TSYS Tech Chief Ken Tye to Retire After 43-Year Run

Ken Tye, senior vice president and chief information officer at Total Systems Services, will retire at the end of September, marking the departure of another long-time executive at the Columbus, Ga.-based processor.

Tye has served the company for 43 years, predating TSYS' spinoff by Columbus Bank and Trust in 1983. His work as a technology executive includes leading the team that built the company's successful TS2 payment processing system in the mid-1990s, TSYS said in its March 26 announcement.

More recently, Tye led the team that is working on an open development system to improve integration and to further the use of cloud and other emerging technologies. 

These technologies include tokenization, mobile payments and EMV-chip card acceptance. TSYS' diversification also includes a move toward providing merchant services directly to businesses rather than working through third parties.

Tye's retirement follows the 2014 retirement of Philip W. Tomlinson, the company's long-time CEO, whose career at the company also dates to the 1970s; Tomlinson will remain executive chairman of the TSYS board until the company's 2015 annual shareholders' meeting. James Lipham also retired as CFO in 2014. Lipham had been with TSYS for about 30 years.

Lipham was succeeded by Paul Todd and Tomlinson was succeeded by M. Troy Woods. Former NetSpend CEO Dan Henry also left TSYS in 2014 (TSYS had earlier acquired NetSpend). Henry's successor is Chuck Harris.