Bold Leadership
With experience to spare, our high-powered executive team brings a full spectrum of insight and expertise – encompasing all industry segments – to create smart, meaningful solutions that accelerate business growth.
David Johnson
CEO & Founder
David Johnson spearheads the bold leadership that Vervent brings to clients and the industry. He drives our business and people forward with a penchant for innovation, a talent for developing expert teams, and a passion for creating impactful results.
Since becoming CEO in 2008, Mr. Johnson has grown the company from a niche player in the mobile home servicing space into an award-winning, global financial services brand that delivers comprehensive solutions for an array of industries.
He pulls from more than 25 years of industry experience to accelerate each client’s success with unmatched perspective and foresight. Prior to leading Vervent, Mr. Johnson was SVP of Corporate Development at Memec LLC and a consultant for McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company, where he worked with Global 500 clients across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mr. Johnson is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, a partner at Social Venture Partners, and serves on the board for several notable organizations. He holds a BS from UC Berkeley and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Lisa Turner
VP Primary Servicing
Lisa Turner is a highly motivated strategic thinker with more than 20 years of operational experience in the financial services industry in Call Center, Wire/ACH settlement, Lockbox and Treasury environments.
At Vervent, she has brought all of her experience of collaboration, expert team building and open communication to our servicing teams while challenging all to continually go above and beyond for our customers.
Prior to Vervent, she championed growth as Director of Operations at National Merchants Association and VP of Customer Service for East West Bank. She also spent more than seven years in Wealth Management, Trust and Treasury at Wells Fargo Bank where she built several high-functioning Operations teams across the United States, including one that launched new commercial card products to Europe.
She enjoys traveling, playing golf and is a mentor to the LGBTQ at-risk youth community. She holds a BA in Business Administration from DePaul University.
Stephanie Jimenez
President
Stephanie Jimenez
President, Vervent Services
Powered by more than 25 years of tactical experience building and managing successful operations departments in the financial services industry, Stephanie Jimenez overhauled Vervent’s operations infrastructure and team framework to enable us to grow into a world-class global organization.
Prior to joining Vervent, she served as Director, Operations at Capital One, where she established an in-house offshore operations center in the Philippines and designed and implemented new product launches for key partnerships. Ms. Jimenez also served as Vice President of Global Projects and Operations at HSBC, where she managed the oversight and implementation of offshore operations for the company’s North American business.
Deeply involved in the San Diego community, she is an enthusiastic advocate for education and was named the 2017 San Diego Business Journal Woman of the Year. She holds a BS from Austin Peay State University, an MBA from University of Phoenix, and a PhD from Southern California University.
Brad Herbison
Brad Herbison is a solutions-oriented IT professional with a proven track record of delivering successful technology solutions that meet complex business and client objectives. With more than 25 years of experience in information technology and operations, he has the deep experience, practical know-how and people skills to oversee Vervent’s vast technology needs.
Mr. Herbison joined Vervent with the company’s acquisition of PFSC, where he guided an experienced team that fueled PFSC’s rise to a leadership position in the portfolio servicing space. At Vervent, he spear-headed the construction of Vervent’s state-of-the-art data centers, virtualization strategy, and agile development frameworks and methodologies to rival much larger players in the space. He and his teams have also retooled the company’s technology stack and unified communication platform to support a 1000+ person company across 6 global locations. He also led the development of game-changing technology to enhance and support Vervent’s expanded servicing and credit card solutions.
Prior to Vervent, Mr. Herbison was an in-demand consultant in the Pacific Northwest. In his many roles, he led onshore and offshore development teams, working across many industry verticals, on projects ranging from highly specialized systems builds to serving as in-house CTO. His skills and tenaciousness landed him many exciting projects that were successfully delivered to market. During this period, he deepened his experience and skill set expansively and was ultimately hired in-house to lead IT as the CTO for PFSC.
Mr. Herbison is a dedicated family man and father of five, enjoys the Pacific Northwest and many of the outdoor pursuits living there offers. He is a also big supporter of Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel where one of his daughters went through major surgery successfully as a child. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Oregon State University.
Brad Herbison
CTO
Dhruv Vakharia
CFO
Specializing in operational finance and strategic corporate development, Dhruv Vakharia leads Vervent’s accounting and finance department and oversees the company’s overall fiscal vision and well-being.
As a prior operating executive, he established and executed growth through data-driven change management, strategic investments and partnerships, and capital structure optimization. He has also held various leadership positions in Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s investment banking, capital markets and proprietary investing divisions where he played a leading role in establishing a focus on fintech and consumer financing across various M&A, capital markets and operational efforts.
