Hikmet Ersek (born 1961) is a Turkish businessman who is the former CEO of

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

. He is also the Honorary Consul of the

Republic of Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine States of Austria, states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, th ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

for

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Early life

Ersek was born in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, to a Turkish father and an Austrian mother. His parents met in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and then settled in Istanbul. He studied at the

St. George's Austrian High School St. George's Austrian High School ( tr, Sankt Georg Avusturya Lisesi, german: Österreichisches Sankt Georgs-Kolleg) is a private Austrian- Turkish high school located in Karaköy, Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey. It is one of several secondary schools ...

. Ersek later moved to Austria at the age of 19 and studied at the University of Economics in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he graduated with a Master's (Magister) degree in Economics and

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. Ersek began his career in financial services in 1986 at Europay / MasterCard in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In 1996, he joined

GE Capital GE Capital is the financial services division of General Electric. The company currently only runs one division, GE Energy Financial Services. It had provided additional services in the past; however, those units were sold between 2013 and 2018 ...

, and also represented the GE Corporation as a National Executive in Austria and Slovenia before he joined The Western Union Company.

Career

Hikmet Ersek is the former Chief Executive Officer and Director of The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) 010-2021 announcing his retirement in December 2021. He was replaced by Devin McGranahan former Group President of

Fiserv Fiserv, Inc. () is an American multinational company headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin that provides financial technology services to clients across the financial services sector, including: banks, thrifts, credit unions, securities broker ...

(NYSE: FISV). During Ersek's tenure as CEO, which began in 2010, Western Union has diversified its business model into a digital global payments company, growing its retail money-transfer business to more than 550,000 worldwide locations, over 100,000 ATMs and kiosks, and connecting billions of bank accounts and mobile wallets worldwide. As of Dec 31, 2020, the company's share price performance during Ersek's mandate has increased by 61% (underperforming the S&P500 that rose by 232% over the same timeframe) Ersek has maintained a base salary of $1 million for the last three years ending 2017. In 2018, Ersek experienced a 6% decrease in full pay to $9,175,300.

Awards

*2015: Ersek was appointed as honorary consul for Austria at the country’s consulate in Denver. *2019: AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 10th Class BAR

AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 10th Class BAR

Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

(''Silbernes Ehrenzeichen'')

Personal life

He speaks

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

fluently. He also had a short career as a professional basketball player. Ersek currently lives in the Denver Metro Area, where

is based. He is married to Dr. Nayantara Ghosh Ersek, a management consultant and trainer. He has one son, Benan Ersek, who is a current basketball player for the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ersek, Hikmet Turkish businesspeople Austrian people of Turkish descent Austrian emigrants to the United States Turkish emigrants to the United States Living people Vienna University of Economics and Business alumni TED Ankara College Foundation Schools alumni 1961 births Honorary Consuls to the United States Western Union people Chief executives in the finance industry Austrian chief executives