November 21, 2025 • 19 mins
Recorded live from the PayTech Women Leadership Summit in Atlanta, this episode brings together an inspiring cross-section of executives, founders, coaches, and industry veterans who are shaping the human side of leadership in payments and fintech. A special thank you to our episode sponsor, Global Payments.
Across fast, heartfelt conversations, one thread is impossible to miss: influence grows when community grows. You’ll hear how clarity of purpose fuels confidence, why intentional relationships compound over time, and how investing in your own presence, skills, and courage creates opportunities that span roles, companies, and career chapters.
Valissa Pierre-Louis opens by grounding influence in self-awareness - truly understanding the value you bring and aligning your strengths to what the business needs most. She underscores the power of relationships that amplify that value. Outhay Lovan builds on that with a call to boldness, especially for those who don’t see themselves as natural extroverts. Her message is simple: step into discomfort, expand your network, and watch your impact grow.
Executive presence takes center stage with Eileen Nebhut, who highlights the importance of coaching, feedback, and stakeholder support systems. She notes that the Summit’s unique “vibe” comes from leaders who intentionally pay it forward. Audrey Blackmon emphasizes being intentional with time and staying rooted in authenticity and integrity - two qualities she sees as non-negotiable for long-term influence.
From the organizational lens, Dr. Gail Burgos encourages women to take risks, stretch beyond their functional lanes, and embrace curiosity as a pathway to growth. FIS’s Kristen Slink brings a powerful distinction between mentorship and sponsorship, urging women to advocate for one another and elevate voices not yet in the room.
Margie Kreutz adds a powerful mindset shift—reframing “risk” as courage—and reminds women that staying too long in a comfortable role can quietly stall advancement, while brave, timely moves create momentum and open doors.
Longtime industry leader Linda Perry reminds professionals to stay deeply informed—follow the trends, read widely, and understand the ecosystem so you can chart where you want to go. And to close, Jonathan O’Connor spotlights the magic of “playing in traffic” - putting yourself in the flow of conversations, peers, and opportunity during a moment of massive industry transformation.
If you care about accelerating your career, building meaningful connections, or leading with purpose in a competitive, fast-changing landscape, this episode offers practical insights you can put into motion today.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_04 (00:02):
Hello and welcome to the Leaders in Payments Podcast.
I'm your host, Greg Myers, andtoday we're podcasting from the
PayTech Women's LeadershipSummit in Atlanta, Georgia.
We've got a huge lineup of greatguests today, and I want to give
a special shout out to oursponsor, Global Payments.
So with that, on to the show.
Our first guest is ValissaPierre-Louis.
SPEAKER_07 (00:22):
Hi, I'm Valisa Pierre-Louis, a leadership
strategist and executive coach,but also the founder of Standout
Career Guide.
And yeah, I've been in paymentsfor 25 plus years as an
executive in startups andfinancial institutions.
Now I serve the industry in adifferent way as an executive
(00:44):
coach.
SPEAKER_04 (00:45):
Okay, great.
So two questions.
First one, what's one piece ofadvice you'd share with women in
payments who want to grow theirinfluence and make a bigger
impact?
SPEAKER_07 (00:54):
Absolutely understand the value that they
bring to an organization.
So what those strengths are, howthose strengths align with the
strategic priorities of thebusiness so that they can find
opportunities for mutualsuccess.
Okay.
And in doing so, make sure thatthey establish relationships
(01:17):
that help them amplify thosestrengths and the values, the
value that they bring to thebusiness, the strategic value.
SPEAKER_04 (01:24):
Okay, I love that.
I think that's great advice.
So, last question what do youthink makes the Pay Tech Women
Leadership Summit such avaluable event for professionals
in payments?
SPEAKER_07 (01:34):
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_04 (01:35):
It's a long list, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_07 (01:37):
Yes, it is.
It's so close to my heart, too.
If I had to pick just one thing,it's the community of women here
that from the leadership to thepeople that attend this
conference, everyone is sogenerous with what they know,
(01:59):
what they have, and it createsthis space where we're willing
to be vulnerable with oneanother, to ask for that help,
and we're all willing to giveit.
And the organization not onlycontinues to grow its membership
(02:20):
in women, but its membership inallyship.
So the men that support womenand take it to their
organizations and give more thanlip service, but actually
they're putting leaders in thosehigher roles on their executive
teams, and they're speakingabout PayTech Women and its its
(02:41):
value.
And so this year was a greatexample of us in the leadership
understanding that there'sleadership, and then now in this
time of AI, that it's us leadingthrough the technology and
helping everyone understand it'snot taking our jobs.
(03:04):
We just want to learn how toleverage it, work with it, and
create new opportunities and newways of working.
SPEAKER_04 (03:13):
Okay.
Well, Valisa, thank you so muchfor being here.
I really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_07 (03:17):
Thank you so much, Greg.
SPEAKER_01 (03:18):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_04 (03:20):
Our next guest is Otai Levon.
SPEAKER_01 (03:22):
Otai Lavon, Chief People Strategy Officer at
Visipay.
SPEAKER_04 (03:26):
Great.
