New First Data Management Team To Build On Strong Foundations In Germany

Frankfurt, May 18, 2010

First Data, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today announced the appointment of two new managing directors in Germany.

With the appointment of George Zafirakis and Wolfgang Heinrich as managing directors of the company’s issuing business, First Data brings two of its most experienced senior leaders to focus on the German market. The leadership of TeleCash, First Data’s network service provider in Germany, remains unchanged with Klaus Schoepflin as managing director.

George Zafirakis moves to Germany from his position as the leader of First Data’s operations in Turkey, Middle East and Africa (TMEA). Over the past five years, Mr. Zafirakis has built a significant business for First Data in this region, delivering processing and ATM services to leading banks from offices in Dubai and Istanbul.

Mr. Zafirakis was previously managing director of First Data’s operations in Greece. He joined First Data in 2004 having previously worked at American Management Systems, a business and IT consulting firm, in Europe and the United States. He has over 25 years of experience in the financial services and IT industries, working with Citibank, GE Information Services, Sungard Systems and Hogan Systems. During his career, Mr Zafirakis has lived and worked in Germany for several years and he is a fluent German speaker.

Wolfgang Heinrich is responsible for First Data’s service delivery organisation in Europe. In his new role, he will now also become directly involved in working with major clients in Germany, strengthening First Data’s key relationships in this important market.

Mr Heinrich joined First Data in 2007 and has had a distinguished career in the financial services industry, in Europe and the United States. He was previously chief operating officer and chief information officer at Renaissance Capital Consumer Finance in Moscow, with responsibility for banking operations, card operations, customer service, call centres and IT security. Before this, he was chief information officer at Riyad Bank and he spent more than six years as an executive vice president with Visa International in the USA and the UK. Prior to those roles he served five years as managing director of B+S Visa Card Services in Frankfurt and five years with IKOSS, Stuttgart, leading their Financial Services activities in Germany and Switzerland.

Mr. Zafirakis and Mr. Heinrich are appointed to their new roles as Stephan Becker steps back from the role of managing director in Germany. Over recent months, First Data has reorganised into global business lines that can bring the benefits of scale and First Data’s full product portfolio to customers in Germany. As a result of these changes, the role of managing director has changed to focus exclusively on sales and customer relationships. First Data and Stephan Becker have agreed that Mr. Becker will step back from his role as managing director with immediate effect and will leave the company at the end of 2010.

Paul Stanley, senior vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, First Data, said: “We thank Stephan Becker for his leadership over recent months and wish him every future success.  With its central role in Europe, Germany is a core market for First Data. We are fully committed to the growth and development of our business here and our new managing directors will build on the work of Mr. Becker to reinforce our client relationships and further extend our customer base.”

First Data delivers a comprehensive range of services to banks and merchants in Germany, through its issuing business and through TeleCash, a leading network services provider. First Data has invested heavily in its German data centre, consolidating technology here in support of its European operations. In recent months, the company has announced the renewal of major contracts with Commerzbank and with ConCardis in Germany. 

About First Data
First Data powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services using virtually any form of electronic payment. Whether the choice of payment is a gift card, a credit or debit card or a check, First Data securely processes the transaction and harnesses the power of the data to deliver intelligence and insight for millions of merchant locations and thousands of card issuers in 36 countries. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.

Contact
Andrea Pansegrau, First Data
+49 (0) 69 7933 1686
andrea.pansegrau@firstdata.de