Dive Brief:

• Jack Henry & Associates has named Greg Adelson its next chief executive, effective July 1. Adelson joined the bank payment and technology services provider in 2011 and currently serves as its president and chief operating officer, according to a Monday press release.
• Current CEO and Board Chair David Foss will step down on June 30. At that point, he will become executive board chair for the Monett, Missouri-based company and take on to-be-determined management functions, said Jack Henry spokesperson Mark Folk.
• Adelson “is a strong, proven leader who has been an essential part of Jack Henry's growth and success for the past 13 years and has a deep understanding of all aspects of our business,” Foss said in the news release. Foss added that the transition plan “has been carefully considered for some time.”

Dive Insight:

Jack Henry provides payments and technology services to U.S. community banks as well as credit unions, serving approximately 7,500 clients, according to Monday’s press release. 

Adelson was named general manager of the company’s payment solutions group in 2014. He was elevated to COO in 2019 and named the company’s president in 2022. Adelson is responsible for all business lines, technology, infrastructure and sales, according to the release.

Adelson said he’s “passionate about continuing the strategic journey that we are on today and moving our company forward through innovation and execution,” according to the release. “I look forward to partnering with [Foss] in his new role as we continue to focus on growing our company,” he said. 

In a Monday note to investment clients, Baird Senior Research Analyst David Koning said Foss was “well liked” by both investors and employees. Koning expressed confidence in the transition plan, adding, “We think [Jack Henry] is in good hands with Greg.”

Foss, who’s been CEO since 2016, joined the company in 1999 after arranging the sale of BancTec’s financial solutions division to Jack Henry, the release said.

Jack Henry is one of the 120-plus companies and organizations that signed on early to participate in the development of FedNow and to push for adoption of the instant payment system by financial institutions. The company had 40 customers live on FedNow in receive-only mode, with 150 more waiting to be signed up, as of last November.

Jack Henry trimmed its workforce last year, offering a voluntary early retirement program last July expected to cut 160 employees.