon joined TSYS in 1996 as vice president of Interchange Accounting for International Services. He was instrumental in TSYS’ expansion into Europe, serving as managing director from the inception of TSYS Europe in 1999 and group executive of TSYS’ international operations in 2002.