Improving product delivery in the face of new payments regulations is among the top priorities for First Data Corp.'s new chief executive.
Jonathan Judge said he intends to work with First Data's other executives to execute on a new strategic plan the Atlanta payments company has developed.
"First Data is a world-class firm in the payments industry with enormous market share, great innovation and a very good management team, to my great fortune," Judge said in an interview Tuesday. "We're a major player in the payments space and we intend to stay a major player and continue to grow."
First Data announced Tuesday that Judge, who was the president and CEO of Paychex Inc. for six years before resigning in July, would take over as CEO, a position that Joe Forehand has held on an interim basis since April.
Forehand, who also is a senior advisor with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., the private-equity firm that owns First Data, will remain as the chairman. Judge's appointment is effective Oct. 1.
"Jon has demonstrated the leadership and ability to take the company into its next stage of growth and development," Forehand said in a press release Tuesday.
Industry analysts had previously predicted Forehand would lead the company through an initial public offering given his experience steering Accenture Ltd. through its IPO in 2001.
Judge said he doesn't see his hiring as a sign that an IPO would not be in the works, though he has not discussed plans for one.
"It should be pretty clear that when your dominant owner is a significant player in the private-equity community that one of the exit strategies would be an IPO," Judge said.
Aaron McPherson, a practice director at IDC Financial Insights, said the appointment of a permanent CEO is positive for First Data. However, Judge and his team must contend with a significantly more competitive market.
"More banks are getting into markets that First Data used to own," McPherson said.
