Our leadership team remains focused to ensure accountability, efficiency and performance. Responsible for developing the strategy and tactics to achieve the company's short and long term financial objectives by staffing the right people, doing the right things, at the right time, in the right way.
Mark E. Davitt
Chief Executive Officer
Responsibilities
Responsible for identifying future growth opportunities in pursuit of the company's vision.
Experience
As ConServe's founding President for over 30 years, he has been involved in the collection industry since 1979, working on both the creditor side in higher education and the servicer side for defaulted loan and accounts receivable. Before founding ConServe, his work experience included assignments in North Carolina, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Philadelphia, New York, and South Carolina.
Mark served as President of ACA International, an association of more than 5,000 corporate members worldwide. ACA represents third-party collection agencies, law firms, asset buying companies, creditors and affiliates, representing more than 230,000 industry employees. Additionally, he has served the association on the national level as Chairman of the National Legislative Council, as a member and Chairman of the ACPAC Steering Committee, a member on ACA's Agency Certification Committee, and as a member of ACA's Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee.
Mark has presented to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the New York State Assembly, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and has appeared on CNBC on various aspects of the Debt Collection industry.
Mark is a member of the International Fellowship of Certified Collectors and was an ACA Certified Instructor. Mark remains active in other important industry organizations, including the New York State Collectors Association, where he served two terms as President and is now a Member of the Board of Directors Emeritus.
Achievements and Philanthropy
Mark is a recipient of both the Scholar and Fellow degrees in Collection Business Management, and has been conferred a Master Credit Executive by the Society of Certified Credit Executives. Mark has been the recipient of the Small Business Council of Rochester's Business Person of the Year Award and was also inducted into the prestigious Rochester Business Hall of Fame. His philanthropy includes financial literacy initiatives, the ACA Education Foundation, the American Diabetes Association and the Irish Children's Program of Rochester. He is a member of E-3 Rochester and he has served on the United Way Business Advisory Council of Rochester.
Education
Mark graduated from Hamilton College with an AB degree.
Richard N. Klein, CPA
President
Responsibilities
Rich joined ConServe in March 2003. His responsibilities include company growth and performance through identifying and meeting stakeholder needs and expectations. He brings deep industry knowledge as an accomplished senior financial executive and well-rounded experience in all aspects of accounting and financial management.
Experience
Prior to joining ConServe, Rich held CFO and Controller positions with high-tech software companies in the Rochester area. He also worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 7 years as an Audit Manager.
Achievements
Rich has earned his CPA, and is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Rich is also the 2013 recipient of the Rochester Business Journal's Financial Executive of the Year Award.
Education
Rich received his undergraduate degree from St. John Fisher College, with a major in accounting. He earned his MBA from the University of Rochester's Simon School of Business, with concentrations in finance, entrepreneurship, and marketing.
Pamela D. Baird, Esq.
General Counsel
Responsibilities
Top Legal Officer and responsible for managing the General Counsel Department; responsible for contracts, corporate filings, compliance and litigation management.
Experience
Pam formerly represented creditors and debt collectors nationwide for collections litigation and FDCPA and FCRA Defense.
Achievements
Memberships include the Monroe County Bar Association, ACA International and the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys. Pam served a three year term on ACA International's Member's Attorney Program Committee from 2005 to 2008.
Education
Pam received her law degree from Syracuse University College of Law and her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.
Brandon J. Booker
Vice President
Responsibilities
As the Vice President of Operations, Brandon oversees the day-to-day operations for ConServe's contracts with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Treasury, Guaranty Agencies, Private Loan lenders and Colleges and Universities. Brandon is the Project Sponsor for the upgrade of the ConServe Collection Management System to DM9.
Experience
Brandon Joined Conserve in 2007. He had previously held management positions on the ED contract for NCO and IQor and has been working in the student loan collection industry since 2005.
Achievements
Brandon is an ACA certified collection specialist. Brandon and his team have earned Top Performer Recognitions across all major contracts and all lines of business.
Education
Brandon attended the State University of New York at Buffalo and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance/Marketing.
Kevin J. Gelabert
Chief Marketing Officer
Responsibilities
Leading the company's Marketing, Sales, Client Care organizations; managing the total Client experience; creating a culture of "Fostering Financial Freedom®", and identifying new markets for ConServe.
Experience
Prior to ConServe, Kevin spent 13 years in the communications industry with a variety of sales and executive sales management positions with leading companies including AT&T, Global Crossing Ltd. and Frontier Communications Corporation.
