Kimberly Fitzsimmons, CEO of Talus…Leadership exemplified. Our special curated series featuring “Women of Impact”

You're listening to Bridges to Excellence.

2

Inspired leadership in

payments and FinTech.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: I am a master and try

to challenge myself, no matter what role

4

I've been in, I always want to learn.

5

So I am a constant, learner

in constant learning mode.

6

And I would say that over the

course of time, there's a couple

7

of principles, that I have, carried

with me, being fair and transparent.

8

Never underestimating the power of

9

Culture.

10

I'm not a micromanager, but

it is important at every role

11

to understand the details.

12

We have a saying here, and, of

course, being private equity

13

backed, they, also have the same

mantra is if you don't measure it.

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It doesn't usually get done.

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So that's always the discipline that

I've had and carried with me here

16

as well is what are we measuring?

17

Let's make sure we've got

the right KPIs in place.

18

We're measuring them and we're

executing against those and not

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being afraid to change along the way.

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Desmond Nicholson: That was Kimberly

Fitzsimmons, the CEO of Talus,

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Talus, winner of the Electronic

Transactions Association Star Awards

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for Independent Sales Organization of

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American bankers as one of the most

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Join us on the inside and lean in as

Kim answers the question of what makes

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the difference when it comes to winning.

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And there is much more.

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The journey begins.

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Welcome to Bridges to Excellence podcast,

inspired leadership in payments and

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fintech, bringing you conversations

with payments, most fascinating

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people on top of their game, leaders,

influencers, experts, and innovators.

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Each weekly episode turns our

guests wisdom into practical advice.

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Their personal journey starts now.

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are meant to inspire and challenge

you to explore your possibilities.

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Here is your host, Desmond Nicholson.

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Desmond Nicholson: In this week's

episode, part of our curated series

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featuring women of impact, we welcome

Kimberly Fitzsimmons, Chief Executive

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Officer of Talus based in Dallas, Texas.

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Talus is a payment processing solutions

company serving more than 22, 000

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merchants in North America And process

65 million transactions with $9 billion

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in annual charge, volume, and growing.

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Kim's payments journey began over 35

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years ago, holding leadership roles

and executive positions at companies

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such as Concord, EFS First Data.

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Cynergy Data and JP Morgan.

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Now in our fourth year at Talus, Kim has

spearheaded an aggressive growth strategy

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through acquisitions, leveraging scale

and technology to compete at every level

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in targeted verticals In her quest for

excellence and with an insatiable appetite

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for winning Kim led Talus in capturing

the industry's coveted and prestigious

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ETA Star Awards for Top ISO of the year.

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in the payments industry.

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Kim is the recipient of numerous honors

and accolades throughout her career,

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including voted top 100 global sales

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from the Midwest Acquires Association.

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And most recently, American Bankers

named Kim as one of the Most

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Influential Women in Payments for

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her corporate undertakings, Kim's

influence extends through her involvement

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with key industry affiliations.

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She served two terms as president of the

Electronic Transaction Association, where

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she was on the board for nearly a decade

and is also past president of the Women

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Networking in Electronic Transactions,

now rebranded as Paytech Women.

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Join us as we dive deep into Kim's journey

with actionable takeaways along the way.

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Enjoy the episode.

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Kim, thanks for joining us and welcome

to the Bridges to Excellence podcast.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: Thank you

for having me, Desmond.

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It's great to see you.

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Desmond Nicholson: Well, it's wonderful

to have you here catching up after

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all these years, I was preparing

for this episode, it occurred to me

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first met as First Data colleagues.

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And as you may recall, it was

during the transition period

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of Concord EFS into First Data.

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Following the acquisition,

two decades ago, Kim,

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Kim Fitzsimmons: It was a long time and

neither one of us has aged a bit, Desmond.

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Desmond Nicholson: I like that.

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Well, first congratulations, Talus, was

the recent recipient of the prestigious

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the Electronic Transactions Association.

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Also.

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ETA recognized Talus as one of

the industrie's, top 10 payments

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ISVs for Talus mobile App.

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But wait, there is more.

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recognized you as one of The Most

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Influential Women in Payments.

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I might add, The fourth time

recipient of this honor.

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So to you and your amazing

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Kim Fitzsimmons: you.

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Thank you.

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It's been quite a year and, lots

of honors and recognition and,

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Most of it goes to the team.

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Desmond Nicholson: job.

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Well done

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Kim Fitzsimmons: Thank you.

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Desmond Nicholson: Kim, besides,

uh, well earned bragging rights.

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Do you mind sharing the

significance of these awards?

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That is ISO of the year and the

top 10 payments, ISV category.

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And what is it about your

company's culture that contributes

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to earning these recognitions?

