|
ECHO
Press Releases 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Electronic Clearing House (ECHO)
Announces CEO Retirement
and New
Leadership Appointments
Camarillo, Calif., May 22,
2007 -
Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECHO), a leading provider of
electronic payment and transaction processing
services,
the upcoming retirement of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joel
M. (“Jody”) Barry, effective July 2, 2007, the anticipated date of
the Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Upon Barry’s
retirement, President and Chief Operating Officer Charles J.
(“Chuck”) Harris will assume the position of Chief Executive
Officer, and independent Board member Richard D. Field will assume
the role of non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
“It has been an honor to
serve ECHO since 1986 in various capacities
throughout an exciting two decades of growth and
development for the Company,” said Jody Barry, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of Electronic Clearing
House, Inc. “On behalf of the Board, we are pleased that
we have Chuck Harris, a proven veteran of the payments
and financial services industries, to take the helm,
along with a strong and dedicated management team in
place. In their capable hands, ECHO is ready and
well positioned to execute our plans and regain growth
momentum in our core businesses.”
Mr. Barry’s retirement
ends a 20-year span of ECHO leadership. Jody
Barry has been a Director of ECHO since 1987 and
Chairman of the Board since December 1987. Mr. Barry
served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of ECHO from 1987 to 1990 at the time of
his appointment as Chief Executive Officer. Since 1990,
Mr. Barry has also been a Director and the Chief
Executive Officer of ECHO’s MerchantAmerica, Inc.
and XPRESSCHEX, Inc. wholly owned subsidiaries, roles
which Mr. Harris will also assume. The Company expects
to finalize a retirement separation arrangement with Mr.
Barry prior to the anticipated Annual Meeting.
“On behalf of Richard
Field and the Board of Directors, along with the entire
ECHO team, we deeply appreciate Jody Barry’s many
years of service to our Company,” said Chuck Harris.
“Jody has been paramount to the Company’s
accomplishments over the past 20 years, and we intend to
continue his legacy and vision for ECHO. We wish
him the very best in his retirement.”
Chuck Harris joined
ECHO in September 2005 as President, Chief Operating
Officer and Director. Prior to joining the Company, Mr.
Harris served in executive, operational and sales
leadership positions at prominent organizations
including Paymentech and Electronic Data Systems. Most
recently, from 2002 to 2005, he was President and Chief
Executive Officer of Merchant Link, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Paymentech and a supplier of electronic
payment technologies and outsourced services to the
point-of-sale market.
Richard Field became a
Director of ECHO in July 2004. Mr. Field has
worked in the financial services industry for over 40
years as an executive of the Bank of New York, Chase,
and Citigroup, and a director of MasterCard
International and Chairman of its U.S. Board of
Directors. Since his retirement from full time
employment in 1997, Mr. Field has continued his career
in the specialty financial services sector as a
co-founder and director of LendingTree, Inc. and as a
board member of Providian Financial Corporation and HPSC,
Inc.
ECHO’s Annual
Meeting of Shareholders is tentatively scheduled for
July 2, 2007 and will be held at the Company’s offices.
About Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
(ECHO)
ECHO (www.echo-inc.com)
provides a complete solution to the payment processing needs of
merchants, banks and collection agencies. ECHO's services
include merchant accounts, debit and credit card processing, check guarantee, check
verification, check conversion, check re-presentment, and check
collection. Safe Harbor
Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: Any statements set forth above that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements. Examples of
forward-looking statements included in this press release include
the statement regarding the benefits of the addition of Mr. Alikian
to ECHO. Potential risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, such
factors as fluctuations in demand for the Company’s products and
services, the introduction of new products and services, the
Company’s ability to maintain customer and strategic business
relationships, technological advancements, impact of competitive
products and services and pricing, growth in targeted markets, the
adequacy of the Company’s liquidity and financial strength to
support its growth, and other information detailed from time to time
in the Company’s filings with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
Donna Rehman, 805-419-8533
E-mail: drehman@echo-inc.com
or
The Abernathy MacGregor Group, Inc.
Moira Conlon, 213-630-6550
E-mail: MHC@abmac.com
|
|
