About Us

Our chairman retired from Wells Fargo Bank as Vice President in the Special Investigation Division. He retired in 2009 after 17 years of service. His banking career spans a period of 29 years. During that time, he worked physical security, check, credit card and debit card fraud. He was also active in the design video surveillance and premise protection for the banks. His 17 years with Wells Fargo bank was spent working internal investigations. He has written bank policy and procedure manuals while employed with Western Saving and Bank of America and throughout his 29 years in banking conducted fraud and loss prevention training for bank employees.

He also enjoyed 10 years of law enforcement  while living in Iowa and again when he moved to Arizona in 1971. When he first moved to Arizona he attend Professional Golfers Association (PGA) business school and worked in the golf profession as an assistant golf professional and golf instructor.

Since 1987, he’s served on the Board of Directors of Merchants Information Solutions.

During his years of employment in law enforcement and banking, he continued his education at various colleges and employee sponsored classes and seminars in criminal law, interview and interrogation techniques, financial fraud and internal investigation classes. He also held office in the International Association of Credit Card investigator (IACCI), and does volunteer work at his church. He was a member of The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), and was also a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Specialists (CFS).  

Ronald L. Westad began his service as a Board member of Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. in 1999 and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Arizona Federal Credit Union (AFCU). AFCU serves more than 200,000 members representing more than $1.6 billion in total assets.

Ron holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of New Mexico and has resided in Arizona since April of 1987.

Ron is active in Arizona’s civic and business communities. In addition, he serves The 100 Club, and the Board of Directors of CNBS, LLC. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Youth Assistance Foundation and is a past Advisory Board member of Make A Difference (now known as HandsOn Greater Phoenix), a non-profit organization that coordinates a network of volunteers for diverse community service projects. Ron also completed an 8-year term on the Board of Directors of the Greater Phoenix Urban League. He held all table officer positions including that of Chairman. He also previously served a six-year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Credit Union League, including terms as Vice Chairman and Treasurer, and a four-year term on the Board of Directors of First Corporate Credit Union.

Dr. Stephen W. Gilliland is the Associate Dean for Executive Education in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. He holds the Arnold Lesk Chair in Leadership also serves as Executive Director of the Center for Leadership Ethics. He previously served as vice dean for the Eller College. Prior to moving to Arizona, Gilliland received degrees from the University of Alberta and Michigan State University (Ph.D., 1992) and was on the faculty at Louisiana State University.

Professor Gilliland’s research examines the fairness of management practices and policies and the impact of fair leadership on employee behaviors. Through this merging of social, legal, and managerial issues, he has authored more than 50 journal articles, books, and book chapters. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and the Academy of Management Journal. In 2006, Gilliland was elected as a Fellow in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). He was also the 1997 recipient of the Ernest J. McCormick Award for Early Career Contributions from SIOP.

Professor Gilliland has taught numerous courses on business ethics, human resource management, general management, healthcare entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. He has developed and taught executive leadership programs for healthcare, public sector, and mining organizations. He has consulted with small and large, public and private organizations on strategic planning and implementation and executive team development.

Austin M. Bockwinkel has spent his career specializing in financial and professional risks and related risk management strategies - including risk transfer via insurance policies. He works regularly with his clients to identify and mitigate exposures for a wide variety of Public, Private and Non-Profit organizations across the globe. Currently, Austin serves as Director of Financial and Professional Risk for The Hauser Group, a consultancy focused on serving the needs of private equity firms and corporations in the areas of M&A due diligence, corporate risk, and executive benefits. As Director, Austin oversees a portfolio of specialty insurance programs including Errors and Omissions, Directors and Officers, Cyber, Employment Practices, Miscellaneous Professional, Crime, Fiduciary, Media, and Intellectual Property coverages. Prior to joining The Hauser Group, he worked for Aon Corporation serving as Assistant Vice President. Austin's responsibilities during his tenure at Aon included co-leading a national team specializing in the placement of Cyber and Errors and Omissions insurance.

