Page 10 - GS170202

News

NEAA blends tradition, Millennials have a massive entrepreneurial

spirit and most have a side gig. They will
innovation outspend baby boomers in 2017 and bring

more capital into the planet than any other
ore than 600 attendees and 90 exhibitors con- previous generation.
vened in Boston Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, 2017, for ‒ Paul Moya, Millennial Labs
the Northeast Acquirers Association's annual
M convention. Established in 1985, the NEAA
was the first nonprofit regional acquirers association estab-
lished, leading the way for other such regional associations Targan, Partner, Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss; Chris
now thriving across the United States. This year's event Bucolo, Director, Market Strategy at ControlScan
mixed exhibits, seminars, panel sessions and networking. Inc.; and Scott Talbott, ETA Senior Vice President,
Government Affairs.
"This felt to me like a very happy show," said Nancy Drexler,
President of Acquired Marketing. "Many of us have been • Fintech: How startups are changing the way
attending for years and were just glad to see each other and payments work: what you need to know: Moderated
catch up." Drexler described the conference as a blend of by ETA Chief Executive Officer Jason Oxman, the
established and new relationships, insights, and laughs. panel included Henry Helgeson, CEO of Cayan LLC;
Jason Pavona, co-founder and CEO of Pazien Inc.;
and David Jegen, Partner at F-Prime Capital Partners.
Breakout sessions
• NEAA Payments Bowl: Officiated by Donna Embry,
this no-holds barred assessment of EMV (Europay,
The following breakout sessions were among the many Mastercard and Visa) implementation in the United
highlights the event offered: States pitted Team EMV against Team Retail,
examining the roles and effectiveness of payments
• The Electronic Transactions Association presented industry acquirers, issuers and third-party service
an introductory course on operations in conjunction providers. Each quarter of the football-themed session
with its Certified Payments Professional (CPP) examined a different aspect of implementation: what
Continuing Education series. worked, what could have been better, how to finish
the game and what the future holds in store.
• The Women's Network in Electronic Transactions
held an informal orientation on membership benefits Team EMV included Charl Botes, Vice President,
and resources. Product Manager, EMV & Contactless at Mastercard;
Marc Cleven, Senior Director, EMV at Visa; and
• Catapult 17, a popular Shark Tank-styled competition, Ray Puleo, Director of Product Analysis, Payment
provided contestants with an opportunity to share Networks at FIS.
new product concepts in 10 minutes or less to
a panel of prospective investors. The first place Team Retail included Mark Horwedel, CEO of
winner received complimentary exhibit space in the Merchant Advisory Group; and Mike Nelson, who
Payments Next Zone, a startup showcase in the ETA's heads EMV business development at Payment
annual conference, Transact 17, which will take place Alliance International.
in Las Vegas in May.
Make new friends, keep the old
Catapult 17 finalists, who received additional cash
awards to use for further development, were: fourth Keynote speaker Paul Moya, CEO of Millennial Labs, a
place, Fundament; third place, POPcodes Inc.; runner consultancy focused on solving generational issues, gave
up ACI Worldwide Inc.; and first place winner a compelling presentation on generation Y (some experts
Clientvine LLC. equate millennials and gen Y; others see them as overlapping
but distinct), debunking commonly held stereotypes and
Panel discussions biases that could compromise multigenerational workplace
settings.
Panel discussions were diverse and packed with insights.
Among them were: Moya additionally shared insights from his generation,

• Compliance, regulation and a view from Capitol contrasting the baby boom and millennial generations'
Hill: Moderated by Deana Rich, Principal at Rich polarizing outlooks and expectations. "Millennials have a
Consulting Inc., the session included panelists Holli massive entrepreneurial spirit and most have a side gig,"

10