Governance

Edward Grzedzinski is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NOVA Information Systems. He also served as Vice Chairman of US Bancorp from July of 2001 until November of 2004.

Mr. Grzedzinski has over 25 years of experience in the electronic payments and financial services industries and is most noted for his role in co-founding NOVA Information Systems in 1991. With his leadership, NOVA became the fourth largest merchant payment processor in the United States. In July 2001, NOVA successfully merged with US Bancorp, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary, and today is the country's third largest payment processor serving more than 800,000 merchant locations with processing volume in excess of $140 billion per year. Mr. Grzedzinski also served as a member of the Managing Committee of US Bancorp, and as a member of the Board of Directors of US Bank, NA.

In addition to his duties with NOVA and US Bancorp, Mr. Grzedzinski was the Chairman of euroConex Technologies, Limited, a pan-European payment processing joint venture originally owned by NOVA and the Bank of Ireland, and now a wholly owned subsidiary of US Bancorp. Mr. Grzedzinski served on the Board of Directors of Indus International, a global provider of enterprise asset management products and services, from early 2002 through October of 2004. In December of 2004 he was named to the Board of Directors of Neenah Paper, Inc., a former subsidiary of Kimberly Clark, where he serves as a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. In May of 2006, he joined the Board of Directors of Marlin Business Services, Inc., and serves as a member of the Compensation Committee.

Prior to founding NOVA, Mr. Grzedzinski held various management positions with National Data Corporation, Telenet Communications Corporation, Crocker National Bank and Advance Mortgage Corporation.

For his role in driving NOVA Information Systems to the forefront of the electronic payments industry, Ernst & Young named Mr. Grzedzinski a 2001 Southeast Region "Entrepreneur of the Year," and he was a finalist for the "2001 National Entrepreneur
of the Year" award. In 2004, Mr. Grzedzinski was named by the United States Congress as a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Mr. Grzedzinski is an advisor and contributor to the Atlanta chapter of the Board of Directors Network, an organization dedicated to the promotion of women directors for US-based businesses. He is also a contributor to the charitable work of the TOMA Foundation (Tribal Outreach Medical Assistance), and is the owner of GRZ Management, LLC, which oversees the activities of several charitable foundations. He resides with his wife Kathleen in Alpharetta, Georgia.

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Greg L. Jackson joined Blum Capital in 2003 as a Partner and is co-head of the investment committee. He currently serves as a director on the board of directors for AxisPointe, Inc. and Veracity Payment Solutions, both portfolio companies. In addition to his responsibilities for sourcing new investment opportunities and co-managing the investment portfolios, Mr. Jackson also oversees the investment research process with John Park. Prior to joining Blum Capital, Mr. Jackson spent 6 years at Harris Associates LP where he was the Co-Portfolio Manager of the Oakmark Global Fund (which received a Morningstar 5 star rating during his tenure) from its inception in August of 1999 through October of 2003. In addition, Mr. Jackson was a Partner at Harris Associates LP and an Investment Analyst of domestic equities. Prior to joining Harris Associates LP, Mr. Jackson was a Partner, Portfolio Manager and Investment Analyst with Yacktman Asset Management. In prior years, Mr. Jackson served as a regional manager for Roberts-Slade Inc. and a corporate consultant for Baxter International Inc. Mr. Jackson received his BS from the University of Utah and his MBA from the University of Chicago.

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Executive Leadership

Among the company's founding executives, Joseph Cohane has more than 22 years of global executive-level experience in the electronic payment industry and merchant acquisitions; including operational responsibilities with Citibank, Global Payment Systems, NOVA Information Systems and U.S. Bancorp.

Cohane strategically participated in the development of two successful start-up companies; he joined NOVA in 1992, where he orchestrated the successful integration of the merchant-acquiring portfolios associated with Wachovia Bank, Regions Banks and MBNA. As Chief Operations Officer for euroConex Technologies, located in Dublin, Ireland, Cohane pioneered NOVA's initial entry into European markets, securing its first joint venture outside of the United States with Bank of Ireland in 2000. euroConex Technologies was recognized as the best European Merchant Acquirer in 2005.

Cohane has also held executive positions in all business disciplines within the merchant-acquiring industry, including Portfolio Acquisitions and Conversions, Credit and Risk Management, Product Development, International Operations, New Business Development, Global Pricing and Profitability Strategies.

Cohane has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, from St. Francis University of Pennsylvania.

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Stephanie Sharp is responsible for the company's overall financial performance and planning, development of lender and investor relationships, operational accounting management and human resources.

Sharp began her career with Coopers and Lybrand as an auditor. Her diverse clientele consisted of industries ranging from manufacturing to banking. She has broad knowledge in the areas of business financial statement compilation, establishing general ledger systems including accounts payable and receivable, as well as payroll management.

