STAR®

About STAR® /

Leadership

• 

  Kevin Barry

  General Manager, STAR^® Network

  “For STAR members, network innovation may mean being first to market, or it may simply mean staying competitive and relevant to cardholders. We define innovation as meeting our members’ needs, whatever they are, and driving the industry forward toward ever-increasing efficiency, security and convenience.”

  Kevin Barry is General Manager for First Data’s STAR Network. The STAR Network is one of the nation’s leading EFT networks offering secure PIN-debit transactions at more than 2 million retail and ATM locations in the U.S. and processing an annual transaction average of more than 3.6 billion debit transactions in the U.S.

  Barry joined First Data in 2009 with more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including time as vice president and director of retail products and research at Commerce Bancorp. In that role, he oversaw product management for retail deposit products, debit cards, and marketing research. He previously served on VISA’s Debit Product Executive Council, PLUS Network Executive Council, and VISA DPS Product Advisory Group.

  Most recently, Barry was Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing at Republic First Bancorp. He also has worked at FirstTrust Savings Bank, Corestates Financial (Wachovia) and the Federal Reserve Bank. He has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

• 

  Betsy Samuel

  Senior Vice President, STAR^® Customer Experience

  “Creating a superior customer experience is at the heart of what makes STAR unique. Whether it is through day-to-day customer support, one-on-one strategic payments discussions or educational seminars and events, our goal at STAR is to create a relationship with our customers that goes far beyond transaction switching.”

  Betsy Samuel is senior vice president responsible for the STAR Customer Experience. Samuel oversees strategic plans and day-to-day initiatives for the STAR Network. Her specific functions include network service and member satisfaction, third party and core processor relations, maintaining and enforcing network regulations as well as member communications, marketing support and member events.

  A veteran of the electronic payments industry, Samuel began her career with the HONOR ATM and POS Network in 1990. During her tenure with HONOR and the STAR Network, she served in a number of marketing, strategy, and relationship management roles. Since First Data acquired STAR in 2004, Samuel has served as: SVP of Debit Strategy; Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff prior to her appointment as Senior Vice President, STAR Customer Experience.

  Samuel has spoken about debit strategy and consumer payments preferences at numerous electronic payments conferences. She has also assisted numerous financial institutions with their debit strategy. Samuel is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., where she received bachelor’s degrees in English and Economics.

• 

  Donald J. Devine, Jr.

  Business Strategy and Risk Management

  “As a STAR member or cardholder, you’re part of a system with many moving parts that have to function well together. Our role is to effectively connect the pieces so that system continually provides benefit to all the players.”

  Donald J. Devine, Jr. is Vice President of Business Strategy and Risk Management. In this role, Devine manages STAR member implementation, member relations, risk management, and Operating Rules administration for both the STAR and Instant Cash® Networks.

  Devine joined First Data when the company acquired Concord EFS and the STAR Network in 2004. He held numerous senior management positions within the Concord EFS organization, including chief compliance officer; accountable Y2K executive; vice president, Disaster Recovery; chief auditor, Electronic Payment Services Inc.; chief operating officer, EFS Federal Savings Bank; and chief compliance officer, Concord EFS National Bank.

  Before joining Concord EFS, Devine spent 13 years in information technology auditing at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Scranton.

• 

  Kim Gardner

  Strategy, Analytics and Pricing

  “STAR is continually monitoring network and industry data to maintain a deep understanding of the trends that affect our members and their customers. Our strategy has to be one that improves and grows PIN debit acceptance, and enables all parties to maximize the overall profitability of their PIN debit programs.”

  Kim Gardner is Vice President for Strategy, Analytics and Pricing. In this role, Gardner is responsible for developing strategy for and managing STAR Network pricing, as well as overseeing business intelligence, and the statistical analysis of network trends.

