Joel Van Arsdale

Joel Van Arsdale, a Principal with First Annapolis, manages the firm’s acquiring practice and various other ventures in Europe. Joel advises banks, processors, networks, and other payments companies throughout Europe on financial, marketing, and operations strategy. In addition, he advises clients on mergers and acquisitions and partnership formations. Joel is a frequent speaker and author on the global acquiring marketplace. Joel also has experience advising credit and debit card issuers as well as retailers on card strategy and M&A activity.

Joel’s recent engagements include advising several market-leading banks in Europe on sales and partnerships related to the acquiring business, advising a global petroleum company on sale of a card issuing business, and assisting a number of clients with strategies related to commercial cards and B2B payments.

Joel joined First Annapolis in 2003, prior to which, Joel consulted with banks, broker dealers, insurance companies, and retailers at Ernst & Young LLP. He was a senior consultant at E&Y, first with the Risk Management & Regulatory Consulting then with Quantitative Economics & Statistics practice and advised clients on risk management and business strategy. Joel also held positions in the manufacturing and non-profit industries.

Joel received his M.B.A. with academic distinction from the University of Virginia's Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in economics from the Emory University.