About the Alliance : Management

Chairman of the Board, Secure Technology Alliance Board of Directors

Jack Jania, Chairman, Secure Technology Alliance

Jack Jania is Vice President of Product Management and Innovation at CPI Group. He consults with the financial industry on best business strategies to employ mobile payment, smart card payment and data security solutions. In addition to supporting CPI’s innovation and security objectives, Jack is committed to consumer education and digital security advocacy. In addition to his position as co-chair of the Alliance, Jack has chaired the Payments Council for several years.

Jack Jania

Executive Director

Christina Hulka

Email: [email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinahulka/

Christina Hulka has served as Executive Director of the Secure Technology Alliance and U.S. Payments Forum since March, 2024. She brings more than 25 years of cross-industry leadership, membership building, technology development and project management experience to the role, having served as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of FIDO Alliance. In addition to deep domain knowledge of identity, access control and compliance standards for authentication and device attestation, she was also heavily involved in the implementation and interoperability of EMV and contactless payments through her past work at Visa and the board of EMVCo.

Christina Hulka

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

  • Chairman: Jack Jania, CPI Card Group
  • Treasurer: Brent Bowen, G&D Mobile Security
  • Assistant Treasurer: David Dekozan, Cubic Transportation Systems
  • Secretary: Francine Dubois, IDEMIA
  • Assistant Secretary: Elinor Smith, Discover Financial Services
  • Technology Vice Chair: Thomas Lockwood, Vestige Digital

Directors

Andreas Aabye, Visa Inc.

Reena Abraham, Thales

Ryan Ahern, Ingenico

Tim Baldridge, U.S. Department of Defense/Defense Manpower Data Center

Rajan Barara, Entrust

Brent Bowen, Giesecke+Devrient

Brent Bowen is a Senior Vice President managing the payments business for G+D ePayments America, Inc in North America. Brent believes in the importance of the sustainable transformation for the card industry. An industry professional with over 36 years payment experience, Brent has both issuing, acquiring, technology and digital payments experience. Brent has a BS in Decision Sciences from Indiana University.

Brent Bowen

Roberto Cardenas, Global Payments / TSYS

Soumya Chakrabarty, JCB International

Soumya Chakrabarty is the Head of Emerging Technologies and New Products for JCB International which is responsible for developing and implementing innovative payment solutions.

Soumya is an experienced Global Technology Innovator & Emerging Products Leader with a 20 year track record of launching and scaling new payment processing technologies. He began his journey as a technology consultant with Capgemini and then continued his journey as an emerging products leader as the Head of Innovation at Discover Global Network. He has been a leader in the industry in the development and deployment of key payment technologies such as EMV, contactless and mobile payments.

Soumya Dev Chakrabarty

Jose Correa, Infineon Technologies

Keri Crane, Jack Henry & Associates

David Dekozan, Cubic Transportation Systems

David is Vice President, Business Development at Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. In that role he works proactively with transit authorities to develop fare system and mobility growth initiatives throughout the western United States and Latin America. Over more than 30 years, David has held a range of management positions at Cubic, having at various times, led marketing, proposal development, research and development, and strategic planning. He has been at the forefront of the company’s contactless and mobile initiatives representing Cubic on various industry standardization and trade groups.  David also sits on the board of two non-profits the Secure Technology Alliance and Circulate San Diego. David holds a degree in Economics from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School.

David Dekozan

Francine Dubois, IDEMIA

Lauren Helt, American Express

Sruti Jain, Consult Hyperion

Thomas Lockwood, NextgenID, Inc.

Manish Nathwani, Shazam

Andy Patania, Elavon

Lillie Platko, FIS

Itai Sela, B2 Payments

Elinor Smith, Discover Financial Services

Ellie Smith is a 23-year payments industry veteran who has been with Discover since 2011. Her current role is Global Head of Digital Acceptance, where she is responsible for maximizing strategic partnerships with digital payment enablers across eCommerce, In-App, and in-store payment channels. Previously, as Global Head of Discover’s Global Chip Center of Excellence, Ellie led a team in charge of developing and deploying contact and contactless EMV technology worldwide.

Ellie is active in the payments industry, having represented Discover on the EMVCo Executive Committee, the US Payments Forum (USPF) Steering Committee, the Secure Technology Alliance Board of Directors, and the Secure Technology Alliance Payments Council.

Prior to joining Discover, Ellie held several payments consulting roles, and worked for nearly 10 years at American Express, where she spent significant time focused on emerging payments and on commercial card.

Ellie has lived in several states across the midwestern US, but now calls Phoenix, Arizona home. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and going to brunch!

