From her journey through marketing roles at large payments companies to building out the marketing function at Paysafe, Alisa Barber, CMO reveals the continuous learning and adaptation required to thrive in the rapidly evolving payments landscape. Her leadership philosophy centers on providing clear direction while creating space for team members to shine, emphasizing that growth comes not from singular defining moments but from getting better every day: "What we did yesterday is not good enough for tomorrow."

Women bring unique strengths to payments, Barber explains, particularly empathy and a deeper understanding of consumer experiences. This perspective is invaluable when designing products and building systems, especially considering women make many household financial decisions yet are underrepresented in the industry. Their collaborative leadership style becomes increasingly crucial as artificial intelligence transforms payments – a change Barber predicts will be "as big as the internet was."

The conversation explores mentorship's vital role in career development, with Barber noting that while most of her mentors were men, she now prioritizes mentoring women to provide the guidance she lacked early on. Her practical advice for aspiring payment professionals? Embrace change, speak up, view challenges as opportunities, and invest in relationships – because in an AI-driven world, human skills will differentiate the truly successful leaders.

Whether you're a seasoned payments veteran or considering entering this dynamic industry, this episode offers valuable insights on navigating leadership with authenticity, building inclusive teams, and preparing for the technological transformation reshaping our financial landscape.

“This episode contains explicit language and may not be suitable for all audiences.”

The journey from developer to co-CEO of a global payments provider isn't for the faint of heart. Monika Liikamaa knows this firsthand. As the co-founder of Enfuce, she's built a company that processes cards for 24 million cardholders worldwide, pioneering cloud-native solutions when the industry thought it impossible.

Monika's story begins in northern Sweden, where Finnish parents raised a future engineer who would transform multiple industries. After cutting her teeth in telco during Finland's Nokia boom and subsequent crash, she found herself building a bank from scratch as a consultant. This experience sparked a revelation – she was a builder at heart, drawn to challenges others deemed too difficult. When offered the chance to create a financial institution capable of handling three countries, three currencies, two time zones and revolving credit, she couldn't resist.

What makes Monika's leadership philosophy stand out is its refreshing directness. "Openness, honesty and trust," she explains, form the bedrock of effective leadership. She advocates for diversity not as a checkbox exercise but as a competitive advantage. With approximately 50% male and female employees representing over 20 nationalities, Enfuce harnesses diverse perspectives to create more effective payment solutions. This approach acknowledges a simple reality in payment design: women make the majority of household payment decisions, yet have historically been underrepresented in designing those very systems.

Perhaps most revealing is Monika's response to crisis. When UNICEF needed relief cards for Ukrainian refugees, her team delivered in days what normally takes months. This experience crystallized what drives her – solving meaningful problems that make a tangible difference in people's lives. It's the same spirit behind the "Fortitude Pledge" she launched, challenging payment industry players to combat human trafficking and financial crime.

For those looking to enter the payments industry, Monica offers practical wisdom: understand problems deeply, gain perspective from different sides of the table, and remember that no company has been built exactly like yours before.

Redefining leadership requires authenticity, cross-functional collaboration, and a willingness to embrace non-linear career paths. Kari Wilhelm, SVP of Data Strategy and Commercialization at Worldpay, embodies these principles as she navigates the complex intersection of payments technology and data innovation.

In this fascinating conversation, Kari reveals how her unconventional journey from economic research in Hong Kong to management consulting at McKinsey ultimately led her to the payments industry. Rather than viewing her diverse background as a limitation, she's leveraged these varied experiences as strategic assets that provide unique perspectives on complex business challenges. As she notes, "I've really experienced that kind of non-linearity as more of a strength rather than a setback."

Kari offers profound insights on modern leadership, emphasizing the importance of building inclusive team cultures, setting clear expectations, and providing the necessary tools for success. She highlights how the pandemic has transformed leadership dynamics, creating new challenges for maintaining collaborative environments across dispersed teams. Her practical solutions for adapting leadership approaches in virtual settings demonstrate her thoughtful, pragmatic approach to team management.

