Executive team

Co-op’s Executive Management Team represents a breadth of payments and financial services expertise in pursuit of a single mission: Helping credit unions thrive.

About Todd Clark

Throughout his career, Todd Clark has specialized in identifying technology gaps in the market and determining how emerging technology will fill those gaps, all with an aim of uncovering efficiencies for financial institutions.

 

Clark began his tenure as President/CEO at Co-op Solutions in 2016. His vision and leadership has transformed the company into the credit union industry’s foremost partner for payments and financial technology. Today, the company continues to build out its dynamic ecosystem of solutions to enable and ensure credit success well into the future.

 

Prior to Co-op, Clark spent 22 years with First Data Corporation, where he last held the position of SVP/Head of STAR Network and Debit Processing. In this capacity, he was responsible for the business unit’s profit/loss and led a team of more than 600 product, strategy, communications, strategic sales, technology, operations, and support personnel.

 

Clark also has entrepreneurial experience, co-founding a start-up company called Core Data. This organization was sold to Concord EFS, which later merged with First Data. At the time of sale, Core Data had become the second largest ATM processor in the United States. He was also an executive with Cardtronics, Inc., and Feedzai.

 

Clark holds a BA in economics from University of Texas at Austin.  

About Erik Askelsen

Erik Askelsen joined Co-op Solutions in March 2019 as General Counsel, responsible for the company’s enterprise risk management, information security and legal affairs.

Askelsen’s career includes serving as a general counsel for a life insurance company and as a partner in two law firms. Most recently, he was a Partner with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in Des Moines, Iowa. His practice there focused on helping clients develop and implement business-minded strategies related to the regulatory, corporate, transactional, product, governance, government relations and regulatory challenges they face, primarily in the insurance and financial services sectors.

In addition to leading Co-op’s enterprise risk, InfoSec and legal affairs, Askelsen will also serve as the company’s Corporate Secretary, a new position for company. As Corporate Secretary, Askelsen will be responsible for advising Co-op’s Board of Directors and management on governance matters, as well as managing the logistics and record keeping associated with the Board’s activities.

Askelsen will be based in Des Moines, where he is embedded in the life of the community, having been active in United Way, Children & Families of Iowa and other community organizations. 

About David Becker

David Becker joined Co-op Solutions in January 2019 as Chief Financial Officer.


“David has worked for nearly 30 years in corporate financial management, particularly in environments like that of Co-op Solutions, where there is rapid growth and transformation,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO. “His career also makes him already very familiar with Co-op as a business, and is an excellent fit in terms of our company values of working as partners, communicating openly and honestly, demonstrating excellence and championing change.”


Becker joined COo-op from Alkami Technology, Inc., of Plano, Texas, a cloud-based digital technology provider focused on online and mobile banking services. Becker served as CFO of Alkami since 2014, and Co-op and Alkami have partnered on enabling credit unions to offer members a fully-integrated online and mobile banking bill pay solutions since 2013.


Prior to that, Becker was the Finance and Business Director for Dell, the global information technology company. He came to Dell after it acquired Credant Technologies, Inc., where Becker worked as CFO from 2004. He has also held senior finance positions at i2 Technologies, Inc., and began his career in 1991 at the auditing firm of Price Waterhouse LLP.

About Bruce Dragt

Bruce Dragt joined Co-op Solutions in November 2018 as Chief Product Officer. Dragt has specialized in growing technology-driven companies, both start-ups and large, established companies. In the two-plus years prior to joining Co-op, he served as Executive Vice President, Product, for YapStone, a provider of electronic payment systems that help online and mobile companies with their payment transactions. Before that, Dragt spent more than 13 years holding multiple senior-level roles with First Data Corporation, including SVP, Global eCommerce-Merchant Products. Additional payments and financial industry experience includes work with i2 Technologies, Financial Settlement Matrix and Wells Fargo.

About Cheryl Middleton Jones

Cheryl Middleton Jones joined Co-op Solutions as Chief People Officer in November 2018, bringing more than 20 years of human resources and change management experience within large organizations to help lead Co-op’s transformation as a digital enterprise. Jones joins Co-op from Discovery, Inc., a mass media company operating the Discovery Channel and others, where she was Senior Vice President of Human Resources. In this capacity, Jones was responsible for defining and executing strategy and creating consistent structures, systems and operating plans involving 4,000 employees around the world. Earlier this year, she oversaw Discovery, Inc.’s global HR transformation following the acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. Prior to joining Discovery, Inc., in 2011, she worked for ING, the financial services company, from 2001-2011; and Honeywell, the high tech company, from 1994-2001.

