Planet Group Inc :: Leadership

Planet Group Inc. Executive Team

Left to right: Merri Wees, Mike Benson, Mark Spurgeon,

Liz Novak, Mike Wofford, John Morey and Matt Minchow.

-Photo taken by Chris Henson

Mike Wofford

Chief Executive Officer / President / Planet Group

Wofford is the current President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Planet Group, Inc. Wofford holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with specializations in banking and finance.

Wofford started his business career with First Data Resources (FDR) in 1980. He joined Applied Communcations, Inc. (ACI) in 1983. In 1987 he moved toACI International and was promoted to Director of Internatiolnal Project Implementations. In 1990 Wofford started U.S. Software, Inc. In 1994 USSI was successfully reunited with ACI which was taken public in 1995 as Transaction Systems Architects, Inc. (TSAI) Wofford left TSAI in 1996 to co-found Planet 2000 Software, Inc, a premier internet technology provider for the financial services industry.

Under Wofford’s leadership Planet has grown to 205 employees, acquired 11 companies and performed a successful management buy back from CSG Systems in 2006. Today, Planet Group, Inc. provides more than internet technology. Planet offers a variety of industries a host of benefits including; IT consulting, software products, hosted services, secure customer communication management and business process management solutions.

John Morey

Chief Financial Officer / Planet Group

As Chief Financial Officer and SVP of Operations, John Morey is responsible for directing all of the company's financial and accounting transactions, treasury functions and operations. Since joining the company in 1997, he has been instrumental in Planet's acquisitions and company growth. Morey brings over 24 years of financial and operational management experience, 18 of which are in the information technology industry. Prior to joining Planet, Morey served as Vice President of Finance and Administration at U.S. Software, Inc. He has been a CPA since 1979, and began his career with six years at Deloitte and Touche.

Kent Landholm

Chief Technology Officer / Planet Group

Kent Landholm was appointed Chief Technology Officer for Planet Group in March 2006. Landholm has over 15 years experience in the information technology and electronic payments industries. He is responsible for the strategic technology direction of Planet Group and it's subsidiary companies software solutions. Prior to this appointment, Landholm served as the Director of Professional Services, where he managed internal project teams and outsourced project engagements. Prior to joining Planet, Landholm spent the majority of his career with Applied Communications Inc. (ACI Worldwide) and US Software Inc. (USSI). While at ACI Worldwide Landholm served many roles from managing systems development teams, to conducting and managing a team of engineers and analysts responsible for performance reviews on customer systems and interfacing with product development groups related to performance issues. Landholm was the primary architect for the design and development of the front-end communications server that facilitated a wide array of communications protocols and message formats. Landhom has a B.S. in Business Administration and Computer Science.

Mark Spurgeon

President / Planet Consulting

Mark Spurgeon was appointed President of Planet Consulting in December 2005. Spurgeon has been a key member of the Planet executive team, recently serving as the Vice President of Solution Sales. Spurgeon joined Planet in 1998 after a 10-year career with ACI Worldwide. His experience began in the technical programming arena and has complemented this over the last 12 years with customer relations, project management, marketing, and sales engagements. Spurgeon adds an array of international customer relations and project management experience through his seven years of experience with ACI Worldwide's international clients. Spurgeon holds a Master's degree in Business Administration.

Matt Minchow

President / Planet Financial Services

Matt Minchow was appointed President of Planet Financial Services in August of 2006. Prior to joining Planet Financial Services, Minchow was head of Business Development at First National Merchant Processing, serving as Senior Vice President. He was responsible for delivering electronic payment services to large and medium sized businesses throughout the United States, utilizing Banks, ISO's and three direct sales channels. During his 12 year career at First National Bank, the organization successfully gained competitive advantage by providing services to thousands of nationally recognized retailers, convenience stores, e-tailers, government agencies, utilities, and third parties.

Merri Wees

Vice President of Human Resources / Planet Group

As Vice President of Human Resources for Planet Group Inc. and its subsidiaries, Merri Wees oversees employee relations, compensation and benefits. Joining the company in 1997, Wees has over 20 years of experience in employee and leadership development, and has played an integral part in company acquisitions throughout the company's history. Prior to Planet, she was a vital member of the human resources staff at ACI Worldwide for 8 years. Wees is an active member locally of the Human Resources Association of the Midlands, and nationally with the Society for Human Resources Management.

Liz Novak

Vice President of Operations / Planet Financial Services

Liz Novak oversees and manages the Merchant Operations group of Planet Financial Services, responsible for the implementation, daily processing and enhancements of Planet Financial Services payment settlement software - Acquire360. Novak brings to Planet Financial Services and its clients a powerful blend of technical and operational experience. Having the vision to set strategy and the discipline for detailed design, she provides seasoned expertise in information management, process design, and merchant and bank operations. Before joining Planet Financial Services, Novak was the Chief Information Officer and instrumental in starting MerchantWired, an ISO for the SPG, which later was acquired by First National Merchant Solutions. Novak has had a lustrous career with decades of experience within the financial services industry, specifically in bank and merchant operations.

Dan Heimann

Vice President / Marketing and Communications

Dan Heimann brings over 25 years of IT, marketing and strategic planning experience for payments and transaction processing within the retail and banking industries. He has been a speaker at various conferences on strategy and trends in the payments industry, including the Canadian Payments Association, the Bank Administration Institute (BAI), Singapore Payments Association, Europay Association, the South American Smart-Card Forum and the European Secure Electronic Transactions (eCommerce shop and buy) forum. Mr. Heimann also worked in various marketing and strategic planning roles while at ACI Worldwide. He has worked with major card associations like VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Europay, as well as terminal manufacturers like Veriphone, Hypercom and NCR. He has also served on various payment industry councils, working directly with banks, payment networks and payment processors on five continents regarding their payment processing strategy and vision. Mr. Heimann joined Planet Group in October of 2006. In late 2007, he was appointed Vice President of Marketing & Communications, where his marketing, communications and strategic payment processing experience and expertise will be leveraged across all divisions of Planet Group.