About Merchants Information Solutions, Inc.

Merchants' Board of Directors Members

Click on a name to learn more about each board member:

Phil J. LeHew
Chairman

Jeff Gurney
1st Vice-Chairman

Ronald L. Westad
2nd Vice-Chairman

Jack W. Milligan
Director

Richard Ray
Director

Tim S. Jeffries
Director

Phil LeHew

Chairman

Employed by Wells Fargo Bank, Phil began his service as a Board member of Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. in 1987.

Jeff Gurney

1st Vice-Chairman

Jeff moved to Arizona in 1984. Jeff has been at the Van Tuyl Automotive Group as the National Lender Relations Director for 18 years. Previously he retired from GMAC with 31 years of service.

Jeff has served on the Board of Directors for Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. since 1992. He also serves on the Better Business Bureau board and several dealer/lender advisory counsel boards.

Ronald L. Westad

2nd Vice-Chairman

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 over 200,000 members representing over $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.

Jack W. Milligan

Director

Jack Milligan became a partner in Leathers Milligan & Associates in 2000. In 2001 Jack and Mark Leathers founded Arizona Search Partners LLC, a retained executive search firm. Jack has fifteen years in client based consulting and over two decades of HR and general management experience in American industry. Jack spent almost 20 years with ITT Corporation all over the globe and ran one of ITT’s technology divisions. He also served as the Corporate VP of HR for a NYSE listed, fortune 200 conglomerate.

Jack consults with clients on a broad range of business issues including strategic and tactical planning, organizational dynamics and succession planning, staffing and selection, compensation and reward practices, labor and industrial relations issues, business ethics and practices (he is a certified arbitrator of business issues), and other areas of concern to the human side of the business. He was selected for the Professional Excellence Award in 2003 by the Arizona State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management who recognizes one deserving HR professional in the state of Arizona each year with this prestigious award.

His blend of management skills was developed as a key member of the management team in numerous industries, including; aerospace, electronics, technical services, healthcare, semi-conductors, mining equipment, textile equipment, consumer products, and computers and applications software.

He is SPHR and GPHR certified by the Human Resource Certification Institute. Jack also holds two Certificates in Employee Relations Law, and teaches management and HR courses locally.

Jack earned a Master of Arts degree in Human Resources and Organizational Behavior and a Bachelor of Science degree in Labor Economics. He is also very active in the HR community in Arizona. He has been a member of SHRM since 1970 and has served as President of Valley of the Sun HR Association and spent two years as Director of Arizona SHRM State Council. He teaches classes to prepare HR people to sit for the professional certification exam. He is the author of a book on salary negotiations titled Make More Money.

He is very active in his community and has served on the United Way Board, various Mayor’s committees, the East Valley Cultural Alliance and the advisory board for Desert Samaritan Hospital. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. in Phoenix, AZ. Jack and his wife Trisha reside in Mesa, AZ and they have three grown daughters.

Richard Ray

Director

Richard has served on the Board of Directors for Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. since 1977. Richard is retired from Pinnacle West Capital Corp (previously Arizona Public Service) where he served as Director of Audit Services. He has worked in the credit industry for over 20 years.

Tim S. Jeffries

Director

Tim Jeffries is the Founder of P7 Enterprises, a management consulting practice providing strategic support services to growth companies in various industries throughout the United States (www.p7enterprises.com). Jeffries is also a Managing Director of 1stWEST Mergers & Acquisitions, LLC, an investment banking firm focused on the under-served lower-middle market (www.1stWESTMA.com). In addition, Jeffries serves as Chairman of ChemResearch Company, Inc.; Chairman of Contractors Wire & Cable, LLC; Chairman of Nuon, Incorporated; Vice Chairman of Mission Technology Group, Inc. (dba Magma); and an Independent Director of Merchants Information Solutions, Inc., and NETtime Solutions, LLC.

Prior to the aforementioned ventures, Jeffries served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Mobility Electronics, Inc., a publicly-held company traded on NASDAQ. Jeffries served as Vice President of Client Solutions ("Sales") at Viacore, Inc., a leading-edge eCommerce company funded by Softbank Ventures, Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Intel Corporation. Jeffries served as Vice President and General Manager of the Storage and Components Division, and Vice President (and de facto General Manager) of the Strategic Vendor Sales Division of Ingram Micro, Inc., a Fortune 50 Company and worldwide leader in information technology (IT) distribution and services. Jeffries served as Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of Marketing of Intelligent Electronics, Inc., a Fortune 250 Company ultimately acquired by Ingram Micro, Inc. Jeffries also served as Director of North American Channel Sales at Novell, Inc.

Committed to serving others in Arizona, Jeffries serves as a Vice Chairman of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry where he serves as Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee. Jeffries serves as Chairman of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona, and Board Secretary of Arizona Voice for Crime Victims (AVCV), Inc.

Committed to serving others in our country, Jeffries serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization For Victims Assistance (NOVA) where he serves as Chairman of the Human Resources Committee; and the National Board of Trustees of Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) where he serves as Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee. In addition, Jeffries serves on the MBA Alumni Council of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.

Jeffries graduated from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, and from Duke University Fuqua School of Business with a Master of Business Administration.