Sharp has more than 15 years of experience in accounting and finance, including significant experience in the electronic payment industry. She joined NOVA Information Systems in 1991, as Vice President and Controller. She established the accounting department and the successful financial integration associated with the consolidation of four operating businesses and more than fifty merchant portfolio purchases. She has participated in executive level investor relations encompassing critical financial activities, such as public earnings release, investment banker due diligence and SEC filings.

Sharp has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Georgia

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Grant Putre has 25 years of international experience in information systems architecture and management. Putre has spent the last 18 years in the merchant acquiring industry, developing electronic payment processing systems and point-of-sale products with leading card payment processing companies. Putre joined NOVA Information Systems in 1991, on its inception, and played a key role in the development of the company's industry leading authorization and data capture systems for card acquiring.

Putre also served as Chief Information Officer for euroConex Technologies headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Putre oversaw the creation of the technology platform for processing card payments across the European market and the development of euroConex's suite of point-of-sale and e-commerce payment products.

As a member of euroConex's executive management team, Putre guided its strategic technology initiatives and successfully accomplished the challenges associated with European cross-border processing regulations, multi-currency and foreign exchange, chip-card integration and pan-European point-of-sale product design and development.

Putre has a Bachelor of Business, Accountancy from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Australia.

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Senior Management Leadership

Lisa Hyde has more than 20 years of experience in finance and accounting, with over 10 years in the credit card payment industry. Prior to Veracity, she held several key financial management positions with a top five payment organization. Her responsibilities included treasury, budgeting, domestic and international finance for acquisitions, as well as fiscal management projects involving multi-currency accounting services within the United States and Canada.

Lisa began her career as staff accountant for HBO and Company and was responsible for accounting and financial management. As Veracity’s Controller and Senior Vice President of Accounting and Finance, she will oversee accounting, budgeting, and merchant settlement.

Hyde has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Georgia.

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Tony Walsh has over 15 years in the payment industry. Previously, Walsh worked as the Vice President of National Accounts Sales and Specialty Market Business Development, leading senior sales teams for Elavon's (formerly Nova Information Systems) alliance bank partners.

Walsh started his career in the payments industry in 1995 with Ingenico U.S.A (Formerly IVI Checkmate) where he held roles in product marketing and sales channel development. Walsh was also successful in leading new vertical market sales and channel initiatives when he joined First Data Corporation (formerly Concord EFS) in 1999.

Walsh will oversee all aspects of business development including marketing, channel sales, partner services programs and specialty products sales for Veracity.

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Brenda L. Stein, senior vice president of operational excellence is responsible for telesales, customer service and client training. Stein is a respected leader with more than 15 years experience in the payment processing industry. Her extensive experience and knowledge crosses a multi-level of cross functional responsibilities in alliance bank sales, bank referral sales, associations, credit, risk management, and portfolio management.

Prior to Veracity, Stein successfully served as vice president and general manager for multiple west coast alliance bank relationships at NOVA, executing strategic revenue and marketing growth plans including branch training and incentives that generated approximately $11.6 million in new business with annual portfolio revenues of $82.9 million.

Stein also established a successful trade association and alliance bank referral telemarketing center with national organizations such as a leading member club retail warehouse. This venture included the introduction of co-branding opportunities that enhancement program effectiveness and efficiencies for the inbound/outbound call center.

Stein was a 2006 Executive Circle award recipient for outstanding achievement and recognized by her channel bank clients for her dedication, innovation and passion for service excellence. Stein resides in Aiken, South Carolina with her husband and family.

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Les Freeman has more than 28 years of executive leadership in Risk Management and Loss Prevention in the electronic payment industry and retail sector. Freeman is a 9 year veteran of the payment services industry and has served in multiple risk management executive positions, domestically and internationally.

Most recently, Freeman was responsible for leading the Loss Prevention (merchant risk monitoring), Chargeback’s, Collections and Risk Assessment Management teams for a merchant acquiring portfolio of 800,000 merchants; processing over 90 billion in annual credit card volume. He was integral in leading the development and implementation of an industry leading proprietary advanced risk management system, with integrated scorecard and real-time electronic payment monitoring systems.

Additionally, Freeman was responsible for risk management strategies and the integration of risk technology at euroConex Technologies Ltd., a top four acquirer in the European marketplace, as the company acquired and executed the conversion of merchant credit card portfolios in England, Poland and Germany.

Prior to his career in the payment industry, Freeman held executive positions in Retail Loss Prevention with nationally recognized retailers such as Federated Department Store, Macy's, Kohl's and Parisian.

Freeman holds a bachelor degree in forensic studies from Indiana University, and masters in criminology from Indiana State University.

