LEADING international business process outsourcer Vertex has announced a series of new appointments to its executive board after the company was acquired by a consortium led by three US-based investments firms – Oak Hill Capital Partners, GenNx360 Capital Partners and Knox Lawrence International.
Richard Graham has been appointed Vertex’s Chief Executive Officer, replacing Tom Drury who stood down as Managing Director at the time of sale. Richard has a long and varied career at senior management and executive levels in shared services operations and financial services, latterly with CIBC Bank in Canada.
Joining Richard on the Board is Jeff Chittenden who has been appointed Vertex Chief Operating Officer. Jeff, a UK native was previously Chief Operating Officer for Wachovia Bank Card Services. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer for First USA Bank. Jeff oversaw First USA Bank’s core technology infrastructure, development plans including responsibility for the banks customer contact centre operations in US eleven cities and more than 6,000 employees. Jeff also spent 22 years at Citibank in a variety of international positions, including Head of Technology and Operations for Emerging Markets.
John Hall has been appointed Managing Director for the Private Sector and Utilities. John was Senior Vice President Marketing and Product Solutions for Bell Canada’s Enterprise division. Prior to that, he was a partner at McKinsey and Company where he co-founded McKinsey’s Customer Management practice. John has significant experience in customer management strategy and transformation in retail banking, telecommunications, retailing and utility organisations.
Andrew Warren remains Vertex Managing Director for Public Sector and Andy Hunt Managing Director, Vertex Financial Services. Both divisions have experienced significant success in winning new multi-million pound contracts since they were established under Andrew and Andy’s leadership and are integral to the company’s future growth plans. Prior to joining Vertex, Andrew Warren was a longstanding director of Capgemini having held various senior management roles. Andy Hunt was commercial director of contact centre business 7c.
Also joining the Vertex Board is Robin Royals who is appointed Vertex’s Chief Transformation Officer. Robin spent the last 15 years in a variety of roles within finance and financial services in the General Electric Company most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Quality.
Completing the board appointments is Dale Shepherd, who has been appointed interim Chief Financial Officer. Dale joins Vertex from Specialized Transportation Inc. in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Over an 18 year period, Dale has held management positions in finance and later as director within several divisions of the General Electric Company.
Commenting on the new board appointments, Richard Graham said: “Today’s announcement provides the company with the relevant senior management expertise required to help develop our global BPO strategy. We fully intend to build on the success of Vertex, securing our future prosperity by improving efficiency, creating a competitive platform, developing our pipeline and investing in strategic growth. The new board sees tremendous opportunity to build on the skills, experience and processes that Vertex has in order to grow the business.”
Vertex – which is ranked as the UK’s second largest outsourcer – will now undergo a period of transition under Richard Graham’s guidance.