So two quick questions.
First one, what's one piece ofadvice you'd share with women in
payments who want to grow theirinfluence and make a bigger
impact?
SPEAKER_01 (03:34):
Yes.
So, Greg, I was on a podcastwith you prior.
Um, I would say the same thing.
Be bold.
Be bold, take risks.
Um, you know, for me, I'm not anatural extrovert.
I'm not a social butterfly,although it may seem like I am.
I'm actually an introvert.
That's my natural um for me.
(03:56):
And so to get out there out ofmy comfort zone is something
that has helped me grow andexpand my network.
SPEAKER_04 (04:03):
Okay.
So last question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_01 (04:11):
Yeah, it's the community, the community of
like-minded individuals.
You know, we want each other tothrive.
It's that supporting each other,it's the showing of the empathy.
You know, you don't see that alot in other conferences or
trade shows.
And so it's good to be around,surrounded by people, just have
the same goal for each other.
SPEAKER_04 (04:32):
Okay.
Well, Otai, thank you so muchfor doing this.
I really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_01 (04:35):
Yeah, thanks.
SPEAKER_09 (04:36):
Thanks for having me again.
SPEAKER_04 (04:37):
Our next guest is Eileen Nebbitt.
SPEAKER_09 (04:39):
Eileen Nebit, CEO of Venus Rising.
SPEAKER_04 (04:42):
Awesome.
So, two questions.
First one, what's one piece ofadvice you'd share with women in
payments who want to grow theirinfluence and make a bigger
impact?
SPEAKER_09 (04:51):
I kind of feel like this is a trick question because
I've been delivering sessions atthis summit around executive
presence.
So I would say investing inthemselves.
There's lots of great coachesthat are associated with PayTech
Women.
There's the Executive Impact 365program that's available to them
next year.
So they've got lots of umcoaching available.
(05:15):
And I think it's always good toget a stakeholder group and to
lean on others who know a littlebit more about presence than
they do to kind of help themgrow their influence.
SPEAKER_04 (05:26):
Okay.
So, final question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_09 (05:34):
This summit has a vibe.
It is, I think it's theleadership.
I think it's, I think it's Gailall the way down.
And this is a group of women whoreally want to pay it forward
and to help each other and whoare so smart.
And every conversation I havehad has been so valuable.
(05:54):
And Gail asked us this morningto write down all of our
takeaways and to email it toher.
And I thought, I'm gonna have abook because it's just it's
incredible women who have comein from international uh places
and all over the US, and justvery, very impressive.
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (06:12):
Well, Eileen, thank you so much for taking the time
to do this.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
Our next guest is AudreyBlackman.
SPEAKER_03 (06:19):
Audrey Blackman.
I am currently the seniorenterprise sales executive for
Euronet worldwide, and I have 35years in payments.
SPEAKER_04 (06:30):
Awesome.
And we obviously know eachother, so thank you for being
here.
So, quick question (06:34):
what's one piece of advice you'd share with
women in payments who want togrow their influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_03 (06:42):
So I talk about this a lot, and thank you for that
question.
Um, you know, one of the thingsis be open and be intentional
with what you do and your time.
Uh, one of the things that'svery important to us as
professionals is our time.
You know, it's priority, right?
So be intentional with your timeand make sure that you're taking
care of yourself and your brand.
(07:03):
So one of the things that I hangmy hat on is I'm a great
connector, but I also haveintegrity.
That's all you know, first andforemost is integrity in what I
do, and I'm authentic in what Ido.
So I can always be myself in anyroom.
SPEAKER_04 (07:18):
Awesome.
So, last question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals and payments?
SPEAKER_03 (07:26):
Oh, that's easy.
Community.
It's all about the connection,you know, opening up yourself to
learn something new, opening upyourself to be connected with
others.
That's something that can lastyou a lifetime.
And I think that this event is agreat cross-section of women and
men in our industry and itallows you to connect yourself
(07:46):
in different parts of theindustry and not just be
single-threaded, right?
And to be yourself and beauthentic.
And so for me, this event is apinnacle event because it allows
me to share with others, to uhlearn and meet other people that
I probably would not get achance to meet, because a lot of
our attendees, this may be theonly show that they go to on an
(08:09):
annual basis.
So that it's their only exposureto this community.
And so I think it's very, veryimportant for people to
participate for the next twodays and enjoy being themselves.
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (08:22):
Audrey, thank you so much for your time.
I really appreciate you doingthis.
SPEAKER_03 (08:25):
Well, thank you for the opportunity.
Great to be here.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_04 (08:28):
Thank you.
Our next guest is Dr.
Gail Burgos.
SPEAKER_06 (08:32):
First of all, good morning, good afternoon.
Uh, I am Dr.
Gail Burgos.
I am the CEO of Pay Tech Women.
SPEAKER_04 (08:38):
I am so honored that you're here.
Thank you so much, Gail.
SPEAKER_06 (08:41):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_04 (08:42):
So, first question: what's one piece of advice you'd
share with women in payments whowant to grow their influence and
make a bigger impact?
