TransFund Executive Leadership Team

Michael Kelly

President

Michael Kelly serves as President of TransFund. In this role, he leads TransFund by casting a strong vision, focused on deepening customer relationships, delivering relevant payment processing solutions and improving how TransFund serves financial institutions and businesses throughout the United States and the Virgin Islands. Most recently Kelly led TransFund through the largest change and evolution in its 50-year history with the successful migration of its Issuing and Acquiring processing platforms. Under Kelly’s leadership TransFund has set consecutive sales records in the TransFund business lines of Issuing Processing, Merchant Acquiring, and ATM Managed Services. With more than 25 years in leadership positions within the payment network and financial services industry, Kelly continues to build momentum and shape TransFund’s future as he focuses on trusted, authentic relationships; high-touch consultative solutions; and fair and transparent value for customers. His strengths in building cohesive work environments, collaborative relationships, and creative solutions have sustained TransFund’s exponential growth.

Prior to joining TransFund, Michael served in leadership roles of increasing responsibilities with Discover, Mastercard, and American Express. Kelly earned a Supply Chain Management Degree from Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business and currently sits on the board of Youth Services of Tulsa and has served as Development Chair on the Board of Junior Achievement of Dallas and as Tri-Chair for the Tulsa Area United Way Financial Campaign. Kelly was born in California, raised in Alaska, and studied Mandarin Chinese throughout grade school and at Arizona State University.  

David Grossardt

Chief Revenue Officer

David has a very progressive approach, which has allowed him to assist community financial institutions with growth oriented EFT marketing solutions geared toward attracting new customers and increasing non interest fee income.

He has over 30 years of experience in the electronic/digital payments industry and is considered an expert. He often speaks at industry and trade association meetings across the United States. David holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and has built his career learning how to master Operational Efficiency, Relationship Management, Super Charging Sales Teams and Organizational Leadership.

Ashley Harris

Senior Vice President, Projects, Conversions and ATM Technical Services

Ashley is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in EFT processing, credit, ATM and telecom industries. Ashley currently leads key initiatives that drive growth and innovation for the company. In her previous role as Manager of Projects and Conversions, Ashley successfully managed complex projects and established herself as a trusted advisor to clients.

Over the course of her career, Ashley has gained extensive expertise and knowledge of the EFT industry, working closely with network brands, core processors and financial institutions. Her deep understanding of the industry landscape, combined with her customer service experience, enables her to deliver high-quality customer service, project management, and industry knowledge that sets TransFund apart from its competitors.

Ashley is responsible for leading strategic projects and initiatives that enable TransFund to meet the evolving needs of its clients and drive growth for the company. Her proven track record of success, coupled with her passion for innovation and customer service, make her an invaluable asset to the TransFund team.

Chris Cichy

Chief Operating Officer

Chris heads TransFund’s operations, finance, and global strategic initiatives. With more than 20 years of EFT/ATM and payment processing experience, Chris is recognized as a dynamic leader who explores the business landscape from multiple perspectives, thereby delivering strategy and solutions which best fit the needs of the client and company.

Chris is passionate about accelerating delivery, simplifying integration, and strengthening performance. He shared that “excellence is influenced by a few primary elements – capacity to listen, communicate openly and own what’s in front of you. Find the balance and you’ll always deliver more than expected.”

Chris previously led ATM Services at FIS, engaging with leading 2,000+ small-to-large scale FIs and ISOs on strategy, deployment and operational support across a 100,000+ ATM network. Prior roles of increasing accountability were held at eFunds, Metavante and M&I Data Services.

Patrick Arch

Manager of Information Services

Patrick has led the TransFund Information Services team for the last 13 years and has more than 30 years of experience in numerous Operations and Information Technology (IT) roles in the banking industry. As Information Services Manager, Patrick’s responsibilities include leading the support of TransFund’s in-house developed Billing, Application and Data Warehouse environments.

During his tenure at TransFund, Patrick has built a strong and flexible team and systems that are capable of handling the needs of the ever evolving EFT Industry. Patrick has implemented many notable banking systems during his time in IT including the Wire Room, PegaSystem Adjustments, and DSS Return Items, and he engineered and integrated the Item Processing legacy environment to image based in support of Check 21 which included the upgrade and conversion of four Item Processing Centers in three states. His experience analyzing opportunities and developing solutions as a profitability analyst early in his career embedded cost control and efficiency as core values that still stand strong today.

Stephanie Palmgren

Chief Marketing Officer

Stephanie is a 35-year veteran of financial institution and EFT marketing. Since joining TransFund in the early 1990s, she served the company for ten years as an outside sales consultant and has led the marketing efforts for nearly 20 years. She is responsible for the development of many of the network’s popular card programs, as well as marketing efforts that helped TransFund experience strong and consistent growth throughout the years.

As manager of the TransFund Marketing team, Stephanie is focused on offering unique, customized solutions designed to grow the portfolios of financial institution clients. Prior to her career at TransFund, she served as marketing director for a number of Oklahoma financial institutions both large and small.

Martin G. Buckley

Senior Vice President, Merchant Services

Marty has spent more than 25 years in the merchant services acquiring space successfully leading and building sales and account management teams. Marty’s passions are sales, leadership, coaching, mentoring and inspiring his teammates to exceed their career, financial and monthly sales goals.

Creating a bench strength and a line of succession have always been a hallmark throughout Marty’s career. During a ten-year period, Marty effectively mentored and developed nine employees under his supervision that were promoted to fill critical leadership and national account sales openings within the organization.

In addition to spending over 18 years with First Data, Marty previously spent time with Wells Fargo Merchant Services, TransFirst, and Sage Payment Solutions in various leadership capacities.