ACI Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACIW), a leading international provider of electronic payments software and solutions announced two new leadership appointments in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

Mitch Armstrong has been appointed Vice President Solutions Consulting EMEA and Lu Zurawski Practice Lead, Consumer Payments EMEA.

Mitch re-joined ACI when the company acquired its rival Essentis. In his new role he will be responsible for leading ACI’s marketing and solution consultants in Europe, Middle East and Africa.  Mitch has expansive knowledge of the payments industry and sits on the board of EPAS, a leading not-for-profit organisation which aims to promote and maintain card payment standards across Europe.

Lu Zurawski joined ACI from IT services company CGI (formerly Logica) where he helped design and sell complex payment services for large corporate clients. He is an experts in cards and consumer payments.  In his new role, Lu will be responsible for driving and crafting large, high-value solutions for ACI’s clients across the region.

Paul Thomalla, Senior Vice President and Managing Director EMEA at ACI Worldwide commented:

“This is an exciting time for the payments industry and we are delighted to see the team continue to develop and expand within this quickly evolving sector. Both Mitch and Lu bring great expertise to the roles and will play a pivotal part in driving leadership and knowledge throughout the business to further our success.

“The global payments market is in an unprecedented state of disruption. Putting the customer at the heart of the payments strategy will be a determining factor between those who merely exist versus those who will thrive.

“For our clients this disruption brings challenges but also opportunities. Banks must remove friction from payment transactions and reduce disparate payment silos in order to compete in the brave new payments world.

“At the same time, the market for consumer payments is at its most vibrant since the 1980s and retailers and financial institutions alike will need to invest in the right payments strategy.

“ACI’s strategy in EMEA focuses on expanding its offerings and delivering the best payments solutions to its customers.”