SPEAKER_06 (08:48):
Oh, that is a loaded question, but if there's one
that I need to narrow it downto, um, it's certainly to be a
risk taker, not be afraid togrow your knowledge within your
respective organization.
Um, you're not departmentalized,you're not divisionalized.
And if you are fortunate enoughto be in a sizable organization
(09:09):
that has multiple areas to goto, be curious, be a risk taker,
take an opportunity to learnsomething new and not be
comfortable because that's whatmakes you better.
Uh, stretch yourself.
And certainly that makes you, ofcourse, more accessible for
growth and grow up growthopportunities when those doors
(09:29):
open.
SPEAKER_04 (09:30):
Okay.
Yeah.
So, final question (09:30):
what do you think makes the Pay Tech Women
Leadership Summit such avaluable event for people in
payments?
SPEAKER_06 (09:37):
It's it's the opportunity to come together
once a year in a setting whereyou not only can reunite and
rekindle and see other women andmen uh across the industry in
one place, but it's thatcamaraderie and that energy that
you feel when you come into theroom.
It's that industry knowledge.
(09:59):
The breakout sessions and thegeneral sessions that we have
are amazing.
And it's also that ability tonetwork and to connect with
people outside of your communityand outside of your corporation.
Uh, the payment industry isvast, it's not just one
particular space.
And so it brings the summitallows you that opportunity to
(10:19):
do that.
So that's what's exciting aboutit.
SPEAKER_04 (10:21):
Yeah, it's it's been a great event for us.
And before we go, I do want tothank you very, very much for
allowing us to come do this atthe event.
SPEAKER_06 (10:28):
It's been my honor and my pleasure.
And thank you for being here.
SPEAKER_04 (10:31):
Yeah, thank you, Gail.
Really appreciate your time.
Our next guest is Christy Slink.
SPEAKER_00 (10:36):
My name is Kristen Slank.
I'm a FinTech Market Strategistfor FIS.
SPEAKER_04 (10:40):
Awesome.
So, first question (10:41):
what's one piece of advice you'd share with
women in payments who want togrow their influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_00 (10:48):
Advocate for other women.
And there's multiple ways thatyou can do that.
So we talked a lot aboutsponsorship and mentoring here,
which are incredibly different.
So mentoring is moreskill-related.
So if you have someone that isdoing something that you want to
learn more about, get betterabout, that's typically where
you seek out mentorship, someonewho's done what you're looking
to do.
So you can learn from theirexperiences.
(11:08):
Sponsorship is a little bitdifferent.
That comes kind of the oppositeway.
So someone who's typically in ahigher leadership position is
sponsoring someone who is in alower position.
So it's bringing their name upin rooms that they're not in.
It's making sure that they havevisibility in meetings, in
conversations, that people knowthe work that they're doing.
So mentorship's usuallysomething that you seek out.
(11:30):
Sponsorship is usually somethingthat you get naturally from
being yourself and being amazingin your organization and having
someone really showcase that andtell other people about how
amazing you are.
SPEAKER_04 (11:42):
Okay, great.
So, last question.
What do you think makes thePayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
We in FinTech have a lot of events.
SPEAKER_04 (11:53):
We do.
SPEAKER_00 (11:53):
And it's a very male-dominated industry.
So a conference like this,bringing women together to talk
about leadership, provides uswith a safe space.
There's a lot of times wherewomen won't ask questions in
certain rooms if they don't feellike they are going to be
respected or they think that thequestion may sound, you know,
immature or something like that.
So when you get women together,it's just a different vibe.
(12:15):
It's very co-creative, right?
We're here to advocate for oneanother.
We're here to lift another up,and it's just in a safe place
where we don't feel like we needto censor one another.
So it's nice to have thatvariation.
We're definitely industry eventsare great to attend with our
peers, but when we get our owntime where we see people that
look like us on the stages asthe majority, that's what makes
(12:38):
this event really special.
SPEAKER_04 (12:39):
Okay.
Well, thank you so much for yourtime.
I really appreciate you doingthis.
SPEAKER_00 (12:42):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_04 (12:44):
Our next guest is Margie Kreutz.
SPEAKER_05 (12:47):
I'm Margie Kreutz.
I work for JP Morgan Chase.
I'm an executive director in thepayment space there, and I've
been there for 18 years.
SPEAKER_04 (12:55):
Wow, great.
So, first question what's onepiece of advice you'd share with
women in payments who want togrow their influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_05 (13:04):
Uh, we talked a lot about this in some of the
sessions, um, taking risks, andI'm trying to flip my mindset
about risk and changing thatword to courage.
So taking a courageous step,even if you're not certain, um,
can be um give you so muchadvantage.
And I think that there is riskin staying complacent in one
(13:26):
role for too long.
Um, I wish in my earlier part ofmy career um someone would have
tapped me on the shoulder andsaid, you know, it's time for
you to make a change.
And and the reason I stayed inthe position I was in is because
I was doing well and I wasenjoying it, and I had a good
leader.
Um, but in hindsight, I thinkthat held me back from my next
uh promotion a little bit.
