Meet Our Team

Ted has been with the company since 1989 and has a B.S. degree in Biology and Information Systems from Middle Tennessee State University. He assumed the president and CEO role in 1997, is now CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors and is on the Board of Directors for the Baptist Foundation of New England. In his spare time, Ted works to support his church as a trustee, volunteers on the local fire department and enjoys gardening, jigsaw puzzles and spending time with family.

Andrea Leavitt joined Thrive Payments in 2019. Ms. Leavitt is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Merrimack College with a B.A. in Psychology and Criminology. She furthered her academic career at Massachusetts School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctor degree and became a member of the Massachusetts Bar the same year. Beyond her work at Thrive Payments, Andrea enjoys playing tennis and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Mary has been employed at Thrive Payments for over 15 years and has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire, as well as SPHR and SHRM-CP certifications. Mary enjoys reading and raising chickens in her spare time.

With over 14 years of payments experience, Lisa can open the line of communication between clients, vendors and businesses to get projects to completion. Lisa has experience in project management, strategic implementation,  and team skill development, and most recently  enjoyed being part of the 2020 Global Visa Challenge. Lisa is an animal lover, and also enjoys photography, baking, home décor, and spending time with her husband and two boys!

Merchant specialist who is dedicated to providing service with a smile. It always feels good to solve a merchant’s problem! I am an avid sports fan who likes to bartend on the side!

Pat has worked for Thrive Payments for over three years assisting clients and businesses with merchant processing and compliance. He’s a big Boston sports fan and avid fan of the NBA. In his spare time, he enjoys complaining about Tom Brady!

I love the 50’s and 60’ music. Family is very important to me and also my cat Rocky. I enjoy the detective  stories on PBS like Endeavour, Sherlock, Grantchester, and Father Brown Mysteries.

Over the past decade, Lydia has acquired a wealth of knowledge in the payments industry. Lydia has led product development initiatives from conceptualization to launch, developed training programs for large and varied sales teams, and been a thought leader for call handling innovation in support centers. Lydia is well positioned to bring innovation and stability to our product portfolio while taking us to the next level. Outside of work, Lydia enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and writing.

With previous experience on the issuing side as well as an extensive background based in customer service, Rachael is very excited to apply her skillset and expand her knowledge with Thrive Payments! She enjoys spending time outside of work with her family, which includes her daughter, Ava, and her puppy, Lola. 

Leah has more than 10 years of payments experience on the issuing side and is now bringing her expertise to the Thrive Payments team on the acquiring side as the Merchant Risk Manager.  With a strong background in Disputes she will manage the Chargeback and Underwriting processes and identify potential workflow improvements and future automation opportunities.  As a critical thinker she enjoys reading Mystery novels and solving puzzles.  Outside of work she loves to be outdoors enjoying nature.

Pete has worked in the Business Analytics fields for 12+ years in many different roles.  He and his wife have twin daughters that keep them busy outside of work.  He is also a passionate Boston sports fan and enjoys biking and running in his free time.

Shannon has worked at Thrive Payments in the Underwriting and Risk department for over 6 years.  In that time, she has gained a great deal of knowledge in the Payments industry.  As the Merchant Underwriting Risk Analyst, Shannon manages our merchant processing applications and provides ongoing risk management for our merchant portfolio.  In her spare time, Shannon enjoys fitness, fashion, and spending time with her two young children.

Tom is located in Columbus, Ohio and began his merchant services career as a sales representative for First Data Merchant Services on the Huntington Bank partnership. He has 14 years of merchant services experience as a sales manager with First Data (now Fiserv) and Vantiv (now FIS) and 22 total years experience as a sales manager. He is married to wife Jane with two daughters and enjoys travelling as well as gardening and cooking.

Michelle is located in Rhode Island where she works directly with one of Thrive Payment’s bank partners.  The partnership has allowed her to build deep relationships with business owners in the community while finding processing solutions that allow them to grow their businesses.  During her downtime, she enjoys hiking with her dog, cooking, gardening and spending time with her family.

Nikki has 16 years of community banking experience. She believes that trust and loyalty are the foundational cornerstones of everything she does, both personally and professionally. She invests in relationships which leads to partnerships. Nikki resides in Christiansburg, VA with her husband and two adult children. Outside of work, she enjoys camping, kayaking, and Virginia Tech football.

Shirla is a sunshine state native and graduated magna cum laude from Florida Gulf Coast University with a B.A. in Communication. Shirla specializes in content writing and digital marketing for Thrive Payments. Outside of work she enjoys art, beach days and cooking.