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Strategic Advisor·Payments

Mike Passilla

CEO and Strategic Advisor at Posillipo Ventures / Optimized Payments

Alpharetta, GA, USA

MP
LinkedIn
Why they matter

Former CEO of Elavon and Chase Merchant Services who now sits on Priority Technology and Cantaloupe boards, giving rare cross-vertical merchant acquiring diligence insight.

Background

Mike Passilla is CEO of Posillipo Ventures, a fintech advisory and investment firm, with 30+ years leading FinTech and payments businesses. He previously served as CEO and President of Elavon, then as CEO of Chase Merchant Services and Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. before retiring in 2018. He now sits on the boards of Priority Technology Holdings and Cantaloupe, Inc. and serves as a strategic advisor to Optimized Payments and other PE/VC-backed fintech companies.

Notable deals

  • 2021
    Joined Optimized Payments' Advisory Board as a strategic advisor to guide expansion into data services and payment analytics
  • 2020
    Appointed to USA Technologies' (now Cantaloupe) board of directors as part of the Hudson Executive Capital agreement ending a proxy contest
  • 2020
    Elected to The Posse Foundation's national board of directors after chairing the Posse Atlanta advisory board
  • 2019
    Serves as independent director of Priority Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: PRTH), chairing the Audit Committee

Call-prep brief

Background

  • CEO of Posillipo Ventures, a fintech advisory/investment vehicle based near Atlanta, GA
  • 30+ years in FinTech/payments leadership; former CEO & President of Elavon (one of the world's largest merchant acquirers), CEO of Chase Merchant Services, and Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (retired 2018)
  • MBA, Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern); BBA, University of Notre Dame

Current Focus

  • Board director at Priority Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: PRTH) since 2019, chairs the Audit Committee
  • Board director at Cantaloupe, Inc. since 2020 (joined via the Hudson Executive Capital board reconstitution), chairs the Compensation Committee
  • Strategic advisor to Optimized Payments and multiple PE/VC-backed fintech companies
  • Served on P97 Networks' board through its 2025 acquisition by PDI Technologies

What He Cares About

  • Scaling merchant acquiring and payments infrastructure businesses
  • Governance and audit discipline at growth-stage or newly public fintechs
  • Community involvement: chairs the Posse Atlanta advisory board and sits on The Posse Foundation's national board

Potential Sensitivities

  • Active public-company board seats (Priority, Cantaloupe) — avoid asking for confidential or competitively sensitive information tied to either
  • May have advisory exclusivity or non-compete commitments tied to Optimized Payments or other portfolio companies

Questions to Ask

  1. Given his time leading Elavon and Chase Merchant Services, how does he see consolidation playing out in merchant acquiring today?
  2. What did the Hudson Executive Capital-led board reconstitution at Cantaloupe teach him about turning around underperforming payments companies?
  3. Which emerging payments/fintech platforms has he been asked to advise recently, and what themes is he seeing across those diligence conversations?

Outreach draft

Subject
Merchant Acquiring Perspective from Elavon/Chase Veteran
Hi Mike, I'm [Name] with [Firm], and we're doing diligence on the merchant acquiring and payments landscape. Your background leading Elavon and Chase Merchant Services, plus your current board seats at Priority Technology Holdings and Cantaloupe, makes your perspective especially relevant to work we're doing right now. Would you have 20-30 minutes in the coming weeks for a call? We'd love to hear how you're thinking about consolidation, technology differentiation, and where the next wave of value creation in payments processing is headed. Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Name]

Sources