SPEAKER_04 (13:46):
Okay.
Well, final question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_05 (13:53):
The content is incredible.
I have been coming to thisconference for oh, probably
seven or eight years now, andI'm still learning something new
every time that I come.
And second, or maybe eventopping that is the connection.
The connection we're making aswomen at this conference is just
incredible.
SPEAKER_04 (14:10):
Okay.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here.
I really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_05 (14:13):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_04 (14:15):
Our next guest is Linda Perry.
SPEAKER_08 (14:17):
I'm Linda Perry.
I am one of the co-founders ofPayTech Women, formerly known as
WNet.
Uh, we've been in in uh in thisuh arena for 20 years now, and
we started with really very goodfriends.
Different start, differentplaces in the business.
I was at Visa for 17 years.
Uh, Diane was running a businessuh for Chase Paymentech or
(14:37):
Chase, and um Holly's anattorney.
And we had various careers, butwe came together because we were
not only business partners, butwe were friends, and we learned
to work with each other, and wesaid, let's start something to
help other women in theindustry.
And that's what we did.
SPEAKER_04 (14:52):
Awesome.
So, two questions.
The first one (14:54):
what's one piece of advice you'd share with women
in payments who want to growtheir influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_08 (15:01):
You know, somebody just asked me that question, and
a very young person who startedout at Viceerf.
And I said, first of all, readeverything you can in the
papers, in digital transactions,in the green sheet, wherever you
can find information about ourbusiness.
Because if you start to followthe trends, what's going on,
who's where, it'll help youfigure out where you want to be,
(15:22):
who your customers are, maybe alittle more about them that you
don't know today.
And so I really encourage peopleto keep learning about the
industry every way you can.
And coming here is a great wayto do that.
SPEAKER_04 (15:32):
Absolutely.
I think that's great advice.
So, last question (15:34):
what do you think makes the Pay Tech Women
Leadership Summit such avaluable event for professionals
in payments?
SPEAKER_08 (15:41):
You know, I think this event is really valuable
for people because they get tobe in person.
You know, we sort of driftedaway from in-person for a long
time.
We do a lot of Zoom things aswell.
But it's great to sort of be intouch with somebody to say, I
know you, oh, I've seen yourface and I know who you are, and
I've heard your name.
And so they can actuallyapproach you and talk about, you
(16:02):
know, what they want to talkabout or ask a lot of questions.
So the value, I think, is one,the personal interface that
happens here.
Two is the education we try toprovide, whether it's about
career advice or whether it'sabout the industry.
And this year we really added alot of industry topics, and we
had some spectacular speakers,people you will not hear again.
We're here this year, and we'regonna have to be it's gonna be
(16:24):
interesting to top it next year.
SPEAKER_04 (16:26):
So I have to personally thank you because I
wouldn't be here if it wasn'tfor you.
So thank you so much forinviting us and allowing us to
do that.
SPEAKER_08 (16:33):
Well, thank you for being persistent about it and
keeping calling me because I hada busy job trying to manage this
affair.
But people asked me, like today,they said, Are you, you know,
are you on a do you havepodcasts?
Do you have TikTok?
Do you are on Instagram?
And I realize I'm not in thatgeneration.
And so I think podcasting isimportant to this upcoming
generation, that we need toprovide those kinds of services
(16:54):
and values to them that that wedidn't do before because it
didn't matter.
I mean, that just didn't exist.
Right.
So I think we're gonna have to,I'm excited about learning from
what's going on here with youand from these kids who asked me
these questions about TikTok orsomething, to say what do we do
next to keep the momentum going,to keep the education going, to
keep the networking going.
I mean, I think it's soimportant to do that, to find
(17:16):
ways to connect with each other,whether it's social media or
some other kind of media, right?
I think it's important to keepchanging and keep moving on.
So I appreciate you coming herea lot.
And I hope you get greatinterviews.
SPEAKER_04 (17:27):
Yeah, it's been it's been amazing two days.
So again, thank you so much foreverything you've done and are
continuing to do.
And thank you for doing thisright now.
You're welcome.
SPEAKER_08 (17:35):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_04 (17:36):
Our next guest is Jonathan O'Connor.
SPEAKER_02 (17:39):
Great, great to see you again.
Jonathan O'Connor, I'm divisionpresident of third-party
payments in Sonovas.
30 years in the paymentsindustry, both in the US, AMIA,
and APAC.
SPEAKER_04 (17:49):
Okay.
So, two questions.
The first one (17:51):
what's one piece of advice you'd share with women
in payments who want to growtheir influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_02 (17:58):
Absolutely.
It's all about passion, passionand purpose.
You know, be very passionateabout what you do, but also have
a purpose.
I also spoke yesterday aboutplaying in traffic.
And this event is a greatexample of that where you get to
meet people, meet peers,potential new employers, uh, and
you know, really grow yourbrand.
(18:19):
It's all about growing yourbrand, being aware of growth in
the industry.
We're in an amazing section oftransformation, and now is the
time to grab that.
SPEAKER_04 (18:28):
Okay, final question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_02 (18:35):
Look, this is my first event.
