TSYS Bolsters Tech Bench with a Processing and Mobile Vet

As it charts a long-term digital payment strategy, TSYS has hired Karim Ahmad, a management consultant with a background in financial technology, to be as head of global product and innovation.

Ahmad has more than 20 years of management experience and most recently was a partner at Bain & Co., where he led key engagements with clients in payment processing, mobile strategy and strategic partnerships, according to an August 22 press release from the Columbus, Ga.-based TSYS.

In his new post as an executive vice president, Ahmad will report to Pam Joseph, TSYS’ president and chief operating officer, who came out of retirement this year to become TSYS’ president and chief operating officer. Joseph, who has been honored as one of the Most Influential Women in Payments and Most Powerful Women in Banking, had been vice chair of U.S. Banks' payments division for more than a decade until she left in 2015.

Ahmad will focus on accelerating TSYS’ product development efforts and speed-to-market capabilities, Joseph said in the release.

“I’m thrilled to be joining a company and team of this caliber,” Ahmad added.

Ahmad previously served in a variety of roles at the International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank Group. He holds advanced degrees in the arts and in business administration from Columbia University and the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

TSYS has been adding talent to its senior management ranks following the retirement of longtime CEO Philip W. Tomlinson in 2014.

Like most older payment processors, TSYS is rapidly adding new technology and services to accommodate mobile payments, digital wallets and other innovations. That includes the recent announcement that TSYS would acquire Transfirst  to bolster the processor's ability to offer payments technology across diverse online and mobile channels.