The conversation explores the unique strengths women bring to payments leadership, particularly their ability to work cross-functionally and build consensus across stakeholders. Kari observes that women often excel at listening deeply to understand underlying needs rather than just surface requests, allowing them to craft solutions that address fundamental issues and build alignment across diverse groups.

As leader of Worldpay's data strategy initiatives, Kari provides fascinating glimpses into how AI and data analytics are transforming the payments landscape. Her current focus on leveraging Worldpay's vast transaction data to provide merchant insights represents the cutting edge of payments innovation, with potential to reshape how consumers discover and purchase products.

Whether you're a payments veteran, an aspiring leader, or simply curious about the human elements that drive technological innovation, Kari's perspective offers valuable guidance on navigating today's complex business environment with authenticity and purpose.

The payments landscape is undergoing dramatic transformation, demanding new approaches to leadership and innovation. Karen Xu, Chief Financial Officer for North America at Ingenico, brings a fresh perspective on navigating this evolution while balancing personal and professional priorities.

Growing up in Shanghai's French Concession sparked Karen's curiosity to explore the world, eventually leading her to America with a full scholarship to Emory University. After building expertise at consulting powerhouses and industrial giants like GE and Honeywell, Karen made the pivotal transition to Ingenico seeking greater impact in a private equity-backed environment. Within months of joining, she transformed the North American region into the company's top performer across all financial metrics.

Karen shares a defining moment when her first-grade son wished for "mommy to be happier," prompting her career pivot from a demanding global CFO role requiring 70-hour workweeks to her current position. This recalibration allowed her to maintain leadership impact while reclaiming family time - a decision she reflects on with satisfaction rather than regret.

The conversation explores why payments is more welcoming to women than traditional manufacturing sectors, and why this matters when women influence 70-80% of payment decisions. Karen believes women's natural empathy, collaborative approach, and diverse perspectives drive innovation essential for the industry's future.

For emerging professionals, Karen offers wisdom gained from mentors who shaped her approach to leadership: "bloom where you are planted" and develop the ability to see what others cannot. The most successful payment solutions will combine trust, ease of use, and scalability - with women leaders positioned to excel by staying close to customer needs and leveraging data insights.

Aglika Dotcheva's journey from organizing student strikes in post-communist Bulgaria to becoming CFO of Riskified is a masterclass in resilience and adaptive leadership. With just $3,000 in her pocket and dreams of a better future, Agi arrived in New York, eventually studying at Columbia University before finding her path in fintech.

What makes Agi's story particularly compelling is how she transformed setbacks into stepping stones. When her investment banking offer disappeared during an economic downturn, she pivoted to a tech company project that unexpectedly revealed her passion for the intersection of finance and technology. Nearly a decade ago, she joined Riskified as their first finance hire, building their financial infrastructure from scratch and guiding them through multiple funding rounds to a successful IPO in 2021 – remarkably accomplished during the height of the COVID pandemic.

Throughout our conversation, Agi shares profound insights on modern leadership, emphasizing that while strategic vision remains essential, adaptability has become increasingly crucial in today's rapidly changing business landscape. "Effective leaders must be able to adapt their strategies and remain flexible," she notes, reflecting on how Riskified has navigated various growth cycles. She also highlights the unique strengths women bring to the payments industry, including heightened resilience from overcoming biases, greater empathy, and superior collaborative skills – all vital for innovation in tech environments.

For those aspiring to leadership in finance or fintech, Agi offers golden advice: don't be just a "numbers person." She emphasizes that true strategic leadership comes from understanding the business fundamentally, maintaining a continuous learning mindset, and – perhaps most importantly – viewing challenges as opportunities for growth. As she beautifully summarizes: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Listen now to discover how this philosophy has shaped one of the most dynamic leaders in fraud prevention technology.

What happens when bold career moves and authentic leadership philosophy unite? Just ask Outhay Lovan, Chief People Strategy Officer at VizyPay, who transformed from LinkedIn observer to executive leader by taking an unconventional path that started with "stalking" the company online.