I spoke in a panel yesterday.
It was it was very uh enjoyable,but also very rewarding to see
the amount of people uh andinterest that it generated.
You know, there's almost 7,000members here, it's 20 years in
existence.
Very impressed by that.
So I would say, you know, whatmakes this unique is, you know,
(18:56):
the the amount of dialogue andintegration that goes on with
everybody here.
And uh I think keep on attendingthis, and I wish them all the
best in 2026.
SPEAKER_04 (19:06):
Okay.
Well, thank you first of all forbeing on the panel yesterday.
I really appreciate you doingthat.
And secondly, for being here anddoing this interview.
So thank you so much, Jonathan.
Thank you very much.
Thank you to all the specialguests who were on the show
today and yesterday.
It's been a great show, and Ireally appreciate the
opportunity.
So, a special thanks to the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
organization for allowing me tocome do this, and a special
(19:28):
thanks to all of the guests thatwere on the show and to our
sponsor, Global Payments.
And to all your listeners outthere, I thank you as well.
And until the next story,
Hello and welcome to the Leaders in Payments Podcast.
I'm your host, Greg Myers, andtoday we're podcasting from the
PayTech Women's LeadershipSummit in Atlanta, Georgia.
We've got a huge lineup of greatguests today, and I want to give
a special shout out to oursponsor, Global Payments.
So with that, on to the show.
Our first guest is ValissaPierre-Louis.
SPEAKER_07 (00:22):
Hi, I'm Valisa Pierre-Louis, a leadership
strategist and executive coach,but also the founder of Standout
Career Guide.
And yeah, I've been in paymentsfor 25 plus years as an
executive in startups andfinancial institutions.
Now I serve the industry in adifferent way as an executive
(00:44):
coach.
SPEAKER_04 (00:45):
Okay, great.
So two questions.
First one, what's one piece ofadvice you'd share with women in
payments who want to grow theirinfluence and make a bigger
impact?
SPEAKER_07 (00:54):
Absolutely understand the value that they
bring to an organization.
So what those strengths are, howthose strengths align with the
strategic priorities of thebusiness so that they can find
opportunities for mutualsuccess.
Okay.
And in doing so, make sure thatthey establish relationships
(01:17):
that help them amplify thosestrengths and the values, the
value that they bring to thebusiness, the strategic value.
SPEAKER_04 (01:24):
Okay, I love that.
I think that's great advice.
So, last question what do youthink makes the Pay Tech Women
Leadership Summit such avaluable event for professionals
in payments?
SPEAKER_07 (01:34):
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_04 (01:35):
It's a long list, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_07 (01:37):
Yes, it is.
It's so close to my heart, too.
If I had to pick just one thing,it's the community of women here
that from the leadership to thepeople that attend this
conference, everyone is sogenerous with what they know,
(01:59):
what they have, and it createsthis space where we're willing
to be vulnerable with oneanother, to ask for that help,
and we're all willing to giveit.
And the organization not onlycontinues to grow its membership
(02:20):
in women, but its membership inallyship.
So the men that support womenand take it to their
organizations and give more thanlip service, but actually
they're putting leaders in thosehigher roles on their executive
teams, and they're speakingabout PayTech Women and its its
(02:41):
value.
And so this year was a greatexample of us in the leadership
understanding that there'sleadership, and then now in this
time of AI, that it's us leadingthrough the technology and
helping everyone understand it'snot taking our jobs.
(03:04):
We just want to learn how toleverage it, work with it, and
create new opportunities and newways of working.
SPEAKER_04 (03:13):
Okay.
Well, Valisa, thank you so muchfor being here.
I really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_07 (03:17):
Thank you so much, Greg.
SPEAKER_01 (03:18):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_04 (03:20):
Our next guest is Otai Levon.
SPEAKER_01 (03:22):
Otai Lavon, Chief People Strategy Officer at
Visipay.
SPEAKER_04 (03:26):
Great.
So two quick questions.
First one, what's one piece ofadvice you'd share with women in
payments who want to grow theirinfluence and make a bigger
impact?
SPEAKER_01 (03:34):
Yes.
So, Greg, I was on a podcastwith you prior.
Um, I would say the same thing.
Be bold.
Be bold, take risks.
Um, you know, for me, I'm not anatural extrovert.
I'm not a social butterfly,although it may seem like I am.
I'm actually an introvert.
That's my natural um for me.
(03:56):
And so to get out there out ofmy comfort zone is something
that has helped me grow andexpand my network.
SPEAKER_04 (04:03):
Okay.
So last question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_01 (04:11):
Yeah, it's the community, the community of
like-minded individuals.
You know, we want each other tothrive.
It's that supporting each other,it's the showing of the empathy.
You know, you don't see that alot in other conferences or
trade shows.
And so it's good to be around,surrounded by people, just have
the same goal for each other.
SPEAKER_04 (04:32):
Okay.
Well, Otai, thank you so muchfor doing this.
I really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_01 (04:35):
Yeah, thanks.
SPEAKER_09 (04:36):
Thanks for having me again.