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Kim Fitzsimmons: First of all, I think

that, the awards themselves, to me,

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recognizes that the industry acknowledges

the fact that Talus, is differentiated,

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that we're doing the right things

in the right manner, and that we're

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headed in the right direction, both

from a product and company standpoint,

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but also culturally to your point,

culture is a big underestimated,

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factor within most companies.

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And, uh,

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Desmond Nicholson: with

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Kim Fitzsimmons: have an

amazing culture here at Talus.

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I was fortunate to, join

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Desmond Nicholson: that have

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Kim Fitzsimmons: team and certainly

have added a few sprinkled, a few,

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people that I've worked with over

the years that have only enhanced it.

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Desmond Nicholson: Great.

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against that backdrop,

let's get right into it.

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Kim, can you give us a quick introduction

overview of Talus, your functional role,

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who you serve as customers and partners

in the payments fintech space, after

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which we will then circle back later and

get into more details about the company.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: Absolutely.

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So Talus is a.

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fully integrated end to end

payment services platform.

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What that means is, especially after a

couple of acquisitions that we've done, is

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that we serve anything from the small Main

Street America merchant, all the way up to

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your most complex client, such as a B to B

type merchant, and everything in between.

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in addition, we serve, technology

type companies like SAS based

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engineer firms that are building

out payment facilitation.

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these vertically specific, applications

that a, landscape company might use

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or a field services company might use.

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And what we're doing is giving a better

platform than what they have today.

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So today there's payfacs.

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What we're looking to do is take it to

the next level, better service, better

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transparency around reporting and pricing.

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Desmond Nicholson: Well done.

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Now getting into the personal side,

start by sharing your backstory.

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Your early life, where you grew up

and what your life was like growing

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up and where you attended school.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: I grew up in the Midwest.

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I grew up in St.

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Louis, Missouri.

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born and raised.

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Both my parents were

born and raised in St.

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Louis.

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So, not a whole lot of

relocation from my childhood.

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I'd have to say it was your basic

middle America, mid class, upbringing.

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My parents were very, strict

around certain values and teaching

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me, and as well as my brother,

core values and expectations and

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beliefs, and drive, to be honest.

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That's really where I think it started.

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I had my first job at 14 years old, not

because I was told to or I had to, but

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I just picked up the phone and found

a nursing home and they were the only

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ones that would hire a 14 year old.

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So, aside from babysitting, I've

been working for a long time.

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I went to, school at the

University of Mississippi.

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The main reason that I went

there was because my parents

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forced me to go out of state.

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And at least five hours away for

the first year, they didn't want me

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to go to Mizzou, like the majority

of my friends from high school.

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They wanted me to venture out,

and really find out who I was go

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be independent, learn about life.

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and what it's like to be on your own.

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And I go back and kind of

think about that sometimes.

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And it was difficult.

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getting out of my comfort zone.

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But man, it sure was a

pivotal point in my life.

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I did the same thing to

both of my kids as well.

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Desmond Nicholson: Good.

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How and when did you get into payments?

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Take us through the highlights

of your career progression and

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your respective functional roles.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: Sure.

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So how I got into payments, people

laugh about it, but back in those

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days, I answered an ad in a newspaper.

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I needed a job.

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I had a business degree and

I really just needed a job.

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So I answered an old school

newspaper ad and walked in with my

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paper resume and interviewed with a

company at the time called Concord

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EFS based out of Memphis, Tennessee.

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I worked there, doing nothing

more than telemarketing.

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I had my, what I like to refer to as my

offical, some refer to it as a cubicle,

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but in my mind it was an offical.

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after six months I, gave my notice.

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To at that time, one of my great

mentors at the Ed Labry, because

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I wanted to be in management.

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I wanted to do something different.

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I had another role.

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he likes to remind me that.

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Aren't I glad he didn't let me quit

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Desmond Nicholson: Mm hmm.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: because he moved

me and gave me the opportunity

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to be in management as opposed

to leaving the payments industry.

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And I'm very grateful for that.

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I went from Concord, I did have the

opportunity to have my own ISO with a

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partner for 6 years back in the heyday

of when ISOs were, running rampant

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was acquired back by Concord EFS.

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And within 12 months,

that's where you and I met.

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and First Data had bought Concord EFS.

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I worked out the rest of my, contract

term with Concord at First Data.

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Didn't expect to stay there.

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but I was there eight years

and had a tremendous career.

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but after eight years, I decided

it was time to venture out

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and really get uncomfortable

and go do something different.

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So toughest conversation

I ever had to do is.

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Call Ed again and tell him that

I was leaving and going somewhere

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else and I had the opportunity to

go be CEO at Cynergy Data, which was

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private equity backed at the time.

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It was, a little bit of a turnaround.

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We merged it with Priority Payments.

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I took a couple months off after that

to decide what I wanted to do when I

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grow up and was recruited by JP Morgan.

