BOSTON & GUILFORD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Semafone®, the leading provider of data security and compliance solutions for call and contact centers, today announced the appointment of three new board members.
Joining the board as Chairman, based in the UK, is Carlos Sartorius and two Non-Executive Directors; Denise Parker and Michael Sterl, both based in the United States. All come from high-growth organizations and industries, with extensive experience in accelerating company growth. Sartorius, Parker, and Sterl will bring their unique backgrounds to help with strategic direction, the identification of new channels and partnerships, and expanding Semafone’s customer base as the company works to provide cutting-edge technologies, solutions, and services to simplify and secure digital interactions.
“The appointments of Carlos, Denise, and Michael bring extensive experience and fresh perspective that will fuel our go-to-market strategy and grow our organization in the coming years,” said Gary E. Barnett, CEO and Board Member of Semafone. “Each come with their own take on how to accomplish our goals supported by Carlos’ operational and IT security knowledge, Denise’s strong channel and fintech experience, and Michael’s contact center insight. We’re excited to have them be part of our team and to make Semafone even more successful.”
Sartorius has held several executive leadership positions, most recently serving as the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Services at Citrix. He has years of experience as a trusted advisor, consultant, board member, and C-level executive, bringing a track record of transforming and growing businesses in the B2B technology sector including software, services, systems integration, product development, outsourcing, and infrastructure.
“I am honored to join Semafone’s Board of Directors to help steer the organization through its next stage of strategic development and growth,” said Sartorius, newly appointed Board Chairman. “Semafone is a leader in security and compliance, taking an impressive approach in educating and ensuring organizations handle consumer information safely and securely. I look forward to leading the Board and accelerating the company’s growth and success.”
Parker is the SVP, Global Head of Partners and Ecosystem for Finastra, the largest pure-play software vendor that serves the entire financial services industry. An international executive with over 20 years of experience in the Enterprise Software and Cloud market, she is passionate about creating strategies that align with the overall business vision and execute against it, delivering short- and long-term benefits to businesses. Parker holds a Master’s in Engineering and a PhD from the Technical University in Zurich, Switzerland in Robotic Process Modelling.
Sterl brings extensive expertise to Semafone as a non-executive director, currently serving as the SVP of Sales at Intelisys, a ScanSource (NASDAQ: SCSC) company, and the nation’s leading provider of technology services and solutions. Sterl co-founded Cloud Optik and Carve Digital, two companies focused on delivering world-class data and analytics platforms to channel partners. He also co-founded SimpleSignal, a unified communications service provider that was acquired by Vonage, where he served as regional vice president of channel sales post-acquisition.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Carlos, Denise, and Michael to the Board of Directors, bringing decades of leadership and experience,” said Curt Kahn, Head of US at Livingbridge and Semafone Non-Executive Director. “Ensuring we assemble an experienced and strategic team has been a priority as Semafone continues to grow exponentially and heads into the new year. We’re looking forward to providing our collective leadership and knowledge to take full advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Semafone’s Board of Directors now includes Gary E. Barnett (Semafone), Curtis Kahn (Livingbridge), Simon Hollingsworth (Livingbridge), Carlos Sartorius, Denise Parker, and Michael Sterl.
About Semafone
Semafone provides secure cloud, hybrid and on-premises solutions to contact centers and all businesses accepting payments. In a digital world that has transitioned to remote work environments, its award-winning payment solutions enable organizations to collect personal data securely across all channels – including the telephone, webchat, social media, email, SMS and QR codes. Through Semafone’s patented data capture methods, sensitive information such as payment card or bank details and personally identifiable information (PII), including social security numbers, are collected directly from the customer for processing. This data capture method prevents PII from entering the business and IT infrastructure, protecting against the risk of fraud and the associated reputational damage, ensuring compliance with industry regulations such as PCI DSS. Semafone’s suite of solutions creates a seamless, omnichannel experience that increases sales conversion rates and boosts customer loyalty, while simplifying compliance.
Founded in 2009, the company now supports customers in 26 countries on five continents. Semafone is vertically agnostic and its extensive customer base includes companies such as Amica Mutual Insurance, British Sky Broadcasting, BT Group, and Sutter Health.
Livingbridge is a major investor in Semafone.
As a recognized global leader in secure voice transactions, Semafone’s technology is integrated with over 40 Payment Service Providers. Semafone has achieved the leading security and payment certifications: ISO 27001:2013, UK Cyber Essentials certification, PA-DSS certification for its Cardprotect payment solution, PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider, registered Visa Level 1 Merchant Agent and Mastercard Site Data Protection (SDP) Compliant Registered Service Provider. To learn more, visit www.semafone.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