Mr. Vakharia is an active community leader who has held advisory and board positions at Big Brothers and Big Sisters of San Diego County, CFO Leadership Council, San Diego Food Bank and the San Diego Economic Development Corp. He has an MBA in Accounting & Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an undergraduate degree in Economics (Honors) from Brandeis University.
Dhruv Vakharia
CFO
Derek Gamble
General Counsel
When it comes to navigating heavily regulated industries, Derek Gamble is an unparalleled talent. As Vervent’s General Counsel, he guides the business to ensure maximum growth with minimal risk.
Throughout his career, Mr. Gamble has maneuvered global organizations across fast-changing compliance environments. As Ethics Officer and Senior Attorney at Airbus Defense & Space, he implemented extensive compliance policies, managed a top-tier legal team, and focused on developing long-standing customer relationships.
Mr. Gamble also served at H&R Block, where he was Lead Attorney in charge of mergers and acquisitions, procurement, and commercial real estate. He was also a member of the company’s legal compliance committee, which navigated the many financial regulations affecting the company.
Derek Gamble
General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer
Joeseph Noe
Chief Credit Officer
Joseph Noe
Chief Credit Officer
Joe’s unique blend of financial service and credit card program management experience poises him to strategically lead Vervent Card. With more than 20 years in the industry, his understanding of the card program life cycle is holistic. He possesses the demonstrated ability to move credit programs from concept to market.
Prior to joining the Vervent family, Mr. Noe was President and CEO of Total Card, Inc. where he spearheaded and grew TCI’s diversified portfolio of credit solutions. He currently serves on the TransUnion Non-Prime Advisory Board and has previously sat on the Experian Consumer Credit Advisory Board.
When not building credit programs, you can generally find Joe enjoying his time outdoors. Mr. Noe is also a champion for the cause of providing hope to children with life-threatening medical conditions through his work with Make-A-Wish of South Dakota. He has personally led fundraising efforts that have netted the organization over $250,000 in total, helping to grant countless wishes.
Lou Geibel
EVP Sales
Lou Geibel
EVP Sales
Lou Geibel is a natural relationship builder with almost 30 years of financial industry experience. With an aptitude for providing clients thoughtful, effective solutions, he leads Vervent’s sales organization, spearheads company growth and works within the leadership team to develop new services.
Previously, Mr. Geibel was as the Senior Vice President and Chief Trust Officer at WSFS Bank, where he was responsible for overseeing institutional services and led their capital markets business. He also served as President of Christiana Trust, a leading provider of trust services in Delaware, where he managed the day-to-day business operations and sales efforts.
Mr. Geibel graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Outside of the office, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife and children at their home near the beach in Delaware.
Jannet Zamora
SVP Customer Experience
Jannet Zamora
SVP Operations
Over the course of her 20-year career, Jannet Zamora has mastered the art of building high-performing teams that deliver best-in-class results. At Vervent, she uses her talent for identifying the true source of a problem and her passion for turning challenges into opportunities to revolutionize the way we deliver a memorable customer experience.
Prior to Vervent, Ms. Zamora led call center operations at Equity Key and worked as Senior Manager at Great Call. She also spent more than 10 years in sales and operations at HSBC, where she developed progressive processes that transformed operations to yield top results.
She is a driving force in developing the San Diego-Tijuana business community and is sought after for her expertise in call center development. She attended San Diego State University.
Aaron Knigge
SVP Client Engagement
Aaron Knigge
SVP Operations, Client Engagement
Aaron is a believer that any leader is only as good as the team they lead. His focus and passion over his 20 year contact center career has been in the cultivation and development of operational talent and in building teams that exemplify accountability, ownership, and a passion for performance.
In his time as COO of Total Card, Inc., prior to the company’s acquisition by Vervent, Aaron held responsibility for a wide array of operational functions including Client Relations, Project Management, Customer Service, Collections, Fraud, Correspondence, Back-Office Support, Training, Workforce Management, and Facilities. During his tenure, Total Card, Inc. experienced extensive evolution and growth, more than tripling its labor force and expanding its operational footprint. Leveraging his background in workforce management, experience in operational efficiency & expense management, and knowledge of contact center technology, he was able to evolve his operation in alignment with the business evolution and guide the company through this growth while reducing relative expenses.
Prior to Vervent and Total Card, Inc., Aaron was an Operations Manager with a small regional BPO serving 175 clients and worked in Operational Analytics & Process Re-Engineering with First Premier Bank.
Aaron is based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and holds a B.S. degree from South Dakota State University (Go Jacks!). He gives back to the Sioux Empire community through active long-term financial and volunteer support of the Sioux Empire United Way. When he is not at work Aaron’s focus is his family, with whom he spends most of the summer months on the golf course and most of the cold South Dakota winter months ice-fishing!
