WAKEFIELD, Massachusetts, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- International payment brand executive to bring years of security management experience to development of PCI Data Security Standards

The PCI Security Standards Council, a global, open industry standards body providing management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), PCI PIN Entry Device (PED) Security Requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), today announced that Lib de Veyra, vice president, emerging technologies at JCB International, and member of the Council's Executive Committee, has taken over as chairperson of the Council, effective January 1, 2009.

De Veyra succeeds former chairperson, Rob Tourt, vice president, at Discover Financial Services, who has successfully led the Council since January 2008. Per the Council's bylaws, the chairperson is rotated annually among each of the five payment card brands that make up the Council's Executive Committee: American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc. Prior to Tourt, the Council was led by Seana Pitt, vice president, global merchant policy and data quality, American Express, Global Network Operations during its inaugural year.

It has been a privilege to help lead the Council over the past twelve months and see the strides we have made in both raising awareness and adoption of PCI standards and growing the number of Participating Organizations contributing to the Council's initiatives, said Tourt. Under Lib's leadership I look forward to continued growth and development of the Council and its security standards.

De Veyra will actively provide guidance and leadership working toward the Council's mission of fostering greater adoption and awareness of the security standards it currently oversees in addition to evaluating future standards. Now with more than 500 Participating Organizations already providing feedback and support for these standards, de Veyra will look to lead the Council in its ever increasing global role. During 2009 de Veyra will also lead the Council to partner with its constituents to increase education among the smaller merchant community, evolve new training programs and solicit feedback for the next version of the Data Security Standard.

Lib will provide the necessary leadership to the Council as we continue to spread awareness of both the Council's mission and its standards across the global marketplace, said Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council. On behalf of the entire Council, I look forward to working with Lib and the Board of Advisors to ensure we continue to uphold the highest standards in credit card payment data security.

During his more than 15-year tenure with JCB International, de Veyra has held various positions, encompassing the acquiring, issuing and brand-level aspects of the business. In his current role, de Veyra is responsible for planning JCB International's brand security policy, including the data security compliance program, with particular emphasis on the U.S. market. Prior to his current role, de Veyra held a variety of positions in direct merchant sales and relationship management, legal contract administration, corporate communications, brand regulations management, card issuing businesses development and fraud risk management. He holds a bachelor of arts in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

I am very excited about what the year ahead holds for the Council and look forward to working with all of our stakeholders in continuing to drive increased awareness of our standards and the continued adoption of secure card data protection practices worldwide, said de Veyra. The work done by Rob and the Council over the past year has left us in a desirable position, and I would like to personally thank him for his efforts in leading the Council in 2008.

For More Information:

If you would like more information about the PCI Security Standards Council or would like to become a Participating Organization please visit pcisecuritystandards.org, or contact the PCI Security Standards Council at info@pcisecuritystandards.org.

About the PCI Security Standards Council

The mission of the PCI Security Standards Council is to enhance payment account security by fostering broad adoption of the PCI Data Security Standard and other standards that increase payment data security.

The PCI Security Standards Council was formed by the major payment card brands American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc. to provide a transparent forum in which all stakeholders can provide input into the ongoing development, enhancement and dissemination of the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS), PIN Entry Device (PED) Security Requirements and the Payment Applications Data Security Standard (PA-DSS). Merchants, banks, processors and point of sale vendors are encouraged to join as Participating Organizations.

Melissa Zandman or Matthew Mors Text 100 Public Relations +1-617-399-4914 pci@text100.com

Melissa Zandman or Matthew Mors, both of Text 100 Public Relations, +1-617-399-4914, pci@text100.com, both for PCI Security Standards Council