SPEAKER_04 (04:37):
Our next guest is Eileen Nebbitt.
SPEAKER_09 (04:39):
Eileen Nebit, CEO of Venus Rising.
SPEAKER_04 (04:42):
Awesome.
So, two questions.
First one, what's one piece ofadvice you'd share with women in
payments who want to grow theirinfluence and make a bigger
impact?
SPEAKER_09 (04:51):
I kind of feel like this is a trick question because
I've been delivering sessions atthis summit around executive
presence.
So I would say investing inthemselves.
There's lots of great coachesthat are associated with PayTech
Women.
There's the Executive Impact 365program that's available to them
next year.
So they've got lots of umcoaching available.
(05:15):
And I think it's always good toget a stakeholder group and to
lean on others who know a littlebit more about presence than
they do to kind of help themgrow their influence.
SPEAKER_04 (05:26):
Okay.
So, final question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_09 (05:34):
This summit has a vibe.
It is, I think it's theleadership.
I think it's, I think it's Gailall the way down.
And this is a group of women whoreally want to pay it forward
and to help each other and whoare so smart.
And every conversation I havehad has been so valuable.
(05:54):
And Gail asked us this morningto write down all of our
takeaways and to email it toher.
And I thought, I'm gonna have abook because it's just it's
incredible women who have comein from international uh places
and all over the US, and justvery, very impressive.
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (06:12):
Well, Eileen, thank you so much for taking the time
to do this.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
Our next guest is AudreyBlackman.
SPEAKER_03 (06:19):
Audrey Blackman.
I am currently the seniorenterprise sales executive for
Euronet worldwide, and I have 35years in payments.
SPEAKER_04 (06:30):
Awesome.
And we obviously know eachother, so thank you for being
here.
So, quick question (06:34):
what's one piece of advice you'd share with
women in payments who want togrow their influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_03 (06:42):
So I talk about this a lot, and thank you for that
question.
Um, you know, one of the thingsis be open and be intentional
with what you do and your time.
Uh, one of the things that'svery important to us as
professionals is our time.
You know, it's priority, right?
So be intentional with your timeand make sure that you're taking
care of yourself and your brand.
(07:03):
So one of the things that I hangmy hat on is I'm a great
connector, but I also haveintegrity.
That's all you know, first andforemost is integrity in what I
do, and I'm authentic in what Ido.
So I can always be myself in anyroom.
SPEAKER_04 (07:18):
Awesome.
So, last question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals and payments?
SPEAKER_03 (07:26):
Oh, that's easy.
Community.
It's all about the connection,you know, opening up yourself to
learn something new, opening upyourself to be connected with
others.
That's something that can lastyou a lifetime.
And I think that this event is agreat cross-section of women and
men in our industry and itallows you to connect yourself
(07:46):
in different parts of theindustry and not just be
single-threaded, right?
And to be yourself and beauthentic.
And so for me, this event is apinnacle event because it allows
me to share with others, to uhlearn and meet other people that
I probably would not get achance to meet, because a lot of
our attendees, this may be theonly show that they go to on an
(08:09):
annual basis.
So that it's their only exposureto this community.
And so I think it's very, veryimportant for people to
participate for the next twodays and enjoy being themselves.
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (08:22):
Audrey, thank you so much for your time.
I really appreciate you doingthis.
SPEAKER_03 (08:25):
Well, thank you for the opportunity.
Great to be here.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_04 (08:28):
Thank you.
Our next guest is Dr.
Gail Burgos.
SPEAKER_06 (08:32):
First of all, good morning, good afternoon.
Uh, I am Dr.
Gail Burgos.
I am the CEO of Pay Tech Women.
SPEAKER_04 (08:38):
I am so honored that you're here.
Thank you so much, Gail.
SPEAKER_06 (08:41):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_04 (08:42):
So, first question: what's one piece of advice you'd
share with women in payments whowant to grow their influence and
make a bigger impact?
SPEAKER_06 (08:48):
Oh, that is a loaded question, but if there's one
that I need to narrow it downto, um, it's certainly to be a
risk taker, not be afraid togrow your knowledge within your
respective organization.
Um, you're not departmentalized,you're not divisionalized.
And if you are fortunate enoughto be in a sizable organization
(09:09):
that has multiple areas to goto, be curious, be a risk taker,
take an opportunity to learnsomething new and not be
comfortable because that's whatmakes you better.
Uh, stretch yourself.
And certainly that makes you, ofcourse, more accessible for
growth and grow up growthopportunities when those doors
(09:29):
open.
SPEAKER_04 (09:30):
Okay.
Yeah.
So, final question (09:30):
what do you think makes the Pay Tech Women
Leadership Summit such avaluable event for people in
payments?
SPEAKER_06 (09:37):
It's it's the opportunity to come together
once a year in a setting whereyou not only can reunite and
rekindle and see other women andmen uh across the industry in
one place, but it's thatcamaraderie and that energy that
you feel when you come into theroom.
It's that industry knowledge.
(09:59):
The breakout sessions and thegeneral sessions that we have
are amazing.
And it's also that ability tonetwork and to connect with
people outside of your communityand outside of your corporation.
