The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association advancing the use of near field communication technology, has elected Koichi Tagawa, Sony’s general manager of the global standards and industry relations department for FeliCa, as the forum’s new chairman. The organization also named Simon Pugh, group head of MasterCard’s Center of Excellence for Mobile, as its vice chairman.
While the two were elected by the NFC Forum’s directors at their September meeting in Orlando, Fla., the announcement was officially issued at a press and member during the CARTES & IDentification 2008 show currently underway in Paris.
Tagawa has been involved in promoting the adoption and standardization of NFC technology since 2002. He actively contributed to the founding of the NFC Forum, and formerly served as founding vice chairman of the organization. Tagawa replaces outgoing Chairman Christophe Duverne of NXP Semiconductors.
Pugh is responsible for developing and executing MasterCard’s strategy for mobile commerce. He also works as a liaison with strategic business partners to promote the development of programs to support MasterCard’s advanced payments initiatives.