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And spent five and a half years there.

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I never thought I would go back

to a large company cause I had

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so much fun when I was at Cynergy

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Desmond Nicholson: talking

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Kim Fitzsimmons: but I learned

something, when I was at J.

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P.

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Morgan,

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Desmond Nicholson: to

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Kim Fitzsimmons: wanted

international experience.

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Desmond Nicholson: wanted

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Kim Fitzsimmons: and I also wanted

to learn more end to end payments.

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Desmond Nicholson: in

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Kim Fitzsimmons: just acquiring,

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Desmond Nicholson: I

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Kim Fitzsimmons: which I did and

JPMorgan, of course, goes without

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saying is a tremendous company,

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Desmond Nicholson: but

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Kim Fitzsimmons: culture,

great leadership.

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Desmond Nicholson: do

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Kim Fitzsimmons: but I found myself.

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Desmond Nicholson: left in search of

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Kim Fitzsimmons: running that speed boat

and exercising my decision making muscles.

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So once again, I, left in search of

what I wanted to do with my next, career

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and came upon, Alvarez and Marsal was

looking for a leader here at, Talus

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Desmond Nicholson: of an

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Kim Fitzsimmons: and they

recruiter called me and

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Desmond Nicholson: I'll

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Kim Fitzsimmons: oddly enough,

it was seven exits from my

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house here in Dallas, Texas.

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And it was exactly what I was looking for.

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So I was very blessed.

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And, it's been four years this past Monday

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Desmond Nicholson: Okay.

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You're now the CEO of Talus Pay.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: in the midst of COVID.

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Desmond Nicholson: might add, yes,

in the midst of COVID 19 pandemic,

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a period of great uncertainty and

chaos, a challenging time for any

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CEO, especially an incoming CEO.

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So what was your first impression

the company when you arrived?

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Kim Fitzsimmons: So first thing

is, as you and anybody else that

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knows me, I'm a people person.

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So I quickly recognized that

the incumbent team, was amazing.

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I had a great set of existing talent,

but they had been in an interim

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kind of influx status for a while.

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They just wanted a vision and.

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some leadership and they

were hungry for that.

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so that was my first impression.

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Great team.

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The second thing was, there's literally

zero sales engine because they had,

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taken the opportunity as a result of

COVID to change the model completely.

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It used to be an old hundred

percent telesales to agent.

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kind of churn and burn type model.

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and it was time to change that.

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So they took the opportunity to do that.

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So when I showed up, there was no

organic growth, no go to market strategy.

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It was exactly what I wanted.

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a clean slate.

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And from there, it has been, one brick

and one block at a time of building that

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organic growth strategy out over different

distribution channels, and acquisitions,

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Desmond Nicholson: Your diverse payments

industry experiences at that time you

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joined Talus were bag of small, medium

sized to large companies, the likes of

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EFS, Card Services, your entrepreneurial

venture, Concord, First Data, and JP

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Morgan, and of course, Cynergy Data.

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Now, with that being said, What were some

fundamental lessons learned along the way

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that prepared and shaped how you approach

your role at Talus in the beginning?

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Kim Fitzsimmons: I am a master and try

to challenge myself, no matter what role

272

I've been in, I always want to learn.

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So I am a constant, learner

in constant learning mode.

274

And I would say that over the

course of time, there's a couple of

275

principles, that I have, carried with

me, a being fair and transparent.

276

Never underestimating

the power of culture.

277

I'm not a micromanager, but

it is important at every role

278

to understand the details.

279

We have a saying here, and, of

course, being private equity

280

backed, they, also have the same

mantra is if you don't measure it.

281

It doesn't usually get done.

282

So that's always the discipline that

I've had and carried with me here

283

as well is what are we measuring?

284

Let's make sure we've got

the right KPIs in place.

285

We're measuring them and we're

executing against those and not

286

being afraid to change along the way.

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Desmond Nicholson: From what I've

read, when you first arrived at

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Talus, inorganic growth has always

been part of your strategy to

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gain size, scale, and technology.

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and todate, you have executed accordingly

with some recent acquisitions.

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With that in mind, to us about

Talus's acquired Jobox, AI, and

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the recent acquisition of Clarus.

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value do they bring respectively

to Talus's portfolio?

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most importantly, how do they

serve your customers and partners?

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Kim Fitzsimmons: As I had said, went four

years, we spent the first two years or

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so really just focused on organic growth,

but you're right, inorganic growth is

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always something that we were looking for.

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we really spent a lot of time.

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Looking for the right acquisitions,

Clarus, we ended up closing 2 of them

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in the 4th quarter of the same year.

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Clarus was the 1st 1 in October Jobox.

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A.

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they were strategically important

to us for a couple of reasons.

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They brought some vertical concentration

around field services industry from

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Clarus, having, Large national retailer,

ABC Supply, as well as many other building

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distribution type partners and companies.