About Mathew Kardell

Chief Revenue Officer Mathew Kardell joined Co-op in April 2017, Previously, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager (SVP/GM) of STAR Network Relationship and Sales at First Data Corporation. He is a veteran of the payments and financial services industry with more than 25 years in high-performing revenue-generation and business development roles. At First Data, Kardell most recently was responsible for the company’s STAR Network client relationships with merchants and financial Institutions, with network transactions experiencing double-digit percent growth in 2015. Prior to that position, he was SVP/GM of Financial Institution Relationships and New Business Development, managing more than $1 billion in revenue and spanning more than 4,000 financial institutions in North America. In addition, Kardell has extensive experience in the credit union space, having managed those strategic relationships during his tenure at First Data. 

About Dean Michaels

Mr. Dean Michaels is Chief Strategy Officer for Co-op Solutions. He was appointed Chief Strategy Officer in September 2018, after joining Co-op as Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Relationships in November, 2017.

Prior to joining Co-op, Mr. Michaels held several leadership roles at First Data Corporation (now Fiserv), including General Manager of STAR Network as well as Finance Leader for First Data’s U.S. Merchant Acquiring Business, which generated $2B of revenue annually. In previous roles, he led First Data’s Merchant Acquiring Small Business Cross-Sales and Retention organizations. In addition, he led the development of First Data’s Smart Routing and Network Routing partnership programs, driving new revenue through network routing solutions developed in response to the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation II governing Debit Card interchange fees and routing.

Mr. Michaels has also worked for JP Morgan Chase. There, he was responsible for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of consumer banking cross-sales campaigns, including profit and loss responsibility for JP Morgan Chase’s branch and call center cross-sales programs.

He holds an MBA from New York University and a BBA from Adelphi University of Garden City, N.Y

About Samantha Paxson

Samantha Paxson is Chief Experience Officer for Co-op Solutions (www.Co-opfs.org), architect of the company’s go-to-market brand and customer experience strategy, delivered through message, product, value chain and systems. An accomplished speaker and thought leader, Paxson founded Co-op THINK, an innovation content platform empowering the evolution of mission-driven financial services. 

Over her 20 year career, Paxson’s focus has been on the intersection of technology, purpose and experience to evolve the organization and meet the needs of the market. Paxson is a proponent of intraprenuership: innovating on the space between functional areas, by brokering tight relationships and strategies between a network of teams – transforming the organization for ongoing algorithmic improvement across the ecosystem. Dedicated to the growth of the Co-op brand, she's helped boost and secure a 15 point NPS (Net Promoter Score) hike, transforming her function to be a digital content and experience powerhouse, and creating the largest industry following in owned and earned channels. 

Paxson is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Journalism and Social Sciences. She is also an advisor to the OpenIDEO Challenge on “Financial Empowerment,” a USCCU Board Member, CUNA Marketing Awareness Board Member, NCUF Board Member, CUCollaborate Board Member and CMNH Board Member.

Executive team

Co-op’s Executive Management Team represents a breadth of payments and financial services expertise in pursuit of a single mission: Helping credit unions thrive.

About Todd Clark

Throughout his career, Todd Clark has specialized in identifying technology gaps in the market and determining how emerging technology will fill those gaps, all with an aim of uncovering efficiencies for financial institutions.

 

Clark began his tenure as President/CEO at Co-op Solutions in 2016. His vision and leadership has transformed the company into the credit union industry’s foremost partner for payments and financial technology. Today, the company continues to build out its dynamic ecosystem of solutions to enable and ensure credit success well into the future.

 

Prior to Co-op, Clark spent 22 years with First Data Corporation, where he last held the position of SVP/Head of STAR Network and Debit Processing. In this capacity, he was responsible for the business unit’s profit/loss and led a team of more than 600 product, strategy, communications, strategic sales, technology, operations, and support personnel.

 

Clark also has entrepreneurial experience, co-founding a start-up company called Core Data. This organization was sold to Concord EFS, which later merged with First Data. At the time of sale, Core Data had become the second largest ATM processor in the United States. He was also an executive with Cardtronics, Inc., and Feedzai.

 

Clark holds a BA in economics from University of Texas at Austin.  

About Erik Askelsen

Erik Askelsen joined Co-op Solutions in March 2019 as General Counsel, responsible for the company’s enterprise risk management, information security and legal affairs.

Askelsen’s career includes serving as a general counsel for a life insurance company and as a partner in two law firms. Most recently, he was a Partner with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in Des Moines, Iowa. His practice there focused on helping clients develop and implement business-minded strategies related to the regulatory, corporate, transactional, product, governance, government relations and regulatory challenges they face, primarily in the insurance and financial services sectors.

