LONG BEACH, N.Y., Aug. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Planet Payment, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLPM ) (LSE: PPT ), a leading provider of international payment processing and multi-currency processing services, is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has appointed Carl Joseph Williams as a Director of the Company and Mr. Williams has accepted such appointment, with immediate effect. In connection with the appointment, the Board was expanded to seven directors.
Carl Williams' career in financial services spans 30 years and includes several high profile industry positions. He is currently CEO and founder of Baikal Group, LLC a consultancy and advisory company. From May 2012 until July 2013, he served as Managing Director of Pay Anywhere, LLC. Until recently he was also an advisor to Global Payments Inc. Previously, Mr. Williams was President of World Wide Payment Processing for Global Payments, a role that he held from 2004-2009, while living in Prague and Hong Kong. Mr. Williams also served as President of the Merchant Services Division of National Processing Company, one of the nation's largest processors of credit card, debit and check transactions. Mr. Williams has served as an advisor to Planet Payment, Inc. since 2010. Mr. Williams holds a B.A. from La Salle University in Philadelphia.
Mr. Williams was appointed as a Class I Director of the Company, along with Jonathan Kaiden and Cameron R. M. McColl. Mr. Williams will hold office for a term expiring at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Company, when he will be eligible for re-election as a director by the shareholders.
In accordance with the Company's non-employee director compensation policy, Mr. Williams has been granted 50,000 options over shares of common stock of the Company under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, at an exercise price of $2.21 per share. In addition Mr. Williams has a 50% interest in Baikal Group, LLC which owns 15,000 shares of the Company's Common Stock.
Commenting on the appointment, Philip Beck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Planet Payment, said:
"We are delighted to welcome Carl Williams to the Board. Carl brings a lifetime of industry experience and knowledge to Planet Payment and we look forward to benefitting from his insight."
Mr. Williams added:
"Having watched Planet Payment for many years, I believe it is one of the more innovative companies in the payments industry. I am excited to join the Board and I look forward to helping the Company continue to move forward to future successes."
Mr. Williams's (aged 61) current and previous directorships and executive positions over the past five years are as follows:
Current
President and Chief Executive Officer of Baikal Group, LLC
Previous
Managing Director of Pay Anywhere, LLC
Advisor of Business Development and International Operations at Global Payments Inc.
President of World-Wide Payments Processing and Merchant Acquiring of Global Payments Inc.
Executive Vice President of World-Wide Merchant Acquiring of Global Payments Inc.
President of Spherion Assessment Group
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HR Easy Inc.
President of the Merchant Services Division of National Processing Company
President and Chief Executive Officer of JBS Associates
Executive Director of Global Payments Europe, s.r.o.
There is no further information required to be disclosed pursuant to Schedule 2, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.
About Planet Payment
Planet Payment is a leading provider of international payment processing and multi-currency processing services. We provide our services in more than 20 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific region, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, primarily through our 60 acquiring bank and processor customers. Our point-of-sale and e-commerce services help merchants sell more goods and services to consumers, and together with our ATM services are integrated within the payment card transaction flow enabling our acquiring customers, their merchants and consumers to shop, pay, transact and reconcile payment transactions in multiple currencies, geographies and channels.
Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Bermuda, Delaware, Dubai, Dublin, London, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Shanghai and Singapore. Visit www.planetpayment.com for more information about the Company and its services. For up-to-date information follow Planet Payment on Twitter at @PlanetPayment or join Planet Payment's Facebook page.
Enquiries: Planet Payment, Inc. Graham N. Arad, SVP General Counsel Tel: + 1 516 670 3200 www.planetpayment.com Redleaf Polhill (UK PR for Planet Payment) Emma Kane / Rebecca Sanders-Hewitt / David Ison Tel: +44 207 382 4730 ICR (USA IR for Planet Payment) Don Duffy / Dara Dierks Tel: +1 646 277 1212 Canaccord Genuity Ltd (Nomad for Planet Payment) Simon Bridges / Andrew Chubb Tel: +44 20 7523 8000