  Gardner is a 25-year payments industry veteran with diverse experience. She was introduced to the HONOR EFT Network while performing facilities management work as an account manager for A.O. Smith. She subsequently held roles with HONOR and Florida Infomanagement Services, a third-party data processor, that included EFT sales, product management, customer service, and technical support. She returned to HONOR, which later merged with and became known as the STAR Network, in 1990. Since joining STAR, she has overseen customer service, settlement, and sales before assuming her current responsibilities.

  Gardner has both bachelor's and master’s degrees in business administration. She has attended Stetson University, University of Central Florida, and the Crummer Management Program at Rollins College.

• 

  Julie Saville

  Product Management, STAR^® Network

  “STAR products and services are continually evolving as we develop innovative ways to increase convenience and security for debit cardholders. We’re enabling our members to stay in step with the usage trends of their consumers, in ways that enhance their brand and may build more loyal and profitable deposit account relationships.”

  Julie Saville is Vice President, Product Management, for First Data’s STAR® Network. Saville joined STAR in 1991 and currently manages product development for the payments network.

  During her tenure, the network has introduced such market-leading services as the STARsf® surcharge-free network, STAR Expedited Transfers and STAR CHEK® notification service. Most recently, she has overseen the launches of the STAR Prepaid Reload Network, which provides reload support for STAR-branded general purpose prepaid cards, and the STAR Online Partner service, which allows STAR cardholders to link their card to a PayPal account online.

  Saville’s career spans more than 30 years of EFT expertise. Before she began managing major product initiatives at STAR, she held several management positions — which included vice president, EFT Product Management; EFT Business/Systems Analysis; and EFT Operations Management — for Great American First Savings Bank, a savings bank with $17 billion in assets.

  Saville earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from San Diego State University and a master of business administration in computer information systems from National University in San Diego.

• 

  Jonathan Sodaro

  Processor Relations and Technical Services

  “The STAR business is built on the strength and reliability of our technology. We work closely with our partners to strive to maintain that technology as state-of-the-art, so STAR cardholders never have to question whether they will be able to access their money however and whenever they choose. This is just one of the core values that allow STAR to provide a consistent, superior customer service experience for our membership.”

  Jonathan Sodaro is Director of Processor Relations and Technical Services. He directs the day-to-day customer service needs of STAR’s processor members, a role that includes maintenance, technical support, project management, and ongoing support during network mandates and product enhancements.

  Sodaro began his EFT network career in 1988 when he joined the MOST Network, which ultimately became part of First Data through a series of mergers. Sodaro has managed multiple network consolidations, as well as held positions in customer service, technical support, implementations, voice and data communications, mergers and acquisitions, and product development.

  Sodaro has also been responsible for direct sales, remote sales support/ customer service management, and voice and data communications management for Western Union. He has a bachelor’s in psychology from Heidelberg College and a master of business administration in labor relations from Illinois Institute of Technology.

• 

  Christine Strock

  Member Communications/Advisory Groups

  “Our ongoing commitment to member service is fundamental to the STAR Network. By building formal ways to actively listen to our members into our process, we’ve been able to lay a foundation for our decision making that is focused on member input and feedback.”

  Christine Strock is Vice President of Member Communications Strategy. Her responsibilities include ongoing strategic planning, marketing leadership, and membership relations for STAR’s Advisory Groups.

  Prior to this position, Strock led the First Data Debit Services strategic sales support area and the card services area, which encompasses product development and program management for signature-based debit card processing, stored value/prepaid, gateway, electronic benefits transfer, and Internet banking services. She has more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, account management, and product development. She is a veteran of electronic banking network consolidation, having served in key positions at the CashStream, MOST, HONOR, and STAR EFT networks.

  Before joining STAR in 1993, Strock held marketing positions with The United Way and Westinghouse. As national sales manager for Mellon Bank, she was responsible for network processing sales and support to member financial institutions throughout the U.S.

  Strock has a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie-Mellon University and a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Public Affairs of Boston University.