Somebody's Thinking Big

Julie Johnsson
Crain's Chicago Business
May 20, 2002

Somebody's thinking big: Scott Wald, who founded Skokie's SurePayroll Inc., is stepping aside as CEO, but will remain chairman of the board, a spokesman confirms. His replacement is Debra Janssen, 46, who previously was chief executive at ebizmix.com, the business-to-business spinoff of Kansas City, Mo.-based Hallmark Cards Inc. A 20-year veteran of the financial services industry, she also helped found eFunds Corp., an electronic payment company that was spun off from Minnesota's Deluxe Corp. in 2000.

Snagging Ms. Janssen is a coup for SurePayroll, an upstart firm that outsources payroll and taxes for small businesses. And it's a signal that the 50-employee firm aspires to national prominence. SurePayroll counts Wells Fargo & Co. and ABN AMRO North America Inc. among its partners and recently acquired the customer base of a competitor, Florida's Virtual Payroll Inc.

It should be noted, however, that Ms. Janssen's stint at eFunds wasn't entirely rosy. She turned that business into a profitmaker for Deluxe, but resigned as president and chief operating officer a month before it went public. She later charged in a lawsuit that she had been forced from the company as a result of "gender discrimination." The suit was dismissed earlier this year.

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