Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., a Warren, Mich., buyer of charged-off consumer receivables, has hired Rion B. Needs, a card industry veteran, from American Express Co. to fill the new position of chief operating officer.
Mr. Needs will manage collections, information technology, and corporate strategy. He said in a press release Monday that he would seek to "maximize operations efficiencies."
He will report to Brad Bradley, the company's president and chief executive.
Asset Acceptance said that in his last position as senior vice president and general manager of purchasing services at Amex, where he spent 22 years, Mr. Needs saved billions of dollars over several years through expense reductions, operational enhancements, and system integrations.
He also served as Amex's senior vice president of global finance operations and business transformation, and its senior vice president and general manager of corporate travel.
Mr. Bradley said in the press release that Asset Acceptance hopes to benefit from Mr. Needs' experience at Amex.
"Rion has managed thousands of employees and billions in budgetary dollars while evolving the operations, marketing and product development capabilities at a $77 billion financial services company," Mr. Bradley said. "His proven leadership skills and results-oriented approach led to broad-based operational improvements at American Express, the sum of which paved the way for substantial cost savings and improved profitability during his tenure."
