USA Technologies Inc. announced that Stephen P. Herbert, 48, has been appointed chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of the company’s board of directors, effective immediately.
Herbert joined the company in 1996 and served as a member of the board of directors since that time. He was appointed and served as president and chief operating officer since 1999. As President, he oversaw all operations of the company including network operations, sales, marketing, research and development and manufacturing. He was named interim chairman and CEO in October 2011.
Prior to joining USA Technologies, he had been employed by The Pepsi-Cola Co., the beverage division of PepsiCo, Inc., where he held several management positions in operations, sales and marketing. In his final assignment he was responsible for the development of market strategy for the vending and retail channels for Pepsi-Cola in North America. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Louisiana State University.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the shareholders, customers and employees of USA Technologies in this new capacity at an important inflection point in the company’s history,” said Herbert in a prepared statement. “Over the past several years the company has significantly increased revenue in conjunction with reducing its losses. I’ll be intently focused on bottom-line-oriented accountability for the leadership of USA Technologies in order attempt to drive the company toward profitability.”
Herbert continued, “Bringing greater value to USAT customers and shareholders is at the top of my priorities as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. Over the past several years the company has achieved significant growth in the areas of revenue, gross profit dollars, transactions handled by the company’s network, as well as connections and customers on its network. We must continue those significant business achievements, while more aggressively scrutinizing operating expenses so that USA Technologies becomes a sustainable, profitable business that would deliver increased shareholder value, quarter-in and quarter-out while providing maximum value to customers. We intend to provide greater accountability to shareholders and plan to upgrade investor communications to be more transparent and accessible.”
“Importantly, we are challenging ourselves to improve and innovate our already leading-edge products and services to better meet the current and future needs of the customers and markets we serve. These initiatives are ongoing and intended to demonstrate our commitment to creating greater shareholder value,” Herbert said.
Steven Barnhart, independent director of USA Technologies, added, “USA Technologies is a leader in our industry because of our superior quality products and services, and our unique turn-key solution. We are the partner of choice for the leading companies in our industry, including some of the world’s largest payment processors, technology and wireless service providers and vending companies. In his role as president and chief ooperating officer, Steve was instrumental in architecting and driving the strategy that got us to this position. As a result, the board of directors of USA Technologies believes that Steve has the in-depth knowledge of the business to build on our leadership, and to credibly communicate our progress, growth and development to shareholders.”
