Christopher Seward
A former AOL executive has joined First Data, the Sandy Springs-based payment technology and services company, as chief technology officer.
Michael Manos had been CTO for AOL Brand, leading teams for AOL Instant Messenger, the AOL home page and the company’s entertainment, autos, commerce and lifestyle sites.
At First Data, Manos will be responsible for global technology infrastructure and be based in Atlanta.
Manos told the Wall Street Journal recently that automation will be key to First Data’s growth. “To drive and scale this business forward, automation at every level is really key to drive stability and the ability for us to expand into new markets and reduce time to market on products and services.”
First Data, owned by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is the world’s largest processor of credit and debit card transactions.
Manos is a former vice president at Nokia and has held leadership positions at Digital Realty Trust, Microsoft, Walt Disney and Nuclio Corp. He also holds patents related to cloud technologies, large scale infrastructure and software development, First Data said.