In this captivating conversation for Women Leaders in Payments month, Outhay reveals her remarkable journey from human resources management into the payments industry. Born in Laos with parents from Laos and Thailand, and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, her story exemplifies how strategic networking and stepping outside comfort zones create unexpected opportunities. After watching VizyPay's culture unfold on social media for months, she attended their office opening, boldly introduced herself to leadership, and ultimately created her own executive path.

Outhay's leadership philosophy centers on a delicate balance that many strive for but few master: combining flexibility and empathy with clear accountability. "I want to be a leader that I would want," she explains, having experienced her share of ineffective management throughout her career. This authenticity has helped build VizyPay's standout culture in the payments space. She particularly highlights empathy as women's critical contribution to the industry, enabling stronger relationships and innovative thinking.

The conversation explores how payment technologies are evolving, with Outhay noting the generational divide between her occasional check-writing and her children's fully digital payment habits. She stays innovative through industry networking groups and advises upcoming women leaders to "be bold, be curious" while advocating for themselves: "No one's going to fight harder for you to succeed than yourself."

Listen now to discover how empathy-driven leadership and strategic boldness can transform both organizations and careers in the rapidly evolving payments landscape.

From humble beginnings as a mathematics student in India to overseeing Citi's payments operations across 94 countries, Debopama Sen's 29-year journey offers valuable lessons for aspiring leaders. Her perspective on leadership is refreshingly practical: find the signal amidst the noise, articulate a clear strategic vision, and focus on helping your team excel. "It shouldn't be about the leader," she emphasizes, noting that in today's AI-driven landscape, the competitive edge comes from developing adaptability, critical thinking, empathy, and collaboration rather than just accumulating knowledge.

The conversation takes a fascinating turn when Debo discusses the inevitable shift toward real-time, 24/7/365 payment systems. This isn't merely a trend but a fundamental transformation that businesses must embrace to remain competitive. As she points out, even if your current business model doesn't demand instantaneous transactions, your customers, suppliers, or partners will eventually pull you in that direction. Citi has positioned itself at the forefront of this evolution with innovations like real-time liquidity solutions and 24/7 dollar clearing.

Perhaps most inspiringly, Debo shares wisdom on mentorship and using your voice as a female leader. "You have a voice and therefore you have a responsibility to use it," she advises younger women in the industry. She encourages professionals to proactively seek mentors beyond formal corporate programs, noting that most leaders are eager to give back. Her collaborative approach to leadership - viewing partnerships between traditional institutions and Fintechs as opportunities where "one plus one makes five" - exemplifies how diverse leadership styles can drive innovation in payments.

Join us for this thought-provoking conversation about redefining leadership through influence, impact, and innovation in the evolving payments landscape.

"The ability to juggle multiple projects and priorities is on a different level with working mothers," observes Lena Hackelöer, CEO and founder of Brite Payments, during our illuminating Women Leaders in Payments episode. Five years after launching her company focused on account-to-account payments in Europe, Lena brings fresh perspectives on leadership, innovation, and diversity in the rapidly evolving FinTech landscape.

Having cut her teeth at Klarna during its early growth stages, Lena's journey from marketing professional to FinTech founder offers a blueprint for aspiring women leaders. She challenges the notion that technical backgrounds are prerequisites for success in payments: "Don't shy away from the challenge just because you don't have a technical background. That's a really common misconception." Instead, she advocates gaining comprehensive understanding of business operations across departments, creating value through perspective rather than siloed expertise.

What truly sets European payments apart right now? Lena highlights the game-changing instant payment regulation enabling 10-second transfers across the entire Eurozone. This cross-border capability is transforming how merchants and consumers interact with money, positioning account-to-account transfers as a formidable alternative to traditional card processing. With Brite Payments now operating across 27 European markets, Lena's insights into the region's payment transformation arrive at a pivotal moment.

Her leadership philosophy balances high performance expectations with collaborative support - rejecting both the command-and-control approach and the ultra-consensus models that can slow innovation. This middle path creates space for diverse voices while maintaining the decisive momentum essential in FinTech. For women navigating this dynamic industry, Lena's structured mentorship approach, including strategically pairing board members with executives for built-in guidance, offers a replicable model for nurturing talent.

Listen now for practical wisdom from a leader who's building the future of payments from the ground up.