In addition to leading Co-op’s enterprise risk, InfoSec and legal affairs, Askelsen will also serve as the company’s Corporate Secretary, a new position for company. As Corporate Secretary, Askelsen will be responsible for advising Co-op’s Board of Directors and management on governance matters, as well as managing the logistics and record keeping associated with the Board’s activities.

Askelsen will be based in Des Moines, where he is embedded in the life of the community, having been active in United Way, Children & Families of Iowa and other community organizations. 

About David Becker

David Becker joined Co-op Solutions in January 2019 as Chief Financial Officer.


“David has worked for nearly 30 years in corporate financial management, particularly in environments like that of Co-op Solutions, where there is rapid growth and transformation,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO. “His career also makes him already very familiar with Co-op as a business, and is an excellent fit in terms of our company values of working as partners, communicating openly and honestly, demonstrating excellence and championing change.”


Becker joined COo-op from Alkami Technology, Inc., of Plano, Texas, a cloud-based digital technology provider focused on online and mobile banking services. Becker served as CFO of Alkami since 2014, and Co-op and Alkami have partnered on enabling credit unions to offer members a fully-integrated online and mobile banking bill pay solutions since 2013.


Prior to that, Becker was the Finance and Business Director for Dell, the global information technology company. He came to Dell after it acquired Credant Technologies, Inc., where Becker worked as CFO from 2004. He has also held senior finance positions at i2 Technologies, Inc., and began his career in 1991 at the auditing firm of Price Waterhouse LLP.

About Bruce Dragt

Bruce Dragt joined Co-op Solutions in November 2018 as Chief Product Officer. Dragt has specialized in growing technology-driven companies, both start-ups and large, established companies. In the two-plus years prior to joining Co-op, he served as Executive Vice President, Product, for YapStone, a provider of electronic payment systems that help online and mobile companies with their payment transactions. Before that, Dragt spent more than 13 years holding multiple senior-level roles with First Data Corporation, including SVP, Global eCommerce-Merchant Products. Additional payments and financial industry experience includes work with i2 Technologies, Financial Settlement Matrix and Wells Fargo.

About Cheryl Middleton Jones

Cheryl Middleton Jones joined Co-op Solutions as Chief People Officer in November 2018, bringing more than 20 years of human resources and change management experience within large organizations to help lead Co-op’s transformation as a digital enterprise. Jones joins Co-op from Discovery, Inc., a mass media company operating the Discovery Channel and others, where she was Senior Vice President of Human Resources. In this capacity, Jones was responsible for defining and executing strategy and creating consistent structures, systems and operating plans involving 4,000 employees around the world. Earlier this year, she oversaw Discovery, Inc.’s global HR transformation following the acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. Prior to joining Discovery, Inc., in 2011, she worked for ING, the financial services company, from 2001-2011; and Honeywell, the high tech company, from 1994-2001.

About Mathew Kardell

Chief Revenue Officer Mathew Kardell joined Co-op in April 2017, Previously, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager (SVP/GM) of STAR Network Relationship and Sales at First Data Corporation. He is a veteran of the payments and financial services industry with more than 25 years in high-performing revenue-generation and business development roles. At First Data, Kardell most recently was responsible for the company’s STAR Network client relationships with merchants and financial Institutions, with network transactions experiencing double-digit percent growth in 2015. Prior to that position, he was SVP/GM of Financial Institution Relationships and New Business Development, managing more than $1 billion in revenue and spanning more than 4,000 financial institutions in North America. In addition, Kardell has extensive experience in the credit union space, having managed those strategic relationships during his tenure at First Data. 

About Dean Michaels

Mr. Dean Michaels is Chief Strategy Officer for Co-op Solutions. He was appointed Chief Strategy Officer in September 2018, after joining Co-op as Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Relationships in November, 2017.

Prior to joining Co-op, Mr. Michaels held several leadership roles at First Data Corporation (now Fiserv), including General Manager of STAR Network as well as Finance Leader for First Data’s U.S. Merchant Acquiring Business, which generated $2B of revenue annually. In previous roles, he led First Data’s Merchant Acquiring Small Business Cross-Sales and Retention organizations. In addition, he led the development of First Data’s Smart Routing and Network Routing partnership programs, driving new revenue through network routing solutions developed in response to the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation II governing Debit Card interchange fees and routing.

Mr. Michaels has also worked for JP Morgan Chase. There, he was responsible for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of consumer banking cross-sales campaigns, including profit and loss responsibility for JP Morgan Chase’s branch and call center cross-sales programs.

He holds an MBA from New York University and a BBA from Adelphi University of Garden City, N.Y

About Samantha Paxson

Samantha Paxson is Chief Experience Officer for Co-op Solutions (www.Co-opfs.org), architect of the company’s go-to-market brand and customer experience strategy, delivered through message, product, value chain and systems. An accomplished speaker and thought leader, Paxson founded Co-op THINK, an innovation content platform empowering the evolution of mission-driven financial services. 

