PSI, the Tampa-based consulting and research firm, has renamed itself PSI Global, emblematic of a stronger focus on international markets.
Bank card industry veteran Mark P.J. Sievewright has been promoted to chief executive officer. He was previously executive vice president of PSI International Ltd., the subsidiary based in London.
Mr. Sievewright, 34, joined PSI, originally known as Payment Systems Inc., in 1995 to help launch an international strategy.
"PSI was primarily a U.S. company in 1995," Mr. Sievewright said. "We are moving away from thinking about a single country or market."
In conjunction with Mr. Sievewright's promotion, PSI also named regional executive vice presidents for the Asia-Pacific region, where a new office was opened in Singapore; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; Latin America; and the United States.
About 70% of the company's 100 or so employees are in the United States, but about 30% of revenues now come from abroad. Since 1995, the company has earned more than $5 million in revenues annually from its international- based research, Mr. Sievewright said.
PSI provides research to financial services companies in the payment systems, corporate banking, private banking, and other areas.
Before joining PSI, Mr. Sievewright spent 12 years at Midland Bank of London. He moved up the ladder from cashier to branch manager, then became an executive in electronic banking and card operations.
He then worked for Europay International, MasterCard's affiliate in Brussels. Mr. Sievewright ran the commercial services division, which included member education and marketing. He also played a part in Europay's foray into chip-card technology.
PSI is a subsidiary of NFO Research Inc., which provides research and consulting services to financial services companies. NFO markets consumer research, drawing on a data base of 500 million households in the United States that have agreed to work with the company on an ongoing basis.
