NEOVIA, an online payment business that operates Neteller, Netbanx, Net+, and 1-Pay, announced that the search for its new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has come to an end. Mark Mayhew will be stepping in to run the company starting in September.
NEOVIA’s previous CEO, Ron Martin, resigned from the position in March citing “family reasons” and ceased working at the end of May. The company’s Chairman of the Board, Dale Johnson, stepped in as the interim CEO while NEOVIA conducted a thorough search to find a replacement. In the end, the company settled on Mayhew because of his extensive background in payment operations. Prior to accepting the position with NEOVIA, Mayhew served as the Head of U.K. Consumer Banking at Morgan Stanley and the leader of CIMS, described by NEOVIA as “the individual membership business of Cendant.” Most recently, Mayhew served as the CEO of Debrett’s Ltd., a company that specializes in social etiquette.
Johnson had nothing but positive things to say about the new CEO in a statement released by NEOVIA earlier this month: “Mark is a very accomplished executive and his proven credentials in strategy formulation, operational development, and Plc governance, coupled with his deep financial services and payments expertise, uniquely qualify him to lead NEOVIA at this exciting time.”
Mayhew was equally enthusiastic when discussing his new position: “The company has a strong track record and also an eventful history, but I am excited by the opportunity to drive NEOVIA’s next phase of growth, building on the Group’s vision to deliver bold payment solutions to selected e-commerce communities.”
One challenge NEOVIA won’t have to worry about is future legal action stemming from processing payments from online gambling sites to U.S. customers. NEOVIA previously faced prosecution from the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006 when it was still operating under the name Neteller. The USAO seized $60 million in Neteller funds in January of 2007 to use as evidence in a pending court case. Eventually, the company reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the USAO. As part of the agreement, Neteller consented to pay $136 million and take steps to prevent U.S. customers from transferring funds to and from online gambling sites via Neteller.
In the two years following the DPA, NEOVIA has complied with the terms of the settlement. Accordingly, the USAO announced earlier this month that the agreement has expired and the original complaint filed by the Southern District of New York has been dismissed.
With the last remnants of its legal troubles behind it, NEOVIA can now focus on the future. Customers located outside of the United States still use Neteller and NEOVIA’s other payment services to transfer funds on and off of online poker and other gambling-related sites. NEOVIA’s Neteller brand maintains close ties with the online poker community, most recently sponsoring June’s Poker in the Park event in London.
NEOVIA is a publically traded company on the London Stock Exchange, where it can be found under the symbol “NEO.”
