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TSG Announces 2020 Promotions & Initiatives

The Strawhecker Group’s (TSG) Board of Directors announced multiple initiatives today to position the company for growth over the next decade. 

TSG is the global leader in advisement to the payments acceptance space, with clients including Fortune 500 companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and Visa Worldwide. The firm’s 50-person workforce is primarily in Omaha with satellite offices in Sacramento, Denver, and London.

“We are excited to celebrate the changing roles and promotions of TSG’s staff as we align the firm for the future,” said Mike Strawhecker, President & Partner. “Each individual contributes to the success of the firm and we are delighted to recognize their efforts.”

Jared Drieling, a respected thought leader in the Payments Industry with 16 years of industry experience, was promoted to Senior Director of Consulting & Market Intelligence. As the Senior Director of Consulting & Market Intelligence, Jared manages the Consulting & Market Intelligence business units for TSG. He has significant expertise in synthesizing and communicating actionable insights and intelligence to clients having spent most of his career in market intelligence payments roles. Prior to joining TSG in 2014, Jared held strategy and product management positions during his ten-year tenure at First Data.

Peter Michaud, now Director of Consulting,has over two decades of extensive experience in the payments industry including product development, corporate strategy, and M&A. Peter leads the consulting group at TSG, managing consulting projects as well as providing subject material expertise across several key industry areas. Before joining TSG in 2017, Peter was Vice President of Product Development at Hap-X.  Prior to that, he was Associate Director of Market Intelligence, Mergers and Acquisitions at TSYS Merchant Services.

Trevor Forbes, now Director of Collaboration, works internally and externally to bridge TSG’s Consulting and Market Intelligence business lines. Trevor joined TSG in 2012 and has advised over 100 major clients with various strategic initiatives, including some of the world’s biggest payment brands. He graduated cum laude from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO).

Alecia Muth was promoted to Director of Market Intelligence. Alecia leads TSG’s full-service market intelligence team, which supports and guides clients through a variety of global research engagements, leveraging TSG’s collective expertise and various primary and secondary research methods. Before joining TSG, Alecia was Executive Project Manager at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco.

Al Novacek was promoted to GEM Director. Al has over 20 years of experience in the merchant processing, credit card, and IT fields. At TSG, Al handles the day-to-day management of TSG’s Gateway Enterprise Metrics (GEM) product. Before joining TSG, he was a Senior Project Manager at Citi Bank.

Ashley Blue was promoted to Director of Operations. Ashley is responsible for managing and maintaining various reporting systems and programs, supporting the development of internal policies and procedures, and assisting in the day-to-day IT and operations of TSG. Prior to TSG, Ashley was an Executive Administrative Assistant at Access Bank.

Amera Becirovic was promoted to Project Manager. Amera focuses primarily on providing support on consulting projects from the initial stages to completion. Prior to her position at TSG, Amera studied psychology and business at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL).

Marissa Charles was hired as a Marketing Analyst. A recent graduate from the University of Nebraska- Omaha (UNO), Marissa uses her business education and knowledge of marketing to assist the firm in various efforts including email marketing, brand awareness through social media, graphic design, SEO and market research.

Additionally, as part of the firm’s growth initiatives, TSG is pleased to announce the completed expansion of its Omaha-based headquarters. The new state-of-the-art office space will serve as a hub for the company as it moves into the future.

“With the growth TSG has been experiencing, the investment was essential to accommodate for the staff we expect to add in the coming years,” said Kurt Strawhecker, Board Chairman. “We are committed to Omaha and developing it into a Payments and Fintech hub,” added Strawhecker.

About TSG The Strawhecker Group (TSG) is a fast-growing analytics and consulting firm focused on the electronic payments industry. The company serves the entire payments ecosystem, from fintech startups to Fortune 500 companies. The firm provides its clients with advisory services, research and analytics to help them plan and execute their strategic initiatives. Based in Omaha, a recognized payments industry hub, TSG is an established leader in this high-growth, ever-evolving space. For more information please visit www.TheStrawGroup.com.