Our Team Leadership
Brian Kamstra
President, Retriever Merchant Solutions
Brian Kamstra entered the merchant bankcard field in 1993 and joined the Retriever/National
Processing Company family in October 1999 as a one-man Sales shop. Today as President
and owner of Retriever Merchant Solutions, he leads a successful business employing
approximately 50 people working with 180 Sales Agents and close to 20,000 merchants.
Over the past 18 years, Brian has always remained true to his core personal values
of integrity and generosity while delivering high levels of security and service to
his reps. This commitment to the reps has enabled the business to grow and become
Retriever/National Processing Company’s (NPC) No. 1 Sales agency. His team has earned
numerous awards from Retriever, including Group of the Year, Highest Sales, Most
Leases and Most Check Sales.
Brian’s father, an early Amway distributor, helped shape his business principles,
which are based on building relationships and trust. “His word was his bond. He
often said, ‘if a contract is the letter of the law, then a handshake is the spirit
and just as binding.’ I learned that integrity goes far beyond the letter to the
spirit of the law.”
Brian opened his office in fall 1999 following some soul searching about his future
direction when he realized something unique about the Sales reps. “They are a special
breed needing confidence in and fair treatment from their host organization. I founded
this company to ensure reps were being taken care of fairly and with generosity.”
This commitment includes, transparent communications, on-time residual payouts and
a responsible, pro-active support team behind them.
Early in his young adult life, with plans for college, baseball and law school,
a chance meeting with a hitchhiker shifted the course of Brian’s life. Through this
encounter, he joined a local Jazz-Rock band as a keyboardist and met now long-time
friend and business collaborator, Jim Oberman, who is today Senior Vice President
and Chief Risk Officer of NPC (see History). Today, the two sit on Boards together
and continue to make music together whenever they can.
Brian’s business success is matched only by his devotion to family and friends,
and to serving the greater good through his contributions to several local social
services organizations. He serves on the Boards of Directors of Restoration Ministries
in Harvey, Illinois; and Calvary Academy in South Holland, Illinois. He also has
been on the Retriever/NPC Advisory Board since 2000.
Robyn Fiegle,
Operations
Robyn Fiegle joined Retriever Merchant Solutions in June 2001 as an Account Manager.
As the company has grown, she has gained increasing responsibility in key positions
including Senior Account Manager, Office Manager and, currently, Operations Director.
In this role, she oversees Marketing Communications, Training, Customer Service
and Accounts Payable among other activities. Her depth and breadth of industry expertise
ranges from the intricacies of streamlining electronic payment processing to nurturing
Retriever Merchant Solutions valuable customer relationships.
For Robyn, success in business and life is all about building relationships: service,
trust and tenacity. “It is simple: treat others as you want to be treated—the Golden
Rule. As the largest Sales office of NPC, we have a lot that happens in our office
every day and it’s important to our customers, our agents and our employees that
we do what we say we will, and make it happen every day. We do this with a great
staff and balance in our office.”
“Stand your own ground” and “attempt the impossible to grow” express Robyn’s determination
and philosophy in life. They explain the work ethic Robyn learned from her mother:
“She‘s an incredibly strong and positive person.” Robyn attended Prairie State College,
Chicago Heights, Illinois, and studied Business Management.
Gary Eickhoff,
Equipment and Deployment
Gary Eickhoff joined Retriever Merchant Solutions in January 2002 and today oversees
the day-to-day activities of the Deployment/Technical Service Department. Gary has
19 years of industry experience in Point-of-Sale equipment, programming and client
support.
His team programs and deploys credit card equipment and offers Customer Service
technical support. They also trouble shoot merchant calls about counter top credit
card equipment.
“You have to help me help you” is an expression that has guided Gary in his career.
“Doing a bit extra every day in different areas pays off because the more I know,
the more I can contribute to grow the success of our company.” Listening is the
overriding skill necessary for success, according to Gary. “A solution to the customer’s
issue can be found in what he/she is telling you. This holds true with co-workers,
too.”
Gary attended what is now Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan, receiving an
Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice, as well as Western Illinois University,
Macomb, Illinois, taking courses in the same field. He served in the U.S. Navy on
the USS Nassau.
John DeBoer,
Information Technology
John DeBoer joined Retriever Merchant Solutions in 2009 to direct and build the expanding technology needs of the growing organization.
Fifteen years of experience as a software developer, analyst, designer and project manager give John the knowledge and expertise to
spearhead the company’s increasing demands for Information Technology systems.
“For me, in business, there are two things that matter: trustworthiness and hard, smart work. IT demands meticulous attention to
detail and patience. It’s a matter of rolling up your sleeves, digging in and calling home to say you’ll probably be late for dinner.
When projects are important to the company, I am absolutely driven. The daily victories are an intoxicant that keep me coming back for more.”
“There are so many opportunities for personal success in this industry. I see how rewarding this career is for those who really work hard.”
Free time finds John with his wife and three girls making up for lost time while riding bikes and boating. He holds two seperate Bachelors of
Arts degrees from North Central College, Naperville, Illinois. He earned his BA in Finance in 1988 and then went back for a BA in
Computer Science in 1996. "In my field, you need to be perpetually learning. When I'm not working or doing something fun with the family
I spend all of my free time learning new technology."