SIA names new country manager for Germany in strategic move

By Sunniva Kolostyak

Payments provider SIA has announced the appointment of Edoardo Baumgartner as its new Country Manager in Germany, as part of a strategic plan to consolidate its positioning on an international level.

The payments giant’s strategic plan is to consolidate the group’s competitive positioning across multiple segments: card and merchant solutions, digital payment solutions, and capital market and network solutions.

By appointing Baumgartner as its new Country Manager, SIA aims to strengthen its international and German positioning, where the company has been present since 2017.

In his position, Baumgartner will be responsible for strengthening the development of SIA’s positioning in the market. Through the Munich and Nuremberg-based subsidiary P4cards, the company has about 50 employees, which Baumgartner will oversee.

Edoardo Baumgartner has a degree in Information Sciences and a Master in Business Management from the University of St. Gallen, in Switzerland, and has lived and studied between Italy and Germany.

Before joining SIA, he was the General Manager at Exceet Card Italy, where he worked for 2 years. In the period between 2002 and 2015, he was the General Manager and CEO of the Italian Branch at Giesecke & Devrient, which he founded in 2005.

Previously, as Business Development Director at Mastercard Europe, he devoted himself to the development of cards services on the Italian market. At the beginning of his professional carrier, Baumgartner also worked for Europay International and ISSC Italy, an IBM Company.

Baumgartner will report directly to Cristina Astore, Northwest Europe and DACH Region Sales Director.

Earlier this month, the German issuer of co-branded credit cards Landesbank Berlin selected SIA to realise a new system for the management of cards co-branded with commercial partners. The deal means SIA’s infrastructure will process the transactions of over 2.8 million cards issued by German Landesbank and its partners.