Editorial Board

Charles Marc Abbey is Managing Partner of First Annapolis, leading the company's acquiring practice, and has been responsible for the firm's international expansion. Marc has advised clients throughout North America, South America and Europe. He advises clients on a full range of tactical and strategic matters including new acceptance markets, pricing tactics, retention strategies, product strategy and M&A transactions. Marc is a frequent speaker at leading industry events and has written widely on topics in transaction processing. Marc has a MBA from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and joined First Annapolis at its inception in 1991.

Sean Banks joined TTV in 2002 as a summer associate and returned to TTV in 2005. He currently serves as a principal and has more than seven years of venture capital experience. Prior to joining TTV, Sean served as the Vice President of Finance and General Counsel for an Atlanta-based technology start-up company. He is currently a member of the Technology Association of Georgia's Executive Steering Committee for its Fin Tech initiative and he heads up the Fin Tech Innovation Institute for that group. He earned his M.B.A. from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University where he was one of five Woodruff Fellows. Sean is currently a member of the Georgia Bar Association, having earned his J.D. at the University of San Diego in 2001. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where he earned a B.S. degree in economics

Deborah Baxley is a principal with Capgemini Financial Services Consulting. She is a recognized expert in the payments industry and 30-year IBM veteran with 20 years consulting experience in 14 countries. She possesses in-depth experience in mobile payments and credit cards. She is an officer on the Smart Card Alliance Payments Council, advisory Board Member at Brighter Planet, socially responsible company helping manage and mitigate carbon emissions using cutting-edge analytics linked to payment cards, and a Certified Smart Card Industry Professional. She is a frequent keynote speaker and prolific author on topics of mobile and advanced payments innovation.

Carol Coye Benson is a founding partner of Glenbrook Partners, a payments industry strategy consulting firm.  Carol's work is concentrated on mobile payments in the U.S. market, business-to-business payments and bill payments, with a focus on product strategy around consumer and business adoption of new payment methods. Carol has more than 25 years of experience in financial services product, marketing, and strategy development with leading financial services providers.

Virginia Ann Holman is Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Communications at TSYS. A 15-year veteran of the payments industry, she leads the team responsible for TSYS global brand, design, internal and external communications, research, product marketing, events, Web presence and preservation of the TSYS corporate culture. Known to many as "V.A.," she has been instrumental in marketing strategy for the TS2 platform; the initial branding of TSYS; product communication; mergers and acquisitions communication; and the company's 2007 spin-off from Synovus. She currently serves on the board for the Prepaid International Forum (PIF), a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to prepaid commerce around the world. She is active in civic and non-profits, formally serving on the Board of Managers for her alma mater, Wesleyan, and the Board of Communications for the College of Charleston.

Kenneth Howes is an independent consultant and strategic advisor to the payments industry, having retired as a Director of Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC), the global management consultancy, at the end of 2009.  Within EDC, Ken led high-profile and leading-edge assignments for blue chip organizations in many countries throughout the world. These included business growth, product, competitive and international expansion strategies and due diligence projects in payments, financial services and related sectors. Ken has been at the forefront of all significant developments in the payments industry for three decades. Before joining EDC in 1996, he spent 26 years with Midland/HSBC bank where he held a range of executive management positions including Head of Global Cards, Electronic Banking Director and Head of Payments Strategy and Emerging Markets. Ken is a Sloan Fellow of the London Business School. 

Marilynn T. Mobley is Senior Vice President and Strategic Counsel for Edelman, the world's largest public relations firm. There, she provides insights and counsel to executive-level clients across multiple industries. Her 30+ years as a professional communicator also include having been a newspaper reporter, an IBM executive and the founder of a successful PR consulting firm. She actively blogs and tweets and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

Steve Mott is a 25-year veteran of the electronic payments industry, specializing in transaction economics, innovative uses of debit networks, authentication and security technologies, and emerging alternative payments types and venues such as stored value, online and mobile commerce and transacting over social networks. As principal of BetterBuyDesign, a payments consultancy, Steve conducts strategy, product, technology and market assessments for banks, processors, networks, technology providers and merchants, and advises a number of investment firms on industry trends and developments. You can reach him at stevemottusa@yahoo.com.

Joanne Robinson is founder and CEO of Commercial Payments International and has been in the cards and payments area since 1979 when she began her career at Citibank and worked for MasterCard and Diners Club before starting her own consulting business in 1994. In 2007, Joanne founded Commercial Payments International to fill a market gap for premium research, data and analysis in the commercial cards and payments industry. Joanne's career has focused on the global aspects of the cards and payments industry, and she has worked with issuers and acquirers in more than 40 countries. She is a frequent speaker and chairperson of industry conferences around the globe. Joanne received her MBA from New York University in 1981.

Dr. Patricia A. Sahm is senior manager at Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group's (CG) advisory services team. CG is a management consulting and technology firm focused on clients in the financial services industry. Patricia leads CG's Customer Experience and Channels Practice. She has a particular interest in how customer experience mitigates risk for her clients. A McKinsey alumna, she consults with clients as they examine the impact of technology on the shift from traditional channels (mail, branch, contact center) to digital channels (online, mobile, email, and social). She is also an expert in the impact of consumer demographic and behavioral changes on the financial services ecosystem. Patricia earned her doctorate from Case Western Reserve University in information systems and organizational behavior.

Matt Simester is a managing Director at Auriemma Consulting and leads the firm's International and Payments Insights practices. He has almost 20 years of experience within financial services and has built a reputation as an outstanding strategist who is able to use his operational, product distribution, channel management and payments industry insights to deliver high-value returns to clients in North America and Europe. Matt has been responsible for marketing and product management at the Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank, VP of Marketing at Affinion and most recently, prior to his current position, was Managing Director of a Barclaycard JV and Head of Value-Added Services at Barclaycard Business.

Scott Talbott is the Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at The Financial Services Roundtable, where he manages the daily legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts. Talbott serves as counsel to the organization and runs the Roundtable's Political Action Committee. He also manages the Roundtable's relationship with the local and national media. Scott Talbott joined the Roundtable in 1994 after working in the tax departments of Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young. He received his B.A. from Georgetown University, cum laude, and his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law.

Karen Webster, CEO of Market Platform Dynamics, works extensively with the most innovative players in the financial services, mobile, B2B and technology sectors to identify, ignite and monetize innovation. This work often includes the development of new products, platforms, business models and ignition plans. As an entrepreneur, Karen has successfully developed and launched several new ventures in the loyalty, online media, and social networking sectors, each of which was focused on introducing disruptive business models and product solutions to fill a market need. This includes PYMNTS.com, the leading media property focused innovation in the payments sector and a joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway's Business Wire. Karen also serves as a member of the board for several emerging companies and helps these innovators develop and implement business strategies that drive market adoption for their products and services. Karen is a frequent speaker and author of numerous articles on the sources of innovation, strategy, loyalty, product design/bundling and pricing and platform strategies.