Over her 20 year career, Paxson’s focus has been on the intersection of technology, purpose and experience to evolve the organization and meet the needs of the market. Paxson is a proponent of intraprenuership: innovating on the space between functional areas, by brokering tight relationships and strategies between a network of teams – transforming the organization for ongoing algorithmic improvement across the ecosystem. Dedicated to the growth of the Co-op brand, she's helped boost and secure a 15 point NPS (Net Promoter Score) hike, transforming her function to be a digital content and experience powerhouse, and creating the largest industry following in owned and earned channels. 

Paxson is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Journalism and Social Sciences. She is also an advisor to the OpenIDEO Challenge on “Financial Empowerment,” a USCCU Board Member, CUNA Marketing Awareness Board Member, NCUF Board Member, CUCollaborate Board Member and CMNH Board Member.

Executive team

Co-op’s Executive Management Team represents a breadth of payments and financial services expertise in pursuit of a single mission: Helping credit unions thrive.

About Todd Clark

Throughout his career, Todd Clark has specialized in identifying technology gaps in the market and determining how emerging technology will fill those gaps, all with an aim of uncovering efficiencies for financial institutions.

 

Clark began his tenure as President/CEO at Co-op Solutions in 2016. His vision and leadership has transformed the company into the credit union industry’s foremost partner for payments and financial technology. Today, the company continues to build out its dynamic ecosystem of solutions to enable and ensure credit success well into the future.

 

Prior to Co-op, Clark spent 22 years with First Data Corporation, where he last held the position of SVP/Head of STAR Network and Debit Processing. In this capacity, he was responsible for the business unit’s profit/loss and led a team of more than 600 product, strategy, communications, strategic sales, technology, operations, and support personnel.

 

Clark also has entrepreneurial experience, co-founding a start-up company called Core Data. This organization was sold to Concord EFS, which later merged with First Data. At the time of sale, Core Data had become the second largest ATM processor in the United States. He was also an executive with Cardtronics, Inc., and Feedzai.

 

Clark holds a BA in economics from University of Texas at Austin.  

About Erik Askelsen

Erik Askelsen joined Co-op Solutions in March 2019 as General Counsel, responsible for the company’s enterprise risk management, information security and legal affairs.

Askelsen’s career includes serving as a general counsel for a life insurance company and as a partner in two law firms. Most recently, he was a Partner with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in Des Moines, Iowa. His practice there focused on helping clients develop and implement business-minded strategies related to the regulatory, corporate, transactional, product, governance, government relations and regulatory challenges they face, primarily in the insurance and financial services sectors.

In addition to leading Co-op’s enterprise risk, InfoSec and legal affairs, Askelsen will also serve as the company’s Corporate Secretary, a new position for company. As Corporate Secretary, Askelsen will be responsible for advising Co-op’s Board of Directors and management on governance matters, as well as managing the logistics and record keeping associated with the Board’s activities.

Askelsen will be based in Des Moines, where he is embedded in the life of the community, having been active in United Way, Children & Families of Iowa and other community organizations. 

About David Becker

David Becker joined Co-op Solutions in January 2019 as Chief Financial Officer.


“David has worked for nearly 30 years in corporate financial management, particularly in environments like that of Co-op Solutions, where there is rapid growth and transformation,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO. “His career also makes him already very familiar with Co-op as a business, and is an excellent fit in terms of our company values of working as partners, communicating openly and honestly, demonstrating excellence and championing change.”


Becker joined COo-op from Alkami Technology, Inc., of Plano, Texas, a cloud-based digital technology provider focused on online and mobile banking services. Becker served as CFO of Alkami since 2014, and Co-op and Alkami have partnered on enabling credit unions to offer members a fully-integrated online and mobile banking bill pay solutions since 2013.


Prior to that, Becker was the Finance and Business Director for Dell, the global information technology company. He came to Dell after it acquired Credant Technologies, Inc., where Becker worked as CFO from 2004. He has also held senior finance positions at i2 Technologies, Inc., and began his career in 1991 at the auditing firm of Price Waterhouse LLP.

About Bruce Dragt

Bruce Dragt joined Co-op Solutions in November 2018 as Chief Product Officer. Dragt has specialized in growing technology-driven companies, both start-ups and large, established companies. In the two-plus years prior to joining Co-op, he served as Executive Vice President, Product, for YapStone, a provider of electronic payment systems that help online and mobile companies with their payment transactions. Before that, Dragt spent more than 13 years holding multiple senior-level roles with First Data Corporation, including SVP, Global eCommerce-Merchant Products. Additional payments and financial industry experience includes work with i2 Technologies, Financial Settlement Matrix and Wells Fargo.