Uh, the payment industry isvast, it's not just one
particular space.
And so it brings the summitallows you that opportunity to
(10:19):
do that.
So that's what's exciting aboutit.
SPEAKER_04 (10:21):
Yeah, it's it's been a great event for us.
And before we go, I do want tothank you very, very much for
allowing us to come do this atthe event.
SPEAKER_06 (10:28):
It's been my honor and my pleasure.
And thank you for being here.
SPEAKER_04 (10:31):
Yeah, thank you, Gail.
Really appreciate your time.
Our next guest is Christy Slink.
SPEAKER_00 (10:36):
My name is Kristen Slank.
I'm a FinTech Market Strategistfor FIS.
SPEAKER_04 (10:40):
Awesome.
So, first question (10:41):
what's one piece of advice you'd share with
women in payments who want togrow their influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_00 (10:48):
Advocate for other women.
And there's multiple ways thatyou can do that.
So we talked a lot aboutsponsorship and mentoring here,
which are incredibly different.
So mentoring is moreskill-related.
So if you have someone that isdoing something that you want to
learn more about, get betterabout, that's typically where
you seek out mentorship, someonewho's done what you're looking
to do.
So you can learn from theirexperiences.
(11:08):
Sponsorship is a little bitdifferent.
That comes kind of the oppositeway.
So someone who's typically in ahigher leadership position is
sponsoring someone who is in alower position.
So it's bringing their name upin rooms that they're not in.
It's making sure that they havevisibility in meetings, in
conversations, that people knowthe work that they're doing.
So mentorship's usuallysomething that you seek out.
(11:30):
Sponsorship is usually somethingthat you get naturally from
being yourself and being amazingin your organization and having
someone really showcase that andtell other people about how
amazing you are.
SPEAKER_04 (11:42):
Okay, great.
So, last question.
What do you think makes thePayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
We in FinTech have a lot of events.
SPEAKER_04 (11:53):
We do.
SPEAKER_00 (11:53):
And it's a very male-dominated industry.
So a conference like this,bringing women together to talk
about leadership, provides uswith a safe space.
There's a lot of times wherewomen won't ask questions in
certain rooms if they don't feellike they are going to be
respected or they think that thequestion may sound, you know,
immature or something like that.
So when you get women together,it's just a different vibe.
(12:15):
It's very co-creative, right?
We're here to advocate for oneanother.
We're here to lift another up,and it's just in a safe place
where we don't feel like we needto censor one another.
So it's nice to have thatvariation.
We're definitely industry eventsare great to attend with our
peers, but when we get our owntime where we see people that
look like us on the stages asthe majority, that's what makes
(12:38):
this event really special.
SPEAKER_04 (12:39):
Okay.
Well, thank you so much for yourtime.
I really appreciate you doingthis.
SPEAKER_00 (12:42):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_04 (12:44):
Our next guest is Margie Kreutz.
SPEAKER_05 (12:47):
I'm Margie Kreutz.
I work for JP Morgan Chase.
I'm an executive director in thepayment space there, and I've
been there for 18 years.
SPEAKER_04 (12:55):
Wow, great.
So, first question what's onepiece of advice you'd share with
women in payments who want togrow their influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_05 (13:04):
Uh, we talked a lot about this in some of the
sessions, um, taking risks, andI'm trying to flip my mindset
about risk and changing thatword to courage.
So taking a courageous step,even if you're not certain, um,
can be um give you so muchadvantage.
And I think that there is riskin staying complacent in one
(13:26):
role for too long.
Um, I wish in my earlier part ofmy career um someone would have
tapped me on the shoulder andsaid, you know, it's time for
you to make a change.
And and the reason I stayed inthe position I was in is because
I was doing well and I wasenjoying it, and I had a good
leader.
Um, but in hindsight, I thinkthat held me back from my next
uh promotion a little bit.
SPEAKER_04 (13:46):
Okay.
Well, final question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_05 (13:53):
The content is incredible.
I have been coming to thisconference for oh, probably
seven or eight years now, andI'm still learning something new
every time that I come.
And second, or maybe eventopping that is the connection.
The connection we're making aswomen at this conference is just
incredible.
SPEAKER_04 (14:10):
Okay.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here.
I really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_05 (14:13):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_04 (14:15):
Our next guest is Linda Perry.
SPEAKER_08 (14:17):
I'm Linda Perry.
I am one of the co-founders ofPayTech Women, formerly known as
WNet.
Uh, we've been in in uh in thisuh arena for 20 years now, and
we started with really very goodfriends.
Different start, differentplaces in the business.
I was at Visa for 17 years.
Uh, Diane was running a businessuh for Chase Paymentech or
(14:37):
Chase, and um Holly's anattorney.
And we had various careers, butwe came together because we were
not only business partners, butwe were friends, and we learned
to work with each other, and wesaid, let's start something to
help other women in theindustry.
And that's what we did.
SPEAKER_04 (14:52):
Awesome.
So, two questions.