Ronald K. Sable is president of Concord Solutions Ltd., a business consulting practice for commercial and non-profit entities. He is Chairman of the Board of the University of Arizona Center for Leadership Ethics in the Eller College of Management, a member of the Board of Paragon Space Development Corporation, IDAir Corporation, and the DM 50. He was a senior executive at The Aerospace Corporation, and McDonnell Douglas Corporation, where he led government relations for the $18B firm.

Before joining McDonnell Douglas, he was Special Assistant to President Reagan for National Security Affairs. In that role he was the lead White House liaison with the U.S. Senate on defense, foreign policy, intelligence, arms control and banking issues.

He served as an Air Force pilot (Colonel) and was an Outstanding Graduate of the Air War College. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan College (BS), he has an MS in International Relations from Southern Illinois University and a Doctorate of Humane Letters (honorary) from Iowa Wesleyan. He is a graduate of the Harvard University Program in National & International Security, the Wharton School Executive Program in Finance, the UCLA Anderson School Program in Mergers and Acquisitions, and the Capitol University School of Banking.

He is the former Chairman of the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona and the recipient of the 2011 United Way "Live United" award for community service, he also is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Iowa Wesleyan, the George Washington Honor Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal and the Air Medal (3 OLC), and is a licensed commercial pilot with instrument and type rating.

His views on subjects ranging from board of director responsibilities to national security, ethics in leadership and the challenges of our environment have been featured at the United Nations, in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Fast Company Magazine, The Arizona Star, and on NPR.

Russell A. Johnson, President & Chief Executive Officer of Merchants Information Solutions since 2004, a leading provider of Employment Background Screening Services, including Integrity Testing and Identity Theft Protection Services for consumers and businesses. Prior to that, he held numerous executive officer positions during a 20 year career in the Banking industry.

He is a respected thought leader with more than 11 years of experience both within the employment screening industry and identity theft protection industry. He regularly advises organizations and industry groups nationwide on best practices for both industries.

He holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and is an alumnus of the Graduate School of Bank Management from the University of Virginia. He has numerous business, educational, and professional affiliations and is a respected leader in the financial services industry. He is active in the Community as well, currently serving as a Board Chair for the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation and Board member for the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member for the Center of Leadership Ethics Advisory Board, University of Arizona - Eller College, as well as, Executive Board Member of the Patrick Peterson Foundation for Success and an alumni of the FBI Citizen’s Academy.

James H. Collard, Vice President of Operations since 2005, has more than 30 years of experience in operations, credit management and sales. Before joining Merchants, he served as General Manager for Babbitt Trading CO’s Tuba City Division and was Chief Financial Officer for White Eagle Building Materials. Recently, he held the position of President of the Credit and Financial Development Division of NACM and was Chairman for the Phoenix Area Credit Executives.

Mark A. Pribish, Vice President & ID Theft Practice Leader since 2005, has more than 25 years of experience in working with financial institutions, associations and Fortune 1000 companies throughout the United States. His background includes the marketing and sales of Identity Theft, Data Breach, Insurance, and Risk Management services.

Mr. Pribish has authored hundreds of articles and white papers and is frequently interviewed by local and national media as a Cyber Security, Identity Theft, and Data Breach Risk Management expert.

Prior to joining Merchants, Mr. Pribish was Senior Vice President for Aon Risk Services of Arizona, Inc., and National Sales Manager for AIG Life and AIG Environmental Banking Group. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Arts.

Michael G. Mortensen, Vice President of Information Technology since 2007, has more than 20 years of experience in Information Technology, Accounting and Finance. Most recently he served as an Analyst with US Airways, supporting its merger with America West Airlines. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of Information Technology at APPS Software, a boutique software consulting firm headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ and also served as Financial Analyst for NDC Health Information Systems.

Stephen J. Swope, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer since 2004, has accumulated more than 20 years of experience in the finance and accounting arenas. Previously the CFO for Vital Processing Services in Tempe, he also held management positions with Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

He holds an MBA in Finance and a BS in Accounting from the University of Akron. A certified public accountant (CPA), he is an active member of the Arizona Society of Certified ePublic Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.