About Cheryl Middleton Jones

Cheryl Middleton Jones joined Co-op Solutions as Chief People Officer in November 2018, bringing more than 20 years of human resources and change management experience within large organizations to help lead Co-op’s transformation as a digital enterprise. Jones joins Co-op from Discovery, Inc., a mass media company operating the Discovery Channel and others, where she was Senior Vice President of Human Resources. In this capacity, Jones was responsible for defining and executing strategy and creating consistent structures, systems and operating plans involving 4,000 employees around the world. Earlier this year, she oversaw Discovery, Inc.’s global HR transformation following the acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. Prior to joining Discovery, Inc., in 2011, she worked for ING, the financial services company, from 2001-2011; and Honeywell, the high tech company, from 1994-2001.

About Mathew Kardell

Chief Revenue Officer Mathew Kardell joined Co-op in April 2017, Previously, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager (SVP/GM) of STAR Network Relationship and Sales at First Data Corporation. He is a veteran of the payments and financial services industry with more than 25 years in high-performing revenue-generation and business development roles. At First Data, Kardell most recently was responsible for the company’s STAR Network client relationships with merchants and financial Institutions, with network transactions experiencing double-digit percent growth in 2015. Prior to that position, he was SVP/GM of Financial Institution Relationships and New Business Development, managing more than $1 billion in revenue and spanning more than 4,000 financial institutions in North America. In addition, Kardell has extensive experience in the credit union space, having managed those strategic relationships during his tenure at First Data. 

About Dean Michaels

Mr. Dean Michaels is Chief Strategy Officer for Co-op Solutions. He was appointed Chief Strategy Officer in September 2018, after joining Co-op as Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Relationships in November, 2017.

Prior to joining Co-op, Mr. Michaels held several leadership roles at First Data Corporation (now Fiserv), including General Manager of STAR Network as well as Finance Leader for First Data’s U.S. Merchant Acquiring Business, which generated $2B of revenue annually. In previous roles, he led First Data’s Merchant Acquiring Small Business Cross-Sales and Retention organizations. In addition, he led the development of First Data’s Smart Routing and Network Routing partnership programs, driving new revenue through network routing solutions developed in response to the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation II governing Debit Card interchange fees and routing.

Mr. Michaels has also worked for JP Morgan Chase. There, he was responsible for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of consumer banking cross-sales campaigns, including profit and loss responsibility for JP Morgan Chase’s branch and call center cross-sales programs.

He holds an MBA from New York University and a BBA from Adelphi University of Garden City, N.Y

About Samantha Paxson

Samantha Paxson is Chief Experience Officer for Co-op Solutions (www.Co-opfs.org), architect of the company’s go-to-market brand and customer experience strategy, delivered through message, product, value chain and systems. An accomplished speaker and thought leader, Paxson founded Co-op THINK, an innovation content platform empowering the evolution of mission-driven financial services. 

Over her 20 year career, Paxson’s focus has been on the intersection of technology, purpose and experience to evolve the organization and meet the needs of the market. Paxson is a proponent of intraprenuership: innovating on the space between functional areas, by brokering tight relationships and strategies between a network of teams – transforming the organization for ongoing algorithmic improvement across the ecosystem. Dedicated to the growth of the Co-op brand, she's helped boost and secure a 15 point NPS (Net Promoter Score) hike, transforming her function to be a digital content and experience powerhouse, and creating the largest industry following in owned and earned channels. 

Paxson is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Journalism and Social Sciences. She is also an advisor to the OpenIDEO Challenge on “Financial Empowerment,” a USCCU Board Member, CUNA Marketing Awareness Board Member, NCUF Board Member, CUCollaborate Board Member and CMNH Board Member.

Executive team

Co-op’s Executive Management Team represents a breadth of payments and financial services expertise in pursuit of a single mission: Helping credit unions thrive.

About Todd Clark

Throughout his career, Todd Clark has specialized in identifying technology gaps in the market and determining how emerging technology will fill those gaps, all with an aim of uncovering efficiencies for financial institutions.

 

Clark began his tenure as President/CEO at Co-op Solutions in 2016. His vision and leadership has transformed the company into the credit union industry’s foremost partner for payments and financial technology. Today, the company continues to build out its dynamic ecosystem of solutions to enable and ensure credit success well into the future.

 

Prior to Co-op, Clark spent 22 years with First Data Corporation, where he last held the position of SVP/Head of STAR Network and Debit Processing. In this capacity, he was responsible for the business unit’s profit/loss and led a team of more than 600 product, strategy, communications, strategic sales, technology, operations, and support personnel.

