Merchant Link Names Patricia Sappington Director of Channel Development
SILVER SPRING, MD - July 31, 2012 - Merchant Link, a leading provider of payment gateway and data security solutions, today announced that Patricia Sappington will join the company as Director of Channel Development with a focus on building Value Added Reseller (VAR) relationships and growing market share. Sappington comes to Merchant Link from Elavon, Inc., where she facilitated new relationships and interfaces with VARs, directed global hospitality sales, and managed gateway customer relationships.
As a veteran of the hospitality and payments industries, Patricia is well-versed in the strategic development of channel programs and will focus on creating a new Value Added Reseller Launch Program to enhance the company's relationship with its growing base of partners. Patricia will focus on the lodging, restaurant and retail verticals.
“The Director of Channel Development position is significant to Merchant Link's overall strategy and direction,” said Laura Kirby-Meck, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Merchant Link. “Patricia brings the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience necessary to grow the VAR program. She has a passion for service that will continue to expand the number of payment devices and systems we connect to.”
“Merchant Link is well-known in the payments industry for its service and support, and is leading the way in its development of payment data security solutions such as tokenization and point-to-point encryption. I'm thrilled to join the team,” said Sappington.
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