Paul R. Garcia is Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN), one of the world's leading payment processing companies. He is a pioneer and leader in the financial and payments services industry, having served in management and executive management roles for thirty years. Garcia originally became Chief Executive Officer of NDC's Atlanta-based eCommerce line of business in June 1999. NDC eCommerce began operating as Global Payments Inc. on December 11, 2000, and the new company spun off from National Data on February 1, 2001.
From March 1997 until September 1998, Mr. Garcia was President and Chief Executive Officer of Productivity Point International, Inc. ("PPI, Inc."). PPI, Inc. is a leading provider of instructor-led information technology training to major corporate clients.
Prior to joining PPI, Mr. Garcia was Group President of First Data Issuing Services, a division of First Data Corporation. Mr. Garcia joined First Data Corporation in late 1995, following its merger with First Financial Management Corporation. At the time of the merger, Mr. Garcia was Chief Executive Officer of First Financial Bank and Chief Executive Officer of National Bancard Corporation (NaBANCO), the world's largest processor of merchant Visa and MasterCard transactions.
Mr. Garcia has served on a number of Boards of Directors, including the Global, U.S. and Latin American Boards of MasterCard International and the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA). Currently, Mr. Garcia is a director of Verso Technologies, Inc. In addition, Mr. Garcia is a Trustee of Pace Academy in Atlanta, GA and is a member of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Advisory Committee. Mr. Garcia is also a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and was honored recently as 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year� in Financial Services for Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, and named one of the best CEOs in America by Institutional Investor magazine.
Mr. Garcia is a graduate of Kentucky Military Institute, Louisville, Kentucky; Haberdashers Aske's School, Elstree, Herefordshire, England; and Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York. Mr. Garcia is 52 years old and resides in Atlanta with his wife and six children. |