 

Clark also has entrepreneurial experience, co-founding a start-up company called Core Data. This organization was sold to Concord EFS, which later merged with First Data. At the time of sale, Core Data had become the second largest ATM processor in the United States. He was also an executive with Cardtronics, Inc., and Feedzai.

 

Clark holds a BA in economics from University of Texas at Austin.  

About Erik Askelsen

Erik Askelsen joined Co-op Solutions in March 2019 as General Counsel, responsible for the company’s enterprise risk management, information security and legal affairs.

Askelsen’s career includes serving as a general counsel for a life insurance company and as a partner in two law firms. Most recently, he was a Partner with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in Des Moines, Iowa. His practice there focused on helping clients develop and implement business-minded strategies related to the regulatory, corporate, transactional, product, governance, government relations and regulatory challenges they face, primarily in the insurance and financial services sectors.

In addition to leading Co-op’s enterprise risk, InfoSec and legal affairs, Askelsen will also serve as the company’s Corporate Secretary, a new position for company. As Corporate Secretary, Askelsen will be responsible for advising Co-op’s Board of Directors and management on governance matters, as well as managing the logistics and record keeping associated with the Board’s activities.

Askelsen will be based in Des Moines, where he is embedded in the life of the community, having been active in United Way, Children & Families of Iowa and other community organizations. 

About David Becker

David Becker joined Co-op Solutions in January 2019 as Chief Financial Officer.


“David has worked for nearly 30 years in corporate financial management, particularly in environments like that of Co-op Solutions, where there is rapid growth and transformation,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO. “His career also makes him already very familiar with Co-op as a business, and is an excellent fit in terms of our company values of working as partners, communicating openly and honestly, demonstrating excellence and championing change.”


Becker joined COo-op from Alkami Technology, Inc., of Plano, Texas, a cloud-based digital technology provider focused on online and mobile banking services. Becker served as CFO of Alkami since 2014, and Co-op and Alkami have partnered on enabling credit unions to offer members a fully-integrated online and mobile banking bill pay solutions since 2013.


Prior to that, Becker was the Finance and Business Director for Dell, the global information technology company. He came to Dell after it acquired Credant Technologies, Inc., where Becker worked as CFO from 2004. He has also held senior finance positions at i2 Technologies, Inc., and began his career in 1991 at the auditing firm of Price Waterhouse LLP.

About Bruce Dragt

Bruce Dragt joined Co-op Solutions in November 2018 as Chief Product Officer. Dragt has specialized in growing technology-driven companies, both start-ups and large, established companies. In the two-plus years prior to joining Co-op, he served as Executive Vice President, Product, for YapStone, a provider of electronic payment systems that help online and mobile companies with their payment transactions. Before that, Dragt spent more than 13 years holding multiple senior-level roles with First Data Corporation, including SVP, Global eCommerce-Merchant Products. Additional payments and financial industry experience includes work with i2 Technologies, Financial Settlement Matrix and Wells Fargo.

About Cheryl Middleton Jones

Cheryl Middleton Jones joined Co-op Solutions as Chief People Officer in November 2018, bringing more than 20 years of human resources and change management experience within large organizations to help lead Co-op’s transformation as a digital enterprise. Jones joins Co-op from Discovery, Inc., a mass media company operating the Discovery Channel and others, where she was Senior Vice President of Human Resources. In this capacity, Jones was responsible for defining and executing strategy and creating consistent structures, systems and operating plans involving 4,000 employees around the world. Earlier this year, she oversaw Discovery, Inc.’s global HR transformation following the acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. Prior to joining Discovery, Inc., in 2011, she worked for ING, the financial services company, from 2001-2011; and Honeywell, the high tech company, from 1994-2001.

About Mathew Kardell

Chief Revenue Officer Mathew Kardell joined Co-op in April 2017, Previously, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager (SVP/GM) of STAR Network Relationship and Sales at First Data Corporation. He is a veteran of the payments and financial services industry with more than 25 years in high-performing revenue-generation and business development roles. At First Data, Kardell most recently was responsible for the company’s STAR Network client relationships with merchants and financial Institutions, with network transactions experiencing double-digit percent growth in 2015. Prior to that position, he was SVP/GM of Financial Institution Relationships and New Business Development, managing more than $1 billion in revenue and spanning more than 4,000 financial institutions in North America. In addition, Kardell has extensive experience in the credit union space, having managed those strategic relationships during his tenure at First Data. 

About Dean Michaels

Mr. Dean Michaels is Chief Strategy Officer for Co-op Solutions. He was appointed Chief Strategy Officer in September 2018, after joining Co-op as Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Relationships in November, 2017.