Achievements
Kevin is a Dale Carnegie graduate; a member of the Mau Kappa Tau National Honor Society; a member of National Dean's List, and in 2007 was named by the Rochester Business Journal as a top "40 under 40" executive.
Education
Kevin earned an MBA in Organizational & Marketing Management from Syracuse University's Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Kevin earned a BA in Economics & Political Science from the University of Rochester as well as a Certificate of Financial Management from the university's William E. Simon School of Business. 4yr lettermen in NCAA Athletics.
George M. Huyler, PHR
Vice President, Human Resources
Responsibilities
Managing and implementing all of the Human Resources programs and systems required to support ConServe's continuous growth; employment, legislative and regulatory compliance; payroll; executive staff acquisition and development; compensation systems, benefits analysis, and Human Resources Information Systems.
Experience
George has spent the majority of his career in human resources management in the banking and accounts receivable management industries, most recently serving as Vice President of Human Resources for Firstsource. Prior to joining Firstsource, Mr. Huyler held senior executive positions with IRMC and NCO Financial Systems.
Achievements
George is a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics, the Association for Talent Development, the Society for Human Resource Management and is a board member of the National Human Resource Association, (Rochester Affiliate.) He serves as President of the Genesee Area HR Professional Association, and was recognized in 2015 as the NHRA HR Executive of the Year for Rochester, NY. He has been an industry speaker at a number of relevant conferences on human resource trends and issues. ConServe has been repeatedly recognized as a "Best Place to Work" in our industry, as well as a Global Top 125 Training Organization for the past three years by Training Magazine.
Education
George attended LeMoyne College and Syracuse University and holds the professional designation of Professional in Human Resources from the Human Resource Certification Institute, and is a Certified Professional of the Society for Human Resource Management. He has taught HR professionals for the Cornell School of Labor Relations.
James S. McCarthy
Chief Risk Officer
Responsibilities
Jim joined ConServe in March 2018. His responsibilities include the leadership, innovation, governance, and management necessary to identify, evaluate, mitigate, and monitor the company's compliance, operational, and strategic risk.
Experience
Before joining ConServe, Jim provided consulting services to ConServe beginning in June 2017. His career includes over 30 years of federal regulator experience and success in the banking industry.
Achievements
Jim is a nationally recognized expert on CFPB regulation and a leader in navigating the consumer financial risk environment. As a founding member of the CFPB starting in 2011, he was the key architect in establishing the CFPB’s complaint process via their company portal.
Education
Jim is a graduate of Minnesota State University and earned a Government Contract Oversight certificate from George Washington Law School. His education focused on Economics and Finance.
Pamela A. Murphy
Vice President, Ethics and Compliance Officer
Responsibilities
Responsible for ensuring all facets of ConServe's operations comply with regulatory requirements, Client requirements and ConServe's own Internal Policies and Procedures.
Experience
Pamela joined ConServe in 1993 as our legal manager and was promoted to vice president of compliance in 2004. In this role, Pamela has been instrumental in developing and implementing ConServe's PPMS. Her leadership was instrumental in earning ConServe the ACA Certification designation in August 2001. She has also served two terms on ACA International's PPMS™ Committee. Pamela conducts ConServe University®® workshops for colleges and universities on Collection Tips and Techniques as well as ACA International Professional Practices Management System (PPMS™) Seminars Achievements.
Pamela was awarded both the Scholar & Fellow degrees in Collection Business Management from ACA International. Additionally, Pamela is an ACA Professional Collection Specialist, ACA Certified Instructor, ACA Higher Education Collection Specialist, and an approved ACA PPMS™ Instructor.
Education
Pamela received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Alfred University.
Justin Spooner
Chief Information Officer
Responsibilities
Responsible for delivering an IT environment and organization that positions ConServe to meet its strategic goals for future growth and success by leveraging technology and delivering superior IT service.
Experience
Justin has over 14 years of IT experience and has been with ConServe since 2008. As Network Operations Manager, he led ConServe through a transformation from an aging physical server environment to a state-of-the-art virtualized data center. His accomplishments and contributions to ConServe’s growth and success led to his promotion to Chief Information Officer in 2018.
Achievements
Justin was integral in the development, design, and management of ConServe’s Information Security Program, ensuring its alignment with FISMA, PCI, SSAE 18, and other regulatory requirements. The Program has led to multiple ATO’s and system approvals for ConServe’s Collection Management System granted by multiple federal agencies and other private and public Clients.
Education
Justin earned an A.A.S. degree in Computer Information Systems and a B.T. degree in Information Technology – Application Software Development from Morrisville State College.
