First Data Exec Killed in Plane Crash

Judge Fowler, a veteran banker and computer systems expert who moved into a senior job this year at First Data Corp.'s card services group, died Dec. 20 in a private airplane accident in Ohio.

Mr. Fowler, who was 49, was the first president of First Data's professional services unit, playing a key role in technology strategy. He told American Banker last March that he would be occupied with the "transition of culture from a mainframe bias to a multitiered architectural bias."

Mr. Fowler joined First Data in Omaha after 11 years with First Union Corp., where he was senior vice president for systems architecture development and implementation. He also worked at Zions First National Bank and First Tennessee Bank.

He was "a multitalented executive with the highest integrity," said First Data executive vice president Walter Hoff.

Mike Massey, executive vice president of professional services, was named interim president of the unit.

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