People on the Move: Alex Johnson, Raymond Pucci and Joe Walent, Mercator Advisory Group
Mercator Advisory Group has promoted Alex Johnson to director of the credit advisory service, hired Raymond Pucci for the company’s advisory practices division as associate director of research services, and hired Joe Walent as lead analyst for Mercator’s emerging technologies advisory service.
Johnson will follow and analyze regulatory and technology changes affecting issuers, acquirers and payment networks. He joined the company as senior analyst for the credit advisory service, where he focused on revolving credit products, marketplace and alternative lending, innovations in credit scoring and decisioning, and the pace of EMV terminalization and card issuance. Johnson has more than a decade of financial services experience, working with credit issuers and merchant acquirers.
Pucci previously was director of market research and analysis at Lexington Research Group, an industry and business advisory firm he established 20 years ago. He focused on delivering strategic analysis and guidance to corporate management and decision-makers on changing market dynamics and competitive forces.
Walent will focus primarily on the uptake and integration of new and repurposed technologies by established and startup companies in the payments area. He will be following and delivering analysis regarding the adoption and advancement of solutions to address the regulatory and market requirements across the payments ecosystem. His professional experience includes account management and operational and compliance positions in the financial services area, with a focus on services rendered to clients operating in the financial services, health care and government markets.
