Kimberly (Kim) Ford is Vice President of Global Government & Public Affairs for First Data, a Fortune 300 financial services company that provides secure and innovative payment technology and services to more than six million merchants and financial institutions around the world. In her role, Kim manages First Data’s U.S. legislative and regulatory advocacy program, spanning the 50- state capitols, Congress and regulatory agencies. She also serves as a subject matter expert on payments’ industry issues for state and federal policymakers and routinely hosts regulatory update sessions with key payments industry players. She has served as an expert witness to testify in front of the U.S. Congress as well as various state legislative bodies across the country. Kim also supervises First Data’s state and federal consultants and is treasurer of the First Data PAC.

Prior to her 12 years at First Data, she was Regional Director for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, and she served as the Director of Government Relations for the Tampa Bay Homebuilders Association and Director of Communications for the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Kim is based in First Data’s Washington, DC office.

Anthony Gibbs is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Financial Industry Advisory Services based in Chicago, specializing in all aspects of governance, enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance, and process and system optimization. His primary areas of focus are Consumer Financial Protection laws and regulations and designing and building effective, efficient and sustainable enterprise compliance risk management processes. Anthony also helps clients proactively prepare for regulatory expectations and help navigate them through regulatory supervisory examinations and their aftermath for all regulatory agencies.

With more than 25 years of private and public sector experience in public accounting, financial services and financial services regulation, compliance and governance, Mr. Gibbs has been a recognized leader in providing a unique ability, to not only develop risk management strategies, but to execute and operationalize those strategies. Mr. Gibbs leverages on his global experience to ensure the highest level of ethics, compliance and operational effectiveness and efficiency.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Gibbs served as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Midwest Regional Director where he had responsibility for building directing a team of 120 supervision staff to supervise depository financial institutions with assets over $10 billion as well as large participants in the non-depository financial services industry. He was also heavily involved with CFPB headquarters in Washington D.C. developing and implementing policies, programs, systems and operations of this new agency. Mr. Gibbs was also a frequent speaker at industry and regulatory associations and conferences discussing the mission, priorities and methods of the CFPB.

Before the CFPB, Mr. Gibbs served in a variety of executive management roles in the U.S. and Europe at HSBC where he gained substantial experience leading complex business, risk and compliance activities and the remediation of significant regulatory issues. Mr. Gibbs started his career as a financial statement auditor at PwC for a variety of financial services companies.

Mr. Gibbs earned masters of business administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor of science in accounting from the University of Toronto. Mr. Gibbs is a Certified Public Accountant in the U.S. and Canada and a Certified Information Systems Auditor.

Kurt Helwig is president and CEO of EFTA, the nation’s leading inter-industry trade association dedicated to the advancement of electronic payment systems and commerce. In this capacity he works with EFTA’s Board of Directors to develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan that includes government and media relations, timely, content-rich meeting agendas, and value driven member services.

Kurt is a regular contributor to Executive Agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), U.S. Department of Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, General Accountability Office and the Department of Agriculture on payment systems issues. Areas of expertise include: the Federal Reserve’s Faster Payments and Secure Payments Initiatives, Operation Choke Point, emerging and mobile payments technologies, the Durbin Amendment, prepaid cards, fraud and risk in the payment system, ATM, POS and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) services, and privacy and customer information.

He is frequently asked to share his insights on the legislative and regulatory environment at industry conferences, member events, broadcast and print media. He has testified before the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees and the House Agriculture Committee.

Kurt currently serves as chairman of the ATM Industry Association’s (ATMIA) Board of Directors and is a founding member and co-chair of ATMIA’s Global Government Relations Committee. He also serves on the Federal Reserve’s Faster Payments and Secure Payments Task Forces and is a member of the Congressional Payments Technology Caucus.