Elinor Smith

Joe Vasterling, Best Buy

Sarah Walsh, Bank of America

Seckin Yilgoren, Mastercard

Seckin Yilgoren is the Senior Vice President of Cyber & Intelligence Solutions at Mastercard. He is responsible for managing a portfolio of Cyber & Intelligence products and services, addressing fraud, cyber security, identity, crypto, account and network solutions for Mastercard’s North American Markets. Prior to this, he led the development of global and regional commercialization strategies for Mastercard’s Global Identity Solutions.

From 2015-2018, Seckin led Mastercard’s Digital Payments & Labs’ product specialist team covering North American Markets, where he was responsible for advancing Mastercard’s digital products and services priorities for the region.

Seckin joined Mastercard’s High Growth & Central European Markets team in 2010, relocating to Mastercard’s North American HQ in Purchase in 2014. Prior to Mastercard, he spent several years as a management consultant in a number of international markets, focused on financial institutions, telecommunication and retail industries. He holds an Economics degree from Pierre Mendes University in Grenoble, France and an MBA from University of Illinois, USA.

Seckin Yilgoren

Mike Yu, Director Business Development, UnionPay International

Mike Yu is Director Business Development at UnionPay International. Before joining UnionPay International, Yu had been in the banking and payment industry for 16 years and worked most of of his payment industry years on the acquiring side.

At UnionPay, his primary responsibilities are relationship management with financial institutions, acquirers/processors, and ISV and POS companies.  Yu represents Unionpay International within U.S Payments Forum and other organizations. Interestingly, Yu is trilingual and speaks English, Korean, and Chinese.

Mike Yu

Alliance Staff

Devon Rohrer

Devon Rohrer, Managing Director, U.S. Payments Forum and Associate Director, Secure Technology Alliance

Devon Rohrer is Managing Director for the U.S. Payments Forum and Associate Director for the Secure Technology Alliance.  In these roles, she provides overall management for the U.S. Payments Forum activities, including events, Steering Committee projects, working committees and deliverables, and provides support for Board strategic programs.  Devon has over 20 years of experience in association management, including consulting engagements or positions with GlobalPlatform, EMVCo, California ISO and Intermountain Health Care.

Jaci Sauve

Jaci Sauve, Director of Events

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 860.488.1090
linkedin.com/in/jaclynsauve

Jaclyn Sauvé is the Director of Events for the Secure Technology Alliance and U.S. Payments Forum, responsible for all conference procurement, expenditures, and operations in addition to leading the onsite logistic support team. Jaci also functions as a speaker liaison for each conference program committee and manages all Exhibitor and Sponsor communications on behalf of the Sales and Marketing.

Jaci realized her passion for planning while working as a Sales Director. In addition to overseeing all central office functions, Jaci took on the management of training, travel and events for her Sales team of 100+ nationwide employees. The next 16 years of event experience has encompassed working across the Publishing, Healthcare, Software and Non-Profit / Association industries.

Jaci holds a degree in Communications / Media with a concentration in video production from Western Connecticut State University. Jaci also holds a Certificate of Hospitality & Tourism Management from Florida Atlantic University as well as Cvent certifications in Venue Sourcing and Advanced Event Management.

Danielle Mattison

Danielle Mattison, Project Coordinator for U.S. Payments Forum

Email: [email protected]

Danielle Mattison has served as Project Coordinator for the U.S. Payments Forum’s nine working committees since 2022. Prior to joining the Alliance and Forum, Danielle worked in technical association management for six years in a variety of positions including technical writing and editing, communications, and program management.

Sandy Mayfield

Sandy Mayfield, Managing Director of the Identity and Access Forum

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 832.525.5300
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-mayfield-a5370a269/

Sandy is an experienced Project Manager, Team Leader, and a Lean Six Sigma Specialist with a track record of leading complex teams solving dynamic business challenges. Prior to joining Secure Technology Alliance, she has built a career that spans over 15 years of project management in operations, offshore engagement, and performance management within diverse industries. Sandy has built a career developing internal and external cross-functional teams by leveraging deep collaboration by establishing meaningful relationships with clients and business partners focused on delivering impact. She has also developed and provided strategic and tactical plans for piloting and deployment of standardized processes and procedures to enable long-term efficiencies and success.

Jay Armocilla

Jay Armocilla, Operations Analyst/Membership

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 650.385.8052
linkedin.com/in/jay-armocilla-clssgb-9461347b

Jay Armocilla is the Operations Analyst of Secure Technology Alliance and U.S Payments Forum. He is a dynamic and experienced professional who has a passion for building strong relationships and driving membership value.

Being a Lean Six Sigma Certified and having an extensive knowledge of project management, he has a proven track record of success in overseeing and optimizing business processes to increase efficiency and profitability. His ability to streamline operations and deliver exceptional results, coupled with his keen attention to detail and exceptional organizational skills, make him a valuable asset to the team.