PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: 1st USA Processor Hires Exec for Commercial Card

First USA Paymentech Inc. has named James W. Baumgartner president of First USA Financial Services, its Utah commercial card subsidiary.

First USA Paymentech, Dallas, got involved in the corporate card market last year, issuing cards through its Salt Lake City industrial bank. Mr. Baumgartner will start his new job there Monday.

Citing his desire to build something from scratch, Mr. Baumgartner, 35, said he would guide First USA Financial Services toward unifying its purchasing and corporate card programs.

"You're seeing the purchasing card and the corporate card come closer together," Mr. Baumgartner said. The concept is still "in its infancy," he added.

Mr. Baumgartner, who was senior vice president and general manager of corporate payment systems at First Bank System Inc., is the third from the Minneapolis bank's pool of commercial card executives to move on to a senior post in another financial company during the last two years.

In 1994, Fred O. Gumbel, who had headed First Bank's consumer and corporate card divisions, left to become head of Electronic Data Systems' electronic commerce division. In 1995, Kathryn Marinello, who was president of First Bank System card services, moved on to a senior vice presidency at First Data Resources, Omaha.

In his new job, Mr. Baumgartner will report to Pamela H. Patsley, president and chief executive officer of First USA Paymentech.

"We couldn't be more excited," said Ms. Patsley. "We needed someone who was a leader and has the depth of experience that Jim brings."

Paymentech is the unit of First USA Inc. that conducts the merchant processing and commercial card businesses of the Dallas-based credit card bank. In the merchant business, Paymentech processed nearly $24.6 billion of sales and nearly 446 million transactions last year, making it the third-largest processor of merchant payments in the country.

A consultant specializing in the corporate card industry said Mr. Baumgartner's experience is ideal for guiding First USA where it wants to go.

"Jim has a lot of great experience in the commercial card area," said Stanley W. Anderson, president of Anderson and Associates, a Denver consulting firm. "With Jim's strong knowledge of the consumer card industry, he could be a very dynamic leader for First USA."

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