Verifone Inc., the leading supplier of point of sale terminals to U.S. merchants, has shuffled its management team, positioning the company to compete in the changing global financial transaction marketplace.
At the helm, John Hinds, previously vice president of the international division, assumes the new role of executive vice president, responsible for worldwide field marketing, sales, service, and support.
All U.S. business units and international regions will fall under Mr. Hinds' direction.
Verifone, based in Redwood City, Calif., develops, manufactures, markets, and supports Transaction Automation systems. The 12-year-old company has installed about 3.6 million systems to date in more than 80 countries.
Michael T. Schmidt, vice president of Prudential Securities Inc., points out that as electronic transactions become more global in nature, it's no longer good enough to concentrate just on U.S. markets. A company like Verifone has to take more of a global approach, he said.
"The opportunities internationally are very large," said Mr. Hinds. But, he adds, "the opportunities are equally compelling in the states -- there's a substantial opportunity for growth even in traditional markets."
Mr. Hinds, 58, joined Verifone in March 1993, bringing more than 30 years of managerial experience to the job.
He spent 10 years at AT&T, most recently as president of AT&T International.
Before that, he worked for 11 years at General Electric Co. in a variety of management positions, including vice president of Latin American business development.
"What I bring [to Verifone] is a strong background in sales marketing and general management," said Mr. Hinds. Hatim A. Tyabji, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Verifone, said that under Mr. Hinds' direction, the company's international business grew 36%, contributing one-quarter of the $258.9 million annual net revenues earned in 1993.
Mr. Schmidt said that putting Mr. Hinds in the executive position will give the chairman the freedom to enhance his relationships with transaction providers, sharing their vision for the future, while Mr. Hinds caters to clients' current needs.
"Hatim does want to spend more time on the strategic side of the business, although he continues to play an important operating role," said Mr. Hinds.
As the dominant player in the point of sale authorization terminal business, Verifone accounted for more than 60% of the one million terminals sold last year, according to POS News, a Chicago-based newsletter. Hypercom Inc. ranks second.
Further shoring up its management team, Verifone promoted Gary L. Grant to vice president and general manager of U.S. financial retail markets. He is responsible for core payment systems and original equipment manufacture.
Kent D. Smith, is moving from director and general manager of integrated systems division to vice president and general manager of U.S. emerging markets, responsible for the petroleum and convenience-store, multi-lane retail, health care, and government benefits segments in the United States.
