Smart Card Alliance Announces New Board Leadership for 2006

Smart Card Alliance Announces New Board Leadership for 2006

Chairman and Executive Committee Named at Annual Conference

Princeton Junction, NJ, October 18, 2005–The Smart Card Alliance today announced the new chair and its seven-member 2005-2006 executive committee. The new Alliance board of directors held elections for the executive committee at the organization’s fall annual conference in Miami last week. The executive committee, chosen by the full board, will lead and direct Alliance activities for the year ahead.

Greg Garback, executive officer, department of finance for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in Washington, DC, was elected chair. Garback has represented WMATA at Alliance meetings and events since 1999 and has served on the board of directors since 2002.

“This industry is poised for significant growth in the deployment of smart card-based systems, especially in the contactless payment, identity management and transportation arenas over the next several years. The members and board will continue to work together with Randy Vanderhoof, our executive director, to expand programs aimed at advancing the use of smart card technology in both existing and new markets,” Garback said.

Outgoing Alliance Chair Kevin Gillick, head of corporate marketing for the Datacard Group, said, “The tremendous expansion of smart card technology in both North and Latin America is quite exciting. In 2005 the industry expects to ship more than 132 million units in North America and 136.4 million in Latin America–with explosive growth anticipated for the next five years.”

The executive committee includes the following board members:

  • Greg Garback, chair–executive officer of finance and program development for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
  • Linda Brown, vice chair–manager, business development, Infineon Technologies
  • Mike Weekes, treasurer–principal, IBM Global Smart Card Solutions
  • Alex Giakoumis, secretary, director of corporate business development, smart card and secure microcontroller ICs, Atmel Corporation
  • Francine Dubois, assistant treasurer–vice president of marketing, Oberthur Card Systems
  • Wendy Humphrey, assistant secretary–vice president transaction devices, First Data Corporation
  • Bryan Ichikawa, technology vice chair–solutions architect, Unisys

The four other members newly elected or re-elected to the Alliance board include:

  • Kevin Gillick, head of corporate marketing, Datacard Group
  • Mark McGovern, chief technologist, Lockheed Martin
  • Bob Merkert, vice president of sales, Americas, SCM Microsystems
  • Ernie Berger, president, Gemplus North America

Re-elected observing board members are:

  • General membership, Ralph Billeri, senior manager, BearingPoint, Inc.
  • Government, John Moore, chair of Federal Smart Card Project Managers, GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy

Other returning board members are:

  • Paul Beverly, president, Americas, Axalto
  • Robert Wilberger, senior executive, identity management solutions, Northrop Grumman Corporation
  • Chuck Wilson, director of solutions delivery, Hitachi
  • Patrick Gauthier, senior vice president, innovation, Visa International
  • Ken Moy, vice president, eCommerce and eB2B, MasterCard International

The board’s priorities for 2006 include: addressing how smart cards resolve growing public security and privacy concerns; continued cross-industry discussions on common business applications and technology standards and thought leadership on issues that influence the accelerated adoption of smart cards in both the United States and Latin America.

The executive committee election was held during the Smart Card Alliance 13th fall annual conference, where smart card industry leaders gathered to discuss ‘Smart Cards: The Issuer and User Experience.’ The four-day event featured presentations from experts, analysts and end users on how smart cards are being used to deliver benefits in each industry segment and what the future of the smart card industry looks like. The conference had an exciting new addition–the expansion of the program to cover smart card innovations and use in both the United States and Latin America.

Smart card-based systems verify, authenticate, and protect a cardholder’s identity and personal information and are used worldwide for secure identification, payment, transit and mobile communications applications by major financial institutions, retailers, government and healthcare organizations and enterprises. More information is available at https://www.securetechalliance.org.

About the Smart Card Alliance

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology. Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information please visit https://www.securetechalliance.org.