PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CardConnect announced today that Scott Dowty has joined the company as Chief Revenue Officer, a newly created position at the fast-growing provider of payment processing and technology solutions.
Dowty brings more than 20 years of experience driving rapid revenue and profit growth in the public and private sectors. At CardConnect, he will oversee all sales and marketing initiatives, along with managing the company's strategic partnerships and acquisitions. Dowty's initial focus will be to expand CardConnect's customer reach to deliver seamless and secure payment acceptance within existing and new markets.
"Scott not only has an impressive track record of driving growth for companies, but he also brings a rich understanding of the payments industry to our management team," said Jeff Shanahan, President and CEO at CardConnect. "I am pleased to welcome him to CardConnect, where he will serve a vital role in helping us execute on our strategic growth plan."
CardConnect has experienced rapid growth in the seven years since its founding in 2006. By 2013, the company had grown to 125 employees and $349 million in annual revenue – up from $251 million the previous year.
The company's rapid growth is due in part to its payment security solutions, which have been in high demand after several massive data breaches in the last year. CardConnect holds two patents on tokenization technology from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, which it combines with point-to-point encryption to protect customers' cardholder data. It also helps merchants reach PCI certification and become EMV-ready as the U.S. plans its migration from magnetic stripe technology to a chip-based system.
"I'm thrilled to take on this exciting challenge and very impressed with the unique security solutions, value offering and people who make up CardConnect. This company truly has a fantastic story and I'm proud to be part of the team," said Dowty. "I look forward to helping the management team propel CardConnect to the next level."
Prior to joining CardConnect, Dowty served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer at Global Cash Access, Inc., a publicly traded provider of integrated casino cash access and cash handling solutions. In that position, Dowty drove the global expansion of the company, where he managed all sales, marketing and customer-facing initiatives with P&L responsibility. He joined Global Cash Access in 2005 as Vice President of International Business.
Prior to Global Cash Access, Dowty held a number of executive management positions at First Data International. First Data is the world's largest electronic payment processor, and CardConnect is one of its 10 largest independent sales organizations (ISOs). Dowty joined First Data in 2000 as Vice President of National Sales and later served as Senior Vice President of Sales for Latin America and Canada and as General Manager and Country Manager for Canada.
Before joining First Data, Dowty worked for CIBC Card Products, now Global Payments Canada, one of Canada's largest merchant processors. He began his professional career in 1990, when he founded and eventually sold a toiletry manufacturing, distribution and marketing company.
About CardConnect
CardConnect is a leading provider of payment processing and technology services that helps more than 50,000 merchants across the U.S. – from Fortune 500 companies to small and mid-sized businesses – accept billions of dollars in card transactions each year. The company's patented tokenization, gateway and hardware solutions make payment acceptance simple, integrated and secure. Founded in 2006, CardConnect is one of the 10 largest independent sales organizations (ISOs) of First Data Merchant Services, the world's largest electronic payment processor. For more information, visit cardconnect.com.