Chairman of the Board – J. David (Dave) Siembieda
Dave Siembieda is the president and CEO of a large financial services firm and has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He was promoted to his current role in 2000 after holding the position of executive vice president of Sales and Marketing where he led his team to an annual growth rate of over 40% and record-breaking sales totals. Previously, he was the vice president of Consumer Relations and was instrumental in forming the Legal Affairs department.
Siembieda serves on the advisory board of The Green Sheet, a financial services publication for ISOs. He is also a member of NACHA’s Electronic Check Council. He graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management.
President & CEO – Chris Schumacher
Chris Schumacher has extensive experience in operational management, strategic planning and systems automation. He also has 35 years of leadership experience in the accounts receivable management industry. Utilizing technology and analytics, his development and implementation of collection strategies has created customized solutions that increase collection results for Optio Solutions’ clients.
Schumacher also currently serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer of a large financial services firm. He has been an integral part of the executive management team since 2002 and plays a key role in strategic planning for the company. Previously, he held a variety of management positions at Transworld Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of industry giant NCO Group, Inc., including director of operations for the corporate office which consisted of 140 sales offices and 20 call centers across the country. He was also the collection manager of Credit Management Services in the Los Angeles and Honolulu offices.
He graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.
Senior Vice President – Tim Whalen
Tim Whalen directs the collection, compliance and customer service operations at Optio Solutions. His responsibilities include leading Optio’s strategic planning and efforts to optimize collection results for clients; compliance with laws, regulations and company policies; and the delivery of responsive, accurate and professional client support.
Whalen has over 40 years of leadership experience in the semiconductor, financial services and healthcare industries. This tenure includes working in privately held start-ups and publically held multi-national organizations. Past roles include president of Transworld Systems, Inc., COO of The Outsource Group and regional vice-president for Parallon.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Master of Business Administration in Finance at Western Michigan University, and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems from the University of Dallas.
Vice President of Collections Operations – Brad Lantz
Vice President of Collections Operations Brad Lantz brings 30-plus years of industry experience to Optio’s contingency-based and first-party collection services divisions. Based in Fargo, N.D., he is responsible for the strategic planning and daily collection operations in the Fargo and Petaluma call centers where he leads managers, supervisors and consumer relations representatives.
Lantz has considerable experience transforming the financial and operational performance of both privately and publicly held companies. His accomplishments include being responsible for strategic direction and setting operational directives for an organization with over 400 employees.
Previously, he has held titles of senior vice president and chief operating officer for receivables management companies where he managed multiple vice presidents and directors and as many as 2,500 collectors.
Consumer Relations Manager – Katherine Tindall
Katherine Tindall has been an Optio Solutions collections manager since June 2015 and has over 20 years experience in the industry. Her responsibilities include tracking call reports for specific segments, calling strategies, collector development and training, and data analysis. Tindall believes in leading by example, and although she expects a lot out of those who work for her and with her, she expects even more out of herself.
Previously, she spent 13 years working in the industry as a collector, lead, trainer and supervisor-manager. Her experience in collections spans many industries and levels of delinquency where she has made a career of taking over struggling portfolios and turning them around, gaining market share and starting up collection projects from scratch.