TSYS, the credit card processor, said Tuesday that Richard W. Ussery, its sole chief executive officer for 21 years, is relinquishing that post to his chosen successor, Philip W. Tomlinson, who has been its president for 11 years.
Mr. Ussery will continue as chairman of the board.
Troy Woods, an executive vice president at TSYS, also was promoted, to president and chief operating officer. TSYS, of Columbus, Ga., is a division of Synovus Financial Corp. The changes are effective Jan. 1, though the transition phase has already begun.
In a telephone interview Tuesday following the board of directors' vote, Mr. Ussery gave two reasons for stepping down as CEO. "I think it was time for someone else to get a chance," he said. "Phil has definitely earned a chance." He noted that the average tenure of a CEO for a publicly held company is about four years, compared with his 21 years.
He said the impetus for the change was the stipulation in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that recommends the chairman of the board and the CEO not be the same person. Synovus also has been examining corporate governance issues more broadly.
Sarbanes-Oxley, he said, had stepped up pressure on companies to split those positions. In recent years, he said, with "more administrative work required of the chairman of the board, we thought it was a good time to separate those jobs."
Both Mr. Ussery and Mr. Tomlinson are 56. Mr. Tomlinson will be responsible for the company's strategic direction and ultimately its financial performance. Mr. Woods, 51, will manage day-to-day operations and execution of strategies.
Mr. Ussery said he has no immediate plans of retiring altogether. He also said the move will have a "cascade effect throughout the company" in terms of management changes.
