ypercom President/ CEO Christopher S. Alexander has been elected Chairman of the Board, succeeding George Wallner, Hypercom's founder and Chief Strategist.

Alexander joined the company in 1993 as CEO of Hypercom International. In 1998, he became Executive Vice President of Global Operations for Hypercom Corp., and then in 1999 Alexander took charge of worldwide point-of-sale and multi-lane markets as President of Hypercom Transaction Systems Group, also overseeing the Horizon Group, a national distributor of POS equipment.

According to Hypercom, the appointment of Alexander to Chairman of the Board is a result of his achievements during the past two years in charting the company's growth.

"It gives me great pleasure to announce Chris Alexander's appointment as Chairman of the Board. As President and CEO, Chris has done a magnificent job in orchestrating and charting Hypercom's growth in the traditional payments space and beyond," Wallner said.

Wallner, who founded Hypercom in 1978, previously held the positions of President, CEO and Chief Technologist for the company. Wallner will continue to serve as Chief Strategist.

"George Wallner's enormous and very positive contributions to Hypercom, and indeed the entire electronic payments industry, cannot be overstated. It is a challenge and privilege to accept this passing of the baton," Alexander said.

Before joining the company in 1993, Alexander held senior-management positions with companies in the communications and data-storage industries. Alexander has an MBA from Georgia State University and a B.S. in industrial management from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Hypercom (NYSE: HYC) recently reported second quarter 2002 operating income of $3.3 million compared to a second quarter 2001 operating loss of $2.1 million. Operating income exceeds prior-year quarter and six-month year-to-date results by $5.4 million and $19.8 million, respectively.