Management Team
ProPay was established in April of 1997. After struggling through its first few years, ProPay was led into sustainable profitability by co-founder Steve Houghton, Brad Hansen, Gary Goodrich, and Chris Jensen. In December of 2012, ProPay was acquired by Total Systems Services (TSYS). ProPay is now at TSYS company operating as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Gregori Pesci – President
Mr. Pesci has over 12 years of experience in financial institution and payments law. Prior to joining ProPay in 2006, he served as Associate General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Product Development for Merrick Bank Corporation. His responsibilities included both the issuing and acquiring activities of the bank. In addition, Mr. Pesci has served as Counsel in the Patent Division for Procter & Gamble. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations; a Masters Degree in Organizational Behavior; and a law degree with honors from Brigham Young University. Mr. Pesci is a member of the Utah and Ohio Bar Associations.
Bryce Thacker – Executive Vice President, Sales
Mr. Thacker has been Executive Vice President of Sales of ProPay since October 2006 and has had the primary responsibility of overseeing ProPay’s ongoing revenue growth and client development. Prior to that, Mr. Thacker was Executive Vice President, Business Development at ProPay. Before coming to ProPay, Mr. Thacker spent over 20 years in the training industry. He was the Managing Partner at MarcumSmith, a start-up consulting and training firm offering personal leadership consulting, keynotes, and seminars. At FranklinCovey he was the Vice President and General Manager of FranklinCovey’s Sales Performance Group. Mr. Thacker helped bring this unit into profitability and oversaw its rapid rise into one of the industry’s most respected consultative sales training providers. Mr. Thacker graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Brigham Young University and an Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Mark Johnson – Chief Information Officer
Mr. Johnson has over 25 years experience in the information technology industry. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Idaho State University and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. His vast experience includes software development of financial systems for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Director of Computer Science for Phillips Junior College, Director of Technology Operations for FranklinCovey Corp., and Senior Vice President of Information Technology and Security Officer for Merrick Bank, one of the nation’s top 25 issuing and acquiring banks. He has also held consultant positions in project management for ADP Corp., and for the State of Utah. He has also served in the United States Air Force as a statistician where he earned the Air Force Commendation Medal.
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Chris Jensen – Executive Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Controller
Mr. Jensen has worked for ProPay since its founding in 1997 as the Corporate Treasurer, Secretary, and Controller. Mr. Jensen became an executive officer in 2007. Prior to joining ProPay, Chris worked for Intermountain Health Care for seven years in the Central Office Finance Department. Chris holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Information Systems from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management and also holds both professional certifications offered by the Institute of Management Accountants -- the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and the Certified in Financial Management (CFM). Mr. Jensen has also completed specialized training in Continuous Quality Management (CQM) and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) courses.
Lance Rich – Executive Vice President, Risk Management
Mr. Rich has been with ProPay since 2005. He currently is responsible for leading fraud prevention, merchant due diligence and compliance as well as charge-back resolution and collections. Rich benefits from 17 years of experience in Risk and Fraud Management with companies such as GE Money and Chase Commercial Card Services. He is a certified Payment Card Industry Security Manager. Rich served as President of the Utah chapter of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators from 2002 to 2005 and volunteered during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics' as a member of the Brand Protection and Anti-Counterfeit team. He frequently is invited to speak at various fraud-related events, including the TSYS Fraud Control Security Forum, the Retail Decisions Symposium and the Utah Attorney General white-collar conference. Rich is currently a member of the Risk and Fraud Committee at the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA). Rich also earned the Eagle Scout award. He attended Brigham Young University, where he studied business management with an emphasis in Spanish.
Gary Goodrich – Strategic Advisor
Mr. Goodrich, who joined ProPay in 2000, has over 20 years of financial services management experience. Mr. Goodrich previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing and Sr. Vice President for Sutro & Co. in San Francisco (now part of Royal Bank of Canada). He also worked for several years in New York City and San Francisco for Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the Sales and Trading Division, as well as four years for K.P./PaineWebber, where he served as a National Director and a Divisional Vice President. At Kidder Peabody, Mr. Goodrich directed a strategic department serving the firm’s top U.S. clients. Mr. Goodrich’s educational background includes joint Law/MBA degrees earned at Brigham Young University (1986). Mr. Goodrich currently serves as a trustee of the Utah Technology Council, where he chairs the Audit Committee. He is also a repeat member of the vSpring Capital Top 100 Venture Entrepreneurs and was a regional finalist in the 2008 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
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