The first one (14:54):
what's one piece of advice you'd share with women
in payments who want to growtheir influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_08 (15:01):
You know, somebody just asked me that question, and
a very young person who startedout at Viceerf.
And I said, first of all, readeverything you can in the
papers, in digital transactions,in the green sheet, wherever you
can find information about ourbusiness.
Because if you start to followthe trends, what's going on,
who's where, it'll help youfigure out where you want to be,
(15:22):
who your customers are, maybe alittle more about them that you
don't know today.
And so I really encourage peopleto keep learning about the
industry every way you can.
And coming here is a great wayto do that.
SPEAKER_04 (15:32):
Absolutely.
I think that's great advice.
So, last question (15:34):
what do you think makes the Pay Tech Women
Leadership Summit such avaluable event for professionals
in payments?
SPEAKER_08 (15:41):
You know, I think this event is really valuable
for people because they get tobe in person.
You know, we sort of driftedaway from in-person for a long
time.
We do a lot of Zoom things aswell.
But it's great to sort of be intouch with somebody to say, I
know you, oh, I've seen yourface and I know who you are, and
I've heard your name.
And so they can actuallyapproach you and talk about, you
(16:02):
know, what they want to talkabout or ask a lot of questions.
So the value, I think, is one,the personal interface that
happens here.
Two is the education we try toprovide, whether it's about
career advice or whether it'sabout the industry.
And this year we really added alot of industry topics, and we
had some spectacular speakers,people you will not hear again.
We're here this year, and we'regonna have to be it's gonna be
(16:24):
interesting to top it next year.
SPEAKER_04 (16:26):
So I have to personally thank you because I
wouldn't be here if it wasn'tfor you.
So thank you so much forinviting us and allowing us to
do that.
SPEAKER_08 (16:33):
Well, thank you for being persistent about it and
keeping calling me because I hada busy job trying to manage this
affair.
But people asked me, like today,they said, Are you, you know,
are you on a do you havepodcasts?
Do you have TikTok?
Do you are on Instagram?
And I realize I'm not in thatgeneration.
And so I think podcasting isimportant to this upcoming
generation, that we need toprovide those kinds of services
(16:54):
and values to them that that wedidn't do before because it
didn't matter.
I mean, that just didn't exist.
Right.
So I think we're gonna have to,I'm excited about learning from
what's going on here with youand from these kids who asked me
these questions about TikTok orsomething, to say what do we do
next to keep the momentum going,to keep the education going, to
keep the networking going.
I mean, I think it's soimportant to do that, to find
(17:16):
ways to connect with each other,whether it's social media or
some other kind of media, right?
I think it's important to keepchanging and keep moving on.
So I appreciate you coming herea lot.
And I hope you get greatinterviews.
SPEAKER_04 (17:27):
Yeah, it's been it's been amazing two days.
So again, thank you so much foreverything you've done and are
continuing to do.
And thank you for doing thisright now.
You're welcome.
SPEAKER_08 (17:35):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_04 (17:36):
Our next guest is Jonathan O'Connor.
SPEAKER_02 (17:39):
Great, great to see you again.
Jonathan O'Connor, I'm divisionpresident of third-party
payments in Sonovas.
30 years in the paymentsindustry, both in the US, AMIA,
and APAC.
SPEAKER_04 (17:49):
Okay.
So, two questions.
The first one (17:51):
what's one piece of advice you'd share with women
in payments who want to growtheir influence and make a
bigger impact?
SPEAKER_02 (17:58):
Absolutely.
It's all about passion, passionand purpose.
You know, be very passionateabout what you do, but also have
a purpose.
I also spoke yesterday aboutplaying in traffic.
And this event is a greatexample of that where you get to
meet people, meet peers,potential new employers, uh, and
you know, really grow yourbrand.
(18:19):
It's all about growing yourbrand, being aware of growth in
the industry.
We're in an amazing section oftransformation, and now is the
time to grab that.
SPEAKER_04 (18:28):
Okay, final question.
What do you think makes the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
such a valuable event forprofessionals in payments?
SPEAKER_02 (18:35):
Look, this is my first event.
I spoke in a panel yesterday.
It was it was very uh enjoyable,but also very rewarding to see
the amount of people uh andinterest that it generated.
You know, there's almost 7,000members here, it's 20 years in
existence.
Very impressed by that.
So I would say, you know, whatmakes this unique is, you know,
(18:56):
the the amount of dialogue andintegration that goes on with
everybody here.
And uh I think keep on attendingthis, and I wish them all the
best in 2026.
SPEAKER_04 (19:06):
Okay.
Well, thank you first of all forbeing on the panel yesterday.
I really appreciate you doingthat.
And secondly, for being here anddoing this interview.
So thank you so much, Jonathan.
Thank you very much.
Thank you to all the specialguests who were on the show
today and yesterday.
It's been a great show, and Ireally appreciate the
opportunity.
So, a special thanks to the PayTech Women Leadership Summit
organization for allowing me tocome do this, and a special
(19:28):
thanks to all of the guests thatwere on the show and to our
sponsor, Global Payments.
And to all your listeners outthere, I thank you as well.
And until the next story,
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