SOFTPRO: Alain Sarraf named new CTO

Softpro GmbH, the leading the worldwide leading vendor of systems for capture and verification of handwritten signatures, today announced the appointment of Alain Sarraf, 40, as Chief Technical Officer (CTO). In his new role he will be responsible for the company's product and business strategy as well as the entire technology areas such as development, professional services, and research.

Sarraf joined Softpro in 2003. In his previous role with the company as Executive Vice President Product Management and Marketing Sarraf was key to shaping Softpro's successful product strategy and positioning the company as a world market leader in both the automated verification and electronic contract processes markets.

The nomination of Alain Sarraf is part of the "focus on customer" activities that CEO Heinz Reschke has started to implement in recent weeks. Heinz Reschke adds: "The Softpro team and many of our customers are very happy that Alain is taking this natural next step in his career as our CTO. Mr. Sarraf has proven that he can successfully position our products to be regarded by the industry as the products to match up against. Throughout recent years he has gained an outstanding reputation among customers, prospects partners and the media as a visionary and for his expertise in check fraud detection and e-signing solutions. He listens to our customers and is able to explain complex technical procedures in a way that everyone can understand the business benefits of our products and services."

"I am very proud to take on the important role of CTO for the Softpro Group." states Sarraf. "Our technology team is second to none in the industry and our track record of creating truly innovative solutions is remarkable. I am looking forward to building on this solid foundation and ensuring that we continue to be regarded as leaders in the markets we serve. Our business depends on delighting our customers with solutions that are not only cutting edge but also two steps ahead of our competitors."

In addition to shaping the SignPlus product suite (branded as FraudOne in the United States), Mr. Sarraf was instrumental in creating the American Softpro User Group that is acknowledged as an important industry forum for exchanging ideas about fraud detection and includes members from the world's leading banks such as American Express, Bank of America, Chase Heloc, Citigroup, Key Bank, Wachovia.

Sarraf holds a Masters degree in Computer Science from Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He began his career with Nortel Networks and has previously worked for other large multi-national companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies.

Mr. Ulrich Pantow will replace Alain Sarraf's role at Softpro as product manager for the fraud prevention solutions portfolio. Ralph Maute continues to be the product manager for e-signing solutions.

Please contact us for additional information:

SOFTPRO GmbH
Joerg-M. Lenz
Manager PR

Wilhelmstrasse 34
71034 Boeblingen
Germany
Phone: +49 7031 6606 0
Fax: +49 7031 6606 66

The SOFTPRO Group is the worldwide leading vendor of systems for capture and verification of handwritten signatures. The company is based in Boeblingen, Germany with local subsidiaries in North America (Wilmington, Delaware), the United Kingdom, and Asia-Pacific (Singapore).

The group currently employs an international staff of over 60 people, enabling more than 200 companies worldwide to streamline their document and transaction workflows.

With its Biometric product line, SOFTPRO provides solutions for securing the authenticity and integrity of documents within electronic processes, such as those required for legal contracts. For this purpose, a unique signature technology is used to extract and evaluate both the static and dynamic (biometric) characteristics of handwritten signatures.
SOFTPRO’s "Fraud Prevention Solutions" portfolio provides a holistic approach to detecting and preventing fraud in paper-based processes (such as payment transactions), as well as increasing operational efficiency using signature management and verification solutions.
Among SOFTPRO’s customers are American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Discover Financial, Ingolstadt Hospital, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds TSB, SEB, Standard Bank of South Africa, TeleCash (First Data) and Wachovia.
Since 2002, the offer to secure electronic documents with handwritten signatures extended the customer portfolio of SOFTPRO to other industries such as banking and insurance, health/pharma, retail, government, automotive and logistics.

Frost & Sullivan, one of the leading growth consulting companies worldwide, presented SOFTPRO GmbH with its "Customer Service Leadership Award 2007" for having excelled in serving its customers and gaining superior customer satisfaction levels. This award recognizes the company that has gained the best insights into customer needs and product demands.

SOFTPRO's shareholders are GE Capital (since 1998), AdCapital (since 2001) founders and management.

SOFTPRO's partners include: A2iA, Adobe, BancTec, Beta Systems (Kleindienst), Carreker/CheckFree, DISOFT Pro, Fujitsu Siemens Computers / Fujitsu, Gateway, Gijima AST, HP, IBM, Interlink, Lenovo, Microsoft, Motion Computing, Toshiba, UNISYS and Wacom as well as APP Informatik Davos.

This release was published on openPR.