ETA’s 2026 Hall of Fame Honorees
SEPT 29 • 4:30PM
The ETA Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring members who have consistently made outstanding contributions to the industry.
$1995 Member • $2995 Non-Member
TOM BELL
Tom Bell has led at the intersection of technology and payments for more than 40 years, building a career that spans consulting, banking, and entrepreneurship. He began at Accenture in 1982, was admitted to partnership in 1993, and went on to manage the firm's largest global client relationship. He entered payments in 2007 as EVP of Strategy and Business Development at First Data, where he led M&A and divestiture efforts and helped form Bank of America Merchant Services. As CEO of that joint venture, he grew annual revenue from $850 million to $1.2 billion, returned more than $2 billion in distributions to its owners, launched new products including Clover, and led its expansion into Asia Pacific and Europe.
Bell went on to lead Merchant e-Solutions through a period of major transformation, then served as CEO of Transaction Services Group in New Zealand before founding the advisory firm TPB Advisors. Most recently, he co-founded and led Maast, an embedded finance company backed by Synovus Bank. He currently advises AlixPartners, Recognize, and The Strawhecker Group, and has spent years lending his expertise to ETA's Presidential Advisory Committee, the American Transaction Processors Coalition, and Fintech Atlanta. His ability to lead through every stage of a company's life, from global enterprise to founder-led startup, reflects what colleagues consistently describe: a leader driven by curiosity about other people's perspectives, and a persistent focus on what a business could become, not just where it stands today.
CHRIS LEE
Chris Lee has spent more than 40 years leading across the payments industry, building a career defined by both scale and staying power. She began at MasterCard International in 1985, working her way up from an entry-level customer service role to executive leadership positions at National Processing, Bank of America, Worldpay, and Moneris. She went on to serve as CEO of BillingTree and MarketTime, two private equity-backed companies, guiding both through periods of significant growth, operational transformation, and successful exits. She now advises private equity firms, including True Wind Capital, drawing on decades of operating experience to help portfolio companies scale.
Lee's commitment to ETA runs the length of her career. She has served as Board President, held every seat on the executive committee, and chaired multiple committees over the years, earning ETA's Volunteer of the Year award in 2009. She has also been a consistent advocate for women in fintech, serving more than a decade on the board of PayTech Women, and has mentored and advised countless colleagues throughout the industry. Her reputation for collaborative leadership and building high-performing teams has made her one of the most respected operators in payments.