First Data’s new CEO: ‘I’m a builder’

At First Data, which had $10.7 billion in revenue last year, there is room for improvement. The heavily leveraged business lost $700.9 million in 2012, and millions more since it was bought by the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for $27.5 billion in 2007.

Though First Data has business in 35 countries, its growth should be stronger than it is, said Eric Grover, principal of Intrepid Ventures and a veteran of the payment processing industry.

“If they can get the growth engine growing, it makes all the other issues a lot easier,” he said.

Grover said the company likely wanted someone “transformational” to lead the business. Ed Labry, the interim CEO, will return to his previous role as president of retail and alliance services. First Data processes credit and debit card transactions for banks and card companies.

Bisignano, 53, said there is “plenty of runway” for the business to improve, particularly internationally and in terms of productivity in the U.S.

“It’s about doing what we do better,” he said. “It’s not about some dynamic change in the business model.”

The new CEO called himself a technologist, saying he wants to innovate and turn ideas into applications. He’s already done it in Atlanta as the leader of a JP Morgan Chase team that digitized Martin Luther King Jr.’s archives. The project began after a conversation Bisignano had with Martin Luther King III, Bisignano said.

Bisignano’s new role was announced Sunday, and he started his job at First Data Monday. In addition to his roles at JP Morgan Chase, Bisignano was the CEO of Citigroup’s global transactions services.