Feb. 22, 2023

Sioux Falls-based Premier Bankcard has named a new president.

Boston native Ben Marcello brings more than two decades of executive and finance experience to the role.

CEO Miles Beacom, who previously also served as president, pointed to Marcello’s “success in developing effective credit strategies, coupled with his professional and personal values” as drivers behind his hiring.

“Ben understands the importance of providing second chances to our credit card customers,” Beacom said in a statement. “He knows the business, but he is also passionate about philanthropy and giving back to our communities. I am confident he will help take our organization to the next level.”

Marcello and his family have moved to Sioux Falls, and he said he looks forward to becoming involved in the community.

“I’m excited to be part of an organization that shares my lifelong devotion to helping those who need it most,” he said. “I believe it’s important to deliver financial services with all the passion, empathy and commitment required to create a more financially inclusive world. Similarly, I also believe it’s essential to ensure we’re giving back locally, investing in both our communities and the people who call them home. Premier checks all these boxes, and I’m both humbled and honored that they provided me the opportunity to join their team.”

Marcello has worked in more than 30 countries and led initiatives in more than a dozen. He spent more than a decade as a global management consultant with the Latin America-based Fibonacci Group. He then served in the senior executive ranks of Czech-based conglomerate Home Credit, the world’s largest consumer finance organization. He most recently led the consumer credit division for Portland-based First Tech Federal Credit Union, one of the nation’s largest financial co-ops.

Marcello holds three undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, psychology and English from the College of St. Joseph and a dual specialization MBA in advanced corporate strategy and U.S. business law from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. He completed an advanced management program at Saïd Business School at Oxford University and is one of few global executives to have earned strategy and global policy credentials in financial inclusion from both Harvard Business School and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

“Ultimately, the value of an education is determined by how one uses such to improve the lives of others,” Marcello said. “Premier has not only put me in a position to continue on this mission but has long provided a platform to do so at scale. We believe that the best it yet to come for our company, our customers and our community.”

Premier Bankcard is the nation’s ninth-largest issuer of Mastercard credit cards, with 4 million customers nationwide. In addition to the Sioux Falls headquarters, the company has offices in Watertown, Huron and Dakota Dunes. Premier Bankcard and First Premier Bank employ more than 2,000 people in South Dakota.