Former NCO Head Gets Back into Debt Collection

Michael Barrist – formerly the CEO, President, and Chairman of ARM/BPO giant NCO Group – announced today a transaction that will jumpstart his reentry into the debt collection space.

Barrist is partnering with Jim Eccleston to recapitalize and combine collection agency Central Credit Services, Inc. and ARM technology provider Radius Solutions, Inc., businesses owned by Eccleston. The new company will be called Radius Global Solutions LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Since leaving NCO in early 2011, I have spent considerable time planning my next chapter and looking for just the right opportunity to not just reenter the industry but to transform it,” said Barrist. “My introduction to Radius Solutions and Central Credit Services allowed me to view firsthand how enabling technology is being used as a change agent in order to transform how we communicate with consumers.”

Radius Global will combine the debt collection operations of Central Credit with the technology offerings of Radius Solutions. Among the Radius solutions is a cell manager application, announced last year, which helps ARM companies with TCPA compliance.

“The opportunity to partner with Jim Eccleston on expanding this platform seemed the logical choice based on his focus on providing consistent and compliant performance through innovative technology and service offerings,” said Barrist.  “I am highly confident that Radius will be at the forefront of how our clients sell, service and communicate with their customers in the future.”

“All of us at Radius Solutions and Central Credit Services are excited to partner with Mike and his team,” said Eccleston.  “Moving forward, we will continue to focus on innovation in order to drive performance utilizing next-generation technology and unmatched industry experience.”

“It’s not surprising that Mike Barrist is reentering the ARM space,” noted Mike Ginsberg, CEO of advisory firm Kaulkin Ginsberg. “He created the largest company in the industry and I’m quite sure he will be driving innovation with this new company.”

Paul Weitzel will be joining Barrist and Eccleston in the Radius executive team. Weitzel is also an NCO executive alumnus and will be focusing on corporate development, including revenue cycle management offerings.

Radius Global Solutions will be headquartered in Ambler, Pa. with operational centers in Jacksonville, Fla.; St. Charles, Mo.; and Gurgaon, India.