Prior to joining Co-op, Mr. Michaels held several leadership roles at First Data Corporation (now Fiserv), including General Manager of STAR Network as well as Finance Leader for First Data’s U.S. Merchant Acquiring Business, which generated $2B of revenue annually. In previous roles, he led First Data’s Merchant Acquiring Small Business Cross-Sales and Retention organizations. In addition, he led the development of First Data’s Smart Routing and Network Routing partnership programs, driving new revenue through network routing solutions developed in response to the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation II governing Debit Card interchange fees and routing.

Mr. Michaels has also worked for JP Morgan Chase. There, he was responsible for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of consumer banking cross-sales campaigns, including profit and loss responsibility for JP Morgan Chase’s branch and call center cross-sales programs.

He holds an MBA from New York University and a BBA from Adelphi University of Garden City, N.Y

About Samantha Paxson

Samantha Paxson is Chief Experience Officer for Co-op Solutions (www.Co-opfs.org), architect of the company’s go-to-market brand and customer experience strategy, delivered through message, product, value chain and systems. An accomplished speaker and thought leader, Paxson founded Co-op THINK, an innovation content platform empowering the evolution of mission-driven financial services. 

Over her 20 year career, Paxson’s focus has been on the intersection of technology, purpose and experience to evolve the organization and meet the needs of the market. Paxson is a proponent of intraprenuership: innovating on the space between functional areas, by brokering tight relationships and strategies between a network of teams – transforming the organization for ongoing algorithmic improvement across the ecosystem. Dedicated to the growth of the Co-op brand, she's helped boost and secure a 15 point NPS (Net Promoter Score) hike, transforming her function to be a digital content and experience powerhouse, and creating the largest industry following in owned and earned channels. 

Paxson is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Journalism and Social Sciences. She is also an advisor to the OpenIDEO Challenge on “Financial Empowerment,” a USCCU Board Member, CUNA Marketing Awareness Board Member, NCUF Board Member, CUCollaborate Board Member and CMNH Board Member.

Executive team

Co-op’s Executive Management Team represents a breadth of payments and financial services expertise in pursuit of a single mission: Helping credit unions thrive.

About Todd Clark

Throughout his career, Todd Clark has specialized in identifying technology gaps in the market and determining how emerging technology will fill those gaps, all with an aim of uncovering efficiencies for financial institutions.

 

Clark began his tenure as President/CEO at Co-op Solutions in 2016. His vision and leadership has transformed the company into the credit union industry’s foremost partner for payments and financial technology. Today, the company continues to build out its dynamic ecosystem of solutions to enable and ensure credit success well into the future.

 

Prior to Co-op, Clark spent 22 years with First Data Corporation, where he last held the position of SVP/Head of STAR Network and Debit Processing. In this capacity, he was responsible for the business unit’s profit/loss and led a team of more than 600 product, strategy, communications, strategic sales, technology, operations, and support personnel.

 

Clark also has entrepreneurial experience, co-founding a start-up company called Core Data. This organization was sold to Concord EFS, which later merged with First Data. At the time of sale, Core Data had become the second largest ATM processor in the United States. He was also an executive with Cardtronics, Inc., and Feedzai.

 

Clark holds a BA in economics from University of Texas at Austin.  

About Erik Askelsen

Erik Askelsen joined Co-op Solutions in March 2019 as General Counsel, responsible for the company’s enterprise risk management, information security and legal affairs.

Askelsen’s career includes serving as a general counsel for a life insurance company and as a partner in two law firms. Most recently, he was a Partner with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in Des Moines, Iowa. His practice there focused on helping clients develop and implement business-minded strategies related to the regulatory, corporate, transactional, product, governance, government relations and regulatory challenges they face, primarily in the insurance and financial services sectors.

In addition to leading Co-op’s enterprise risk, InfoSec and legal affairs, Askelsen will also serve as the company’s Corporate Secretary, a new position for company. As Corporate Secretary, Askelsen will be responsible for advising Co-op’s Board of Directors and management on governance matters, as well as managing the logistics and record keeping associated with the Board’s activities.

Askelsen will be based in Des Moines, where he is embedded in the life of the community, having been active in United Way, Children & Families of Iowa and other community organizations. 

About David Becker

David Becker joined Co-op Solutions in January 2019 as Chief Financial Officer.


“David has worked for nearly 30 years in corporate financial management, particularly in environments like that of Co-op Solutions, where there is rapid growth and transformation,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO. “His career also makes him already very familiar with Co-op as a business, and is an excellent fit in terms of our company values of working as partners, communicating openly and honestly, demonstrating excellence and championing change.”


Becker joined COo-op from Alkami Technology, Inc., of Plano, Texas, a cloud-based digital technology provider focused on online and mobile banking services. Becker served as CFO of Alkami since 2014, and Co-op and Alkami have partnered on enabling credit unions to offer members a fully-integrated online and mobile banking bill pay solutions since 2013.


