Michael Capellas to become CEO of electronic-commerce and payment firm
Michael Capellas, the former CEO of MCI and Compaq, will take the helm at First Data later this year.
Michael Capellas, once the CEO of MCI and Compaq, is making a comeback as the CEO-apparent to electronic-commerce and payment firm First Data.
First Data is being bought by an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Capellas will take over after the deal closes later this year.
Meanwhile, Capellas will be coming up to speed by working with management teams from both KKR and First Data.
Capellas will succeed Henry C. “Ric” Duques, who has been chairman and CEO of First Data since November 2005. Previously he was chairman from 1989 to 2003 and CEO from 1989 to 2002.
Duques was brought back to lead the company in 2005, but with the understanding that he would retire within two years.
Capellas led MCI out of bankruptcy through its acquisition by Verizon last year. While CEO at Compaq from 2000 to 2002, Capellas negotiated sale of the company to HP, then served as president of HP. He joined Compaq in 1998 as CIO.
He has been an adviser to Silver Lake Partners venture capital firm and is a member of Cisco’s board of directors.
First Data provides a variety of payment services to help merchants and financial institutions validate and process payments. Its customers include 4.9 million merchant locations and 1,900 card issuers. The company is being sold for $29 billion.
“I look forward to joining First Data at this pivotal time and believe the company is uniquely positioned to pioneer innovative technologies for the next-generation of electronic and mobile commerce,” Capellas said in a statement.
It is expected that KKR’s acquisition of First Data will be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2007, subject to the approval of First Data shareholders, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
