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ACA International, the collection industry's largest trade association, this morning named Rozanne Andersen its new chief executive officer. Andersen has served with the association for 15 years, most recently as executive vice president and general counsel.
In the latest issue of Collections & Credit Risk, Andersen was featured in the cover story profiling "Industry Champions" in collections, debt-buying and lending.
Andersen replaces Gary Rippentrop, who has served as the association's CEO since 1996. Rippentrop had planned to retire in mid-2010, says Jay Gonsalves, ACA International's Immediate Past President and longest-standing member of the association's Executive Committee.
"Our industry is currently facing the most important and potentially dramatic legislative and regulatory changes since the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was enacted in 1977," Gonsalves says. "Rozanne Andersen's experience, connections, expertise and leadership in the legislative and government affairs arena is second to none. And we need her, right now, leading the charge on these critical issues like never before.
Andersen has earned accolades for her work on Capitol Hill and regularly meets with federal and state lawmakers. She worries, for example, about an ongoing legislative no man's-land where two seemingly well-meaning laws collide, creating a Catch-22 for the industry.
In an exclusive interview with Collections & Credit Risk, Andersen agrees the regulatory climate for collectors remains difficult.
"At the federal level, it means we're fighting every piece of legislation that does not help both the industry and consumers. If the legislation is such that either creditors or our members will be unable to do business, we will oppose it," she says. "At the state level, we have launched an ambitious outreach effort to all 50 state attorney general offices to help them understand our industry.
Andersen regularly educates state and federal policymakers and the media about the value of collections to the U.S. economy. Her key push is to zero in on the constraints agencies deal with and how limiting they can be.
To that end, ACA is marketing its "Ask Doctor Debt" campaign, a consumer program that Andersen says fills the financial literacy education niche and is aimed at consumers in default.
"There is perhaps nothing more important than pulling the industry together to participate in this dialogue about bad debt and the plight of consumers," she says. "Debt collectors can help consumers understand their rights under the FDCPA and Fair Credit Reporting Act and also help them understand important points like the fact that payment plans are available."
