TSYS Europe Gets New Managing Director, Appoints Senior Leadership Team
Depth of Card Knowledge to Benefit European Issuers
Columbus, Ga., Aug. 15, 2001 — International card executive Roger Van Scoy has been tapped to lead TSYS Europe, the European operations of TSYS® (NYSE: "TSS"), a global payments processing leader. As Managing Director, Van Scoy will be responsible for all aspects of TSYS operations in Europe, and he will lead a senior management team with more than 116 years combined industry experience. Van Scoy was promoted from Senior Director and COO to succeed TSYS Managing Director Bruce Bacon who will return to corporate headquarters to manage the company’s global business development initiatives.
"Much of the credit for the success of our European operations has to be attributed to Bruce’s leadership. Bruce selected a strong leadership team that included Roger and was successful in attracting five significant clients to TSYS in 2000, " said TSYS Chairman of the Board and CEO, Richard W. Ussery. "I’m confident Bruce is leaving TSYS Europe in very capable hands. Roger has a wealth of expertise that will complement TSYS Europe and provide valuable leadership as we continue to work towards our goal for international operations to contribute 20 percent of the company’s revenues by 2003."
"TSYS Europe is well poised to serve customers in the cards business throughout Europe with our flexible, functionality-rich processing platforms and our highly skilled customer-focused team under Roger’s leadership," said former Managing Director Bacon.
According to industry sources, there are a little more than 300 million credit and debit association-branded cards in the European card market. Of these, 90-95 million are credit cards. By year-end 2001, it is expected that TSYS Europe will process between eight to 10 percent of the Visa and MasterCard-branded credit cards in Western Europe.
The TSYS Europe Executive Management Team
"We have an energized and talented management team with an extraordinary depth of knowledge focused on the European transactions processing industry," said Van Scoy. "I look forward to offering our client-centered TSYS services throughout the continent and am very pleased with the team and technology we have in place to help our customers reach their objectives."
Roger Van Scoy
Van Scoy is a card executive with more than 26 years in the credit card and transaction processing industry. He has demonstrated leadership and achievements both domestically and internationally in general management, contract negotiations, sales, product management, operations management and client services. While at TSYS Europe, Roger has been responsible for client services, account management and human resources. Prior to joining TSYS, Van Scoy worked as a card processor executive in England. Just prior to that, he managed a processor’s business in the Asia Pacific market. A University of Texas graduate and former lecturer for the ABA BankCard School, Roger held leadership positions with First USA, First Fidelity Bank, EDS and First Data Corporation.
TSYS further strengthened its leadership team by assigning two card industry executives to new posts: Senior Director of Operations and Business Support and Senior Director of Business Expansion.
Senior Director of Operations and Business Support: Lester Pulsford
A 29-year card industry veteran, Lester Pulsford, Senior Director of Operations and Business Support, manages the TSYS Europe Data Center and client services. Formerly employed with National Westminster Bank PLC, Pulsford specializes in data center environmental, operational and technical management. In addition, he is experienced in the administration and development of financial IT systems including smart card technology.
Senior Director of Business Expansion: Bob Evans
As Senior Director of Business Expansion, Bob Evans is responsible for directing sales and consulting activities at TSYS Europe in addition to business development strategy. Formerly with DMR Consulting where he led the UK Financial Services Practice, Evans also worked with Lloyds Bank, serving on the Cards Executive Team and representing Lloyds at scheme and industry forums. He joined TSYS Europe in December 2000 and brings more than 10 years cards experience to the organization.
About TSYS:
TSYS brings integrity and innovation to the world of electronic payments. TSYS serves as the integral link between buyers and sellers in the rapidly evolving universe of electronic payments. With more than 200 million accounts on file, TSYS makes it possible for millions of consumers to use their credit, debit, stored value, commercial, chip and retail cards anytime, anywhere through any medium or portal. TSYS offers a full range of acquiring and issuing services from accepting electronic payments for goods and services, to credit applications, collections and bankruptcy. Based in Columbus, Ga., TSYS (NYSE: "TSS") (www.tsys.com) processes for 23 countries in 14 currencies and four languages and maintains operations in Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom. TSYS is an 80.8 percent-owned subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: "SNV") (www.synovus.com), No. 8 on FORTUNE magazine’s list of "The 100 Best Companies To Work For" in 2001. For more information, contact news@tsys.com.
Contacts:
Danita Gibson-Lloyd
Director, Corporate Communications
ph. 706.649.5578
dglloyd@tsys.com
Leo Berard
Investor Relations
ph. 706.644.6081
leoberard@synovus.com
This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding TSYS’ expected increases in revenues attributable to international clients and the percentage of Visa and MasterCard credit cards expected to be processed by TSYS in Western Europe Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements in this press release. Many of these factors are beyond TSYS’ ability to control or predict. The factors include, but are not limited to, lower than anticipated internal growth rates for TSYS' existing customers, TSYS' inability to control expenses and increased market share, TSYS’ inability to successfully bring new products to market, including, but not limited to stored value and e-commerce products, the inability of TSYS to grow its business through acquisitions, adverse developments with respect to entering into contracts with new clients and retaining current clients, the merger of TSYS clients with entities that are not TSYS clients, TSYS’ inability to anticipate and respond to technological changes, particularly with respect to e-commerce adverse developments with respect to the successful conversion of clients, the absence of significant changes in foreign exchange spreads between the United States and the countries TSYS transacts business in, to include Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and the European Union, adverse developments with respect to the credit card industry in general and overall market conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in this press release can be found in TSYS' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations.