Veracity Payment Solutions Raises $5M - CBL

By Citybizlist Staff

ATLANTA -- Veracity Payment Solutions Inc. has raised $5 million through an equity offering, according to a Reg D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Principals named in the filing are: Joseph Cohane, CEO and director; Stephanie Sharp, CFO and director; Grant Putre, chief information officer and director; and director Edward Grzedzinski.

Atlanta-based Veracity, formed in 2006, creates and develops electronic systems to enable merchant payments.

Reg D filing: http://tinyurl.com/yfarvt3

Bios from Veracity’s Web site:

Edward Grzedzinski
Chairman of the Board

Edward Grzedzinski is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NOVA Information Systems. He also served as Vice Chairman of US Bancorp from July of 2001 until November of 2004.

Mr. Grzedzinski has over 25 years of experience in the electronic payments and financial services industries and is most noted for his role in co-founding NOVA Information Systems in 1991. With his leadership, NOVA became the fourth largest merchant payment processor in the United States. In July 2001, NOVA successfully merged with US Bancorp, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary, and today is the country's third largest payment processor serving more than 800,000 merchant locations with processing volume in excess of $140 billion per year. Mr. Grzedzinski also served as a member of the Managing Committee of US Bancorp, and as a member of the Board of Directors of US Bank, NA.

In addition to his duties with NOVA and US Bancorp, Mr. Grzedzinski was the Chairman of euroConex Technologies, Limited, a pan-European payment processing joint venture originally owned by NOVA and the Bank of Ireland, and now a wholly owned subsidiary of US Bancorp. Mr. Grzedzinski served on the Board of Directors of Indus International, a global provider of enterprise asset management products and services, from early 2002 through October of 2004. In December of 2004 he was named to the Board of Directors of Neenah Paper, Inc., a former subsidiary of Kimberly Clark, where he serves as a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. In May of 2006, he joined the Board of Directors of Marlin Business Services, Inc., and serves as a member of the Compensation Committee.

Prior to founding NOVA, Mr. Grzedzinski held various management positions with National Data Corporation, Telenet Communications Corporation, Crocker National Bank and Advance Mortgage Corporation.

For his role in driving NOVA Information Systems to the forefront of the electronic payments industry, Ernst & Young named Mr. Grzedzinski a 2001 Southeast Region "Entrepreneur of the Year," and he was a finalist for the "2001 National Entrepreneur of the Year" award. In 2004, Mr. Grzedzinski was named by the United States Congress as a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Mr. Grzedzinski is an advisor and contributor to the Atlanta chapter of the Board of Directors Network, an organization dedicated to the promotion of women directors for US-based businesses. He is also a contributor to the charitable work of the TOMA Foundation (Tribal Outreach Medical Assistance), and is the owner of GRZ Management, LLC, which oversees the activities of several charitable foundations. He resides with his wife Kathleen in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Joseph P. Cohane
Chief Executive Officer

Among the company's founding executives, Joseph Cohane has more than 22 years of global executive-level experience in the electronic payment industry and merchant acquisitions; including operational responsibilities with Citibank, Global Payment Systems, NOVA Information Systems and U.S. Bancorp.

Cohane strategically participated in the development of two successful start-up companies; he joined NOVA in 1992, where he orchestrated the successful integration of the merchant-acquiring portfolios associated with Wachovia Bank, Regions Banks and MBNA. As Chief Operations Officer for euroConex Technologies, located in Dublin, Ireland, Cohane pioneered NOVA's initial entry into European markets, securing its first joint venture outside of the United States with Bank of Ireland in 2000. euroConex Technologies was recognized as the best European Merchant Acquirer in 2005.

Cohane has also held executive positions in all business disciplines within the merchant-acquiring industry, including Portfolio Acquisitions and Conversions, Credit and Risk Management, Product Development, International Operations, New Business Development, Global Pricing and Profitability Strategies.
Cohane has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, from St. Francis University of Pennsylvania.

Stephanie Sharp
Chief Financial Officer

Stephanie Sharp is responsible for the company's overall financial performance and planning, development of lender and investor relationships, operational accounting management and human resources.

Sharp began her career with Coopers and Lybrand as an auditor. Her diverse clientele consisted of industries ranging from manufacturing to banking. She has broad knowledge in the areas of business financial statement compilation, establishing general ledger systems including accounts payable and receivable, as well as payroll management.

Sharp has more than 15 years of experience in accounting and finance, including significant experience in the electronic payment industry. She joined NOVA Information Systems in 1991, as Vice President and Controller. She established the accounting department and the successful financial integration associated with the consolidation of four operating businesses and more than fifty merchant portfolio purchases. She has participated in executive level investor relations encompassing critical financial activities, such as public earnings release, investment banker due diligence and SEC filings.

Sharp has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Georgia

Grant Putre
Chief Information Officer

Grant Putre has 25 years of international experience in information systems architecture and management. Putre has spent the last 18 years in the merchant acquiring industry, developing electronic payment processing systems and point-of-sale products with leading card payment processing companies. Putre joined NOVA Information Systems in 1991, on its inception, and played a key role in the development of the company's industry leading authorization and data capture systems for card acquiring.

Putre also served as Chief Information Officer for euroConex Technologies headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Putre oversaw the creation of the technology platform for processing card payments across the European market and the development of euroConex's suite of point-of-sale and e-commerce payment products.

As a member of euroConex's executive management team, Putre guided its strategic technology initiatives and successfully accomplished the challenges associated with European cross-border processing regulations, multi-currency and foreign exchange, chip-card integration and pan-European point-of-sale product design and development.

Putre has a Bachelor of Business, Accountancy from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Australia.