Tyler Brenden
SVP Chief Information Security Officer
Tyler Brenden
SVP Chief Information Security Officer
Tyler is responsible for information security, IT compliance, and business resilience at Vervent. He and his team ensure that Vervent stays ahead of emerging threats and that our Information Technology systems are secure.
Mr. Brenden has over 25 years of experience in IT with most of that time in various leadership roles at banks and other financial services institutions. While he has previous hands-on technical experience in many areas of IT, his focus now is developing and maintaining a world-class information security program that exceeds industry best practices. He is also responsible for Vervent’s PCI & SOC audit programs.
Mr. Brenden attended Augustana University, majoring in Computer Science and Management Information Systems. He is also certified by the Global Information Assurance Certification Institute.
Blythe Lawton
VP Marketing
Blythe Lawton
VP Marketing
A passionate communicator with more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing, Blythe Lawton is the driving force behind the commercialization of the Vervent brand. With a unique understanding of our clients’ needs, her breadth of experience supports her ability to create custom solutions for clients across industries, while maximizing communication, engagement and interaction to keep us consistently outpacing the competition.
Prior to joining Vervent, she was marketing and selling big brands including PowerBar, Nestle, P&G, Toyota and Honda. She also spent six years in the biotech industry leading marketing efforts at Exagen Diagnostics and several genomic startups, in addition to running her own successful consulting company.
Ms. Lawton is actively involved in the San Diego business community, contributes to local mentorship projects, and is a published author. She earned her B.A. from Arizona State University.
Mark Palmerton
VP Capital Markets Support
Mark Palmerton
Armed with more than 25 years of loan servicing experience, Mark Palmerton leads Vervent’s Capital Market Support business line, including Backup Servicing, Verifications, and Custodial Services. His successes include improving efficiencies and using evolving technologies to develop key performance indicators.
During his nine-year tenure at Vervent, Mr. Palmerton also managed Primary Servicing for a diverse set of asset classes. Previously in his career, he held positions at financial powerhouses HSBC Auto Finance and Wells Fargo Bank.
Mr. Palmerton enjoys spending his free time with family or visiting the beach. He graduated from University of California San Diego with a B.A. in Economics.
Heather Sacrison
VP Credit & Risk
Heather Sarcrison
VP Credit & Risk
Heather Sacrison is a risk-mitigating savant with substantial experience in operations, compliance, and financial services. Through regular reporting, development of client models, and enhanced analysis, she leads Vervent Card’s risk management protocols.
Ms. Sacrison previously served as the Director of Credit and risk at Total Card Inc., where she implemented oversight of credit policy, portfolio risk, and credit operations using data-driven insights and analysis. She also held the positions of Credit Compliance Manager at Bluestem Brands and Data Analyst at ReliaMax Insurance.
She holds a B.S. in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Data Science from South Dakota State University. In her free time she likes to travel and explore by hiking, biking, camping, and riding ATV’s. She is passionate about the sustainability of natural resources and contributes to organizations that provide pure drinking water, wastewater improvement solutions, and recycling programs to communities.
Tyler Brenden
SVP Information Security
Tyler Brenden
SVP Information Security
Tyler is responsible for information security, IT compliance, and business resilience at Vervent. He and his team ensure that Vervent stays ahead of emerging threats and that our Information Technology systems are secure.
Mr. Brenden has over 25 years of experience in IT with most of that time in various leadership roles at banks and other financial services institutions. While he has previous hands-on technical experience in many areas of IT, his focus now is developing and maintaining a world-class information security program that exceeds industry best practices. He is also responsible for Vervent’s PCI & SOC audit programs.
Mr. Brenden attended Augustana University, majoring in Computer Science and Management Information Systems. He is also certified by the Global Information Assurance Certification Institute.
Stacey Johnson, SHRM-CP
Director, Human Resources
Stacey Johnson
Director, Human Resources
Stacey Johnson is a consummate Human Resources professional with 20+ years of delivering excellence. As the HR lead for Vervent she expertly handles staff across five locations, meeting the benefits and development needs of our diverse staff in coordination with all levels of leadership.
With deep experience across operations Ms. Johnson offers a unique view on implementing performance management within the Human Resources organization. Her effective and empathetic approach has had a strong impact on Vervent as well as in previous roles at Total Card and Midco where she earned the respect and confidence of both staff and management. Ms. Johnson also is especially qualified at designing and administering employee benefits programs to ensure competitive coverage, employee input, cost effectiveness and industry best practices. She has a proven track-record of excelling at employee relations using an intelligent approach to fully support staff while also meeting the needs of the management and the business.
Ms. Johnson holds many professional certifications and is and is an active member of the Human Resources industry. In her free time she enjoys playing sand volleyball in the summer and indoor volleyball in the winter. She is also an animal lover who actively supports local animal rescue, B-Squad Rescue.