Prior to that, Becker was the Finance and Business Director for Dell, the global information technology company. He came to Dell after it acquired Credant Technologies, Inc., where Becker worked as CFO from 2004. He has also held senior finance positions at i2 Technologies, Inc., and began his career in 1991 at the auditing firm of Price Waterhouse LLP.

About Bruce Dragt

Bruce Dragt joined Co-op Solutions in November 2018 as Chief Product Officer. Dragt has specialized in growing technology-driven companies, both start-ups and large, established companies. In the two-plus years prior to joining Co-op, he served as Executive Vice President, Product, for YapStone, a provider of electronic payment systems that help online and mobile companies with their payment transactions. Before that, Dragt spent more than 13 years holding multiple senior-level roles with First Data Corporation, including SVP, Global eCommerce-Merchant Products. Additional payments and financial industry experience includes work with i2 Technologies, Financial Settlement Matrix and Wells Fargo.

About Cheryl Middleton Jones

Cheryl Middleton Jones joined Co-op Solutions as Chief People Officer in November 2018, bringing more than 20 years of human resources and change management experience within large organizations to help lead Co-op’s transformation as a digital enterprise. Jones joins Co-op from Discovery, Inc., a mass media company operating the Discovery Channel and others, where she was Senior Vice President of Human Resources. In this capacity, Jones was responsible for defining and executing strategy and creating consistent structures, systems and operating plans involving 4,000 employees around the world. Earlier this year, she oversaw Discovery, Inc.’s global HR transformation following the acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. Prior to joining Discovery, Inc., in 2011, she worked for ING, the financial services company, from 2001-2011; and Honeywell, the high tech company, from 1994-2001.

About Mathew Kardell

Chief Revenue Officer Mathew Kardell joined Co-op in April 2017, Previously, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager (SVP/GM) of STAR Network Relationship and Sales at First Data Corporation. He is a veteran of the payments and financial services industry with more than 25 years in high-performing revenue-generation and business development roles. At First Data, Kardell most recently was responsible for the company’s STAR Network client relationships with merchants and financial Institutions, with network transactions experiencing double-digit percent growth in 2015. Prior to that position, he was SVP/GM of Financial Institution Relationships and New Business Development, managing more than $1 billion in revenue and spanning more than 4,000 financial institutions in North America. In addition, Kardell has extensive experience in the credit union space, having managed those strategic relationships during his tenure at First Data. 

About Dean Michaels

Mr. Dean Michaels is Chief Strategy Officer for Co-op Solutions. He was appointed Chief Strategy Officer in September 2018, after joining Co-op as Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Relationships in November, 2017.

Prior to joining Co-op, Mr. Michaels held several leadership roles at First Data Corporation (now Fiserv), including General Manager of STAR Network as well as Finance Leader for First Data’s U.S. Merchant Acquiring Business, which generated $2B of revenue annually. In previous roles, he led First Data’s Merchant Acquiring Small Business Cross-Sales and Retention organizations. In addition, he led the development of First Data’s Smart Routing and Network Routing partnership programs, driving new revenue through network routing solutions developed in response to the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation II governing Debit Card interchange fees and routing.

Mr. Michaels has also worked for JP Morgan Chase. There, he was responsible for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of consumer banking cross-sales campaigns, including profit and loss responsibility for JP Morgan Chase’s branch and call center cross-sales programs.

He holds an MBA from New York University and a BBA from Adelphi University of Garden City, N.Y

About Samantha Paxson

Samantha Paxson is Chief Experience Officer for Co-op Solutions (www.Co-opfs.org), architect of the company’s go-to-market brand and customer experience strategy, delivered through message, product, value chain and systems. An accomplished speaker and thought leader, Paxson founded Co-op THINK, an innovation content platform empowering the evolution of mission-driven financial services. 

Over her 20 year career, Paxson’s focus has been on the intersection of technology, purpose and experience to evolve the organization and meet the needs of the market. Paxson is a proponent of intraprenuership: innovating on the space between functional areas, by brokering tight relationships and strategies between a network of teams – transforming the organization for ongoing algorithmic improvement across the ecosystem. Dedicated to the growth of the Co-op brand, she's helped boost and secure a 15 point NPS (Net Promoter Score) hike, transforming her function to be a digital content and experience powerhouse, and creating the largest industry following in owned and earned channels. 

Paxson is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Journalism and Social Sciences. She is also an advisor to the OpenIDEO Challenge on “Financial Empowerment,” a USCCU Board Member, CUNA Marketing Awareness Board Member, NCUF Board Member, CUCollaborate Board Member and CMNH Board Member.
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