Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

As group executive, Global Loyalty, for MasterCard Worldwide, Nandan Mer is responsible for developing and expanding the company’s suite of loyalty solutions, with a focus on enabling issuers to provide enhanced value to cardholders; and supporting merchants to attract and retain profitable consumers. Mer plays a critical role in helping MasterCard’s financial institution and merchant partners enhance their business relationships with MasterCard around the globe. Prior joining MasterCard, Mer spent 22 years with Citigroup, American Express & United Bank for Africa leading consumer and institutional banking businesses in locations such as Africa, China, India, Middle East, Russia and UK.

George Schmelzel joined UMB Financial Corporation in October 2006. As senior vice president and director of Credit Card Services for UMB, a $14.9 billion financial institution headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., with banking centers in seven states, George leads growth efforts for the Consumer Cards business within UMB’s footprint and nationally. With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, George has held senior marketing and technology roles at several large financial institutions, including Household International, Associates Corporation of North America and First National Bank Omaha. Additionally, George has been involved with numerous industry boards and committees, including the Visa Consumer Credit Council, The Pulse Network Advisory Board, Discover’s Issuer Advisory Council, and is the past chairman of Credit Card Software’s Advisory Board. George earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing from California State University, Chico, and attended the undergraduate and graduate American Banking Association (ABA) Bankcard Schools. 

Debt Collection Subject Matter Expert (SME) Gina McNaughton, a 20+ year ARM Industry veteran, leads The McNaughton Group, a boutique consulting firm, with her long-term established relationships, and years of proven results in the Healthcare accounts receivables’ sector. Gina McNaughton is also the former Regional Vice President of NCO Financial Systems Incorporated / NCO Group’s Healthcare Division of 16 years. She started in the original Blue Bell, PA office in 1990. She is heavily involved in Debt Collection Compliance. Recently she offered opinions to Assemblyman John Burzichelli of New Jersey, and was able to influence the outcome of the New Jersey FDCPA. She is the owner of the LinkedIn social networking Group, “Debt Collection FDCPA--FCRA--FACTA--GLBA--FTC Regulations Forum” -- the place to discuss best practices & share information about important regulations affecting the Debt Collection Industry. In addition, she is an active member of Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), American Association of Healthcare Administration Management (AAHAM), American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA),ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, California Association of Collectors (CAC), Inc, Professional Women of the Collections Industry (PWCI), National Association of Professional Women (NAPW), Board Member of the Orange County National Association of Professional Women (OCNAPW), Soroptimist International, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Collector Mentor Magazine.

Kurt Kendall is a Partner at Kurt Salmon and leads the firm’s Advanced Analytics and Big Data practice.  He advises companies in the retail and financial services industry on driving business impact from analytics.  He is an industry thought leader and is regularly quoted in leading business publications on the topics of analytics and the use of data in omnichannel retailing.  Prior experience includes co-leading McKinsey & Company’s Consumer Marketing Analytics Center and serving as Vice President at Sears Holdings where he led Strategy and Enterprise Decision Analytics.  Earlier in his career, Kurt worked for several professional services firms with a focus on business strategy, marketing, and analytics topics.  Kurt holds a Ph.D. from MIT and a B.S. from the University of Maryland. 

James is General Manager and SVP of Sunrise Prepaid solutions, a leading global prepaid processor and part of the Commercial & Retail Payments division of FIS. He is responsible for strategic direction, profitability, day to day operations, and go-to-market for Sunrise Prepaid globally. James joined FIS in 2011 as Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Global Commercial Services, FIS’ ITO and BPO business. In 2012, Mr. Hutchison was placed in charge of Prepaid Solutions. Prior to joining FIS, James Hutchison spent 15 years in the IT services industry holding positions in product management and business development for Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) and SAVVIS Inc. James Hutchison earned his Master’s Speech Communication and Bachelor’s in German from Radford University.

Jeffrey B. Wood is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel with Discover Financial Services and advises the student lending, personal lending, and deposits businesses of Discover on bank regulatory and compliance matters. He is a member of the Illinois Bar and previously served with HSBC, advising the auto finance, insurance, retail banking, and credit card units of HSBC and Household International. He graduated with Honors from the College of William and Mary and received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.

Kristen Hinton is the Debit and Prepaid Manager at VyStar Credit Union located in Jacksonville, Florida.  Kristen is responsible for the strategic growth and operations of VyStar’s debit and prepaid card portfolios.  She has more than 15 years of experience in payments previously managing VyStar’s credit portfolio and rewards program.  

As vice president of client services for RAZR Marketing, Paul provides strategy, leadership and direction to the agency’s account management team. Before becoming a partner in RAZR Marketing, Paul worked at Penn Garritano where he was the vice president of client services. Prior to that, Paul was at Carlson Marketing Group in various positions across sales, account management, awards and partnership marketing.