Visa Smart Card Exec Jumping to Mondex As Technology Chief

Peter R. Hill, a senior member of Visa International's smart card team, is crossing over to the competition.

Mr. Hill will join Mondex International, soon to be a MasterCard subsidiary, later this month as its first chief technology officer.

He spent five years at Visa. As executive vice president of payment technology, he developed Visa Cash, Visa's flagship stored-value card program. He also participated in the development of the chip card interoperability standard known as EMV, for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa.

Relocating to London, Mr. Hill will be responsible for technical development, security, and standards for the smart card system developed by National Westminster Bank. The London bank spun off Mondex International last July to a 17-bank global consortium, and MasterCard International announced its intention in November to acquire 51% of the company.

Visa Cash and Mondex, though both employing chip technology, have intensely debated some substantial differences. Mondex permits card-to-card transactions, which can operate like anonymous cash exchanges but are less auditable than the Visa alternative. Because Visa Cash is traceable, some government officials have said they are more comfortable with it than with Mondex, which they view as more susceptible to fraud.

Mr. Hill was not available to comment on his new role. In a written statement, he said he aims to "ensure (Mondex) becomes the leading chip operating platform and an integral part of our everyday lives.'

Visa is "sorry to see him leave," said a spokesman for the card association in San Francisco. He added that Visa has "developed a deep bench of expertise internally and a system that is well entrenched. We'll pursue our objectives without interruption."

Though Mr. Hill's switch may seem like a defection, sources said he was essentially restructured out of a senior-level position when Visa announced a major realignment of its international staff groups last August.

Mr. Hill was "not one of the winners in the reorganization," said a source who asked to remain anonymous.

Before joining Visa, Mr. Hill spent 13 years at Bank of America, where his last post was senior vice president of technology and telecommunications. Holder of a master's degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University, he started his career in 1962 at International Business Machines Corp. and was responsible for development of that company's first relational data base product.

Mr. Hill will report to Mondex chief executive officer Michael Keegan.

Dan Cunningham, senior vice president of Phoenix Planning & Development, a Rockville, Md.-based consulting firm, called the appointment a "good move for Pete Hill and for Mondex. Pete brings a wealth of experience and knowledge. He will be a real asset" as chief technology officer.

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