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Laura Rogers has over 25 years of industry experience having worked with two of the industry’s leading payment processors and was one of the principal owners of PinnaclePay Merchant Services. Prior to joining Veracity Payment Solutions, Rogers
co-founded PinnaclePay Merchant Services in 2002, an independent sales organization, and held the position of Chief Executive Officer, until the company was acquired by Veracity Payment Solutions in 2008

The span of Roger's career prior to PinnaclePay included key positions with Paymentech and Global Payment Systems (formerly National Data Corporation). Rogers headed all legal, human resources, corporate quality, mergers, acquisitions and corporate training in her last role with Paymentech. Rogers also served more than 10 years with Global Payment Systems in various roles including as Director of Product Strategy.

Rogers earned her MBA from Georgia State University and her BBA in Management and Marketing from North Georgia College.

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AnnJo Huwer, vice president of marketing and brand management has solid experience working in the corporate arena for small and mid-size companies with multiple product lines and business groups. With a professional career span of more than 17 years, Huwer spent the last 12 years in the payments industry with an extensive background in operations, sales, marketing and product development. Huwer is responsible for developing corporate marketing programs, brand management, corporate communications, media relations, customer insight and advertising.

Huwer formerly worked at Electronic Exchange Systems (EXS) as director of marketing and was promoted to vice president of strategic planning, leading the initiatives for the development of the company’s community bank referral program. Prior to leaving EXS, Huwer launched the company’s first not-for-profit affinity program called Processing for a Cause, which allowed not-for-profit organizations to benefit from automated donations funded through the payment processing and referral programs.

Prior to EXS, Huwer worked at NOVA Information Systems and successfully led the marketing initiatives involved in the sales rollout of the company’s new electronic gift card program. She also coordinated the product and customer marketing functions for channel clients such as Costco, MBNA and hundreds of Regional Sales, ISO and Community Bank relationships.

Huwer graduated with distinction from Shorter College of Rome, Georgia with a master’s in business organizational leadership and with Honors, Phi Beta Delta with a BS in business management.

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With more than 25 years in the banking and credit card industry, Elizabeth Bohlen has experienced firsthand the rapid changes in the product and technology landscapes in both the issuing and acquiring industries. Bohlen will manage new business development with key bank clients and overseeing all marketing, retention and growth initiatives for Veracity. Prior to Veracity, Bohlen has served in various roles such as Vice President and Bank Officer with First Interstate Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and TransFirst LLC. With numerous industry awards and accolades, Bohlen is most proud of her recognition from MasterCard for her role in the "Choose to Make a Difference" cause-marketing program and its influence on the City of Denver, her hometown.

An active participant in several not for profit organizations including Make a Wish Foundation, and The Alzheimer Association. Ms. Bohlen holds degrees from Arapahoe College and Metropolitan State College both in Business Administration and Law Enforcement/Criminal Investigation.

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Madhu Katasani has more than 14 years experience in the information technology field and is responsible for design, development, implementation and support of databases & database related applications at Veracity.

Katasani began his career in the bankcard industry moving up the ranks as Director of Database Development at Elavon (formerly Nova Information Systems). In this role, Katasani was involved in the design, development, implementation and support management of database applications and integration, as well as responsibilities with the implementation of company’s PCI security standards.

Madhu has a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University in Andhra Pradesh, India and pursuing an MBA from Georgia State University.

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Gene Budd is vice president of product and information technology at Veracity. Budd began his career in the payment industry in 1997, as Director of Windows Systems and Help Desk for one of the leading payment providers. As a member of the leadership team that went to Ireland to set up euroConex Technologies Ltd., he was responsible for the development and execution of the Windows-based midrange systems, and successfully launched one of the first Windows 2000\Exchange 2000 Active Directory infrastructures in Europe.

Prior to his extensive career in the payment industry, Budd was vice president of Dooley Helicopters, LTD, an Atlanta based company. He led the responsibilities for all systems operations and developed one of the first computer-based flight and duty tracking maintenance systems. This system kept track of all pilot flights and schedule times that were approved by the FAA.

Leading the systems and technology team at Veracity, Budd will also manage the company's business continuity initiatives, security compliances and disaster recovery requirements.

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Binu Varghese has over 20 years of experience in the financial and energy markets. Varghese is responsible for the development of virtual solutions including Veracity's web-based information portal, myVeracity. Prior to his current role with Veracity, Varghese was one of the founders of Lumenor, an energy billing and CRM solutions provider and was responsible for overseeing e-commerce business strategies and business development in the Asian markets.

Varghese also held the position of Executive Vice President for Phoenix Solutions Inc., based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and lead the development of systems integration products that served major financial institutions such as PNC Bank and Mellon Bank. The integration technology was based on JP Morgan risk models and utilized by top energy companies worldwide for commodity trading. Varghese also served as the Systems Officer for Indian Oil Corporation.

Varghese has a degree in computer and software engineering from Madurai Kamaraj University in India

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