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And then Jobox AI, their technology

was originally focused on that

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vertical on field services.

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So the 2 of them together

were an ideal match.

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and I'm thrilled that we were

able to execute both of them.

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They're both great on

standalone, but together.

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it's been great.

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Desmond Nicholson: Having the

consolidation of Jobox and Clarus,

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and of course the associated

synergies, what is it about?

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Talus is go to market proposition that

differentiate Talus among competitors.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: Again, it's

the technology we are post

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the Jobox AI, acquisition.

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We are truly an integrated

payments platform and we're

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taking it to the next level.

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So.

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Step 1 is to go and really go deep

and narrow and deep in that field

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services technology, but then step 2

is branching out into other industry

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verticals and expanding that technology.

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But even more.

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the payment facilitation model has

been around for a couple of years now.

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Lots of, companies have made, tremendous

headway, in successful, acquisitions

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of merchants, tens of thousands and

hundreds of thousands of merchants

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through the payment facilitation model.

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What we've found is that

there's a gap there.

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And so we're taking our technology and

looking to improve upon that payment

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facilitation model and actually go

directly to the SAAS based developers and

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engineers and give them an alternative

solution with better transparent

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pricing, more profitable pricing and

complete transparency around reporting.

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Can't disclose a whole lot more, but

we're definitely on the right path

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and it's really an exciting time.

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Desmond Nicholson: I got you.

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The company recently announced it

will be conducting business going

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forward using the master brand

name Talus instead of Talus Pay.

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What is the premise behind

this rebranding initiative?

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Kim Fitzsimmons: Yeah, so the premise is

really around just brand recognition and

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having that overarching umbrella brand

of Talus and taking the Jobox app and

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rebranding it as Talus Pay as a sub brand.

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if you look at a lot of the other

major companies, apples, a great

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example of that with the umbrella

brand and, not that we will ever

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have the home recognition and name

recognition as Apple does, but it's that

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same theory and concept is that we've

got a family of brands all under Talus.

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Desmond Nicholson:

Okay, let's switch gears

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Kim Fitzsimmons: Okay.

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Desmond Nicholson: Obviously there

are all kinds of leadership styles.

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How would you describe your style of

leadership the philosophy behind it?

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Okay.

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Kim Fitzsimmons: I'm not a micromanager.

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I operate at a hundred thousand

foot level as well as the details.

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So I will, manage from top to bottom.

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I do consider myself to be

fair, extremely transparent.

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Those are words you'll

hear me use over and over.

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I think it's important for every

employee to know the state of

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the business and how we're doing.

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So I have regular communication,

town halls, Monday emails that go

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out to the team, letting them know,

this is how we're doing financially.

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no matter what your role,

I think that's important.

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Desmond Nicholson: Now, over the

years, CEOs and business leaders

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have shared their thoughts on

the phrase work life balance.

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What does that mean to you?

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And would you phrase it differently?

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Kim Fitzsimmons: I wouldn't

phrase it any differently.

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I, preach work life balance.

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people on the team, when

they take vacation, I don't

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expect to see them on email.

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I think it's important

for individuals to unplug.

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I think they're better when

they come back to work.

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if they don't take time to completely

unplug, they're gonna get burned out.

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I also think that it's important to have

spouses, family, partners, whomever,

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when you're with them on a vacation,

they deserve that individual's time

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and attention, and if you don't have

that from the supporting cast at

377

home, it also impacts the individual

employee when they come back to work.

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Desmond Nicholson: What aspect of

your personality do you think has

379

been the most helpful in your career?

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Kim Fitzsimmons: Besides having red hair

and being pretty tenacious, I've had a

381

couple people say, especially on the sales

aspect side, when I talk, we have new

382

hires that come in and, we do training

classes and I get to talk to them and,

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I tell them I've never heard the word.

384

No, in my entire career.

385

Probably my entire life.

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My mother would say, I

never heard the word.

387

No, I may process it is not right now.

388

but I do have a tenacity.

389

for lack of a better word, I believe

I, have a drive and a compassion

390

for just continuing to move forward

one foot in front of the other.

391

And I'm an odd bird, Desmond.

392

I actually enjoy change.

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Desmond Nicholson: Okay.

394

what has been your biggest challenge

as you climb the corporate ladder?

395

Kim Fitzsimmons: I'd say,

that's a sensitive one.

396

sadly, I'd say it's still, the lack of

diversity and inclusion of thought, it

397

doesn't happen often, but I think it still

does happen where I may be discounted

398

because of my gender out of the gate until

somebody gets to know me and the fact

399

that I do know what I'm talking about.

400

so that's been a challenge.

401

I do see it diminishing, but

it's something that we all

402

still need to, everybody.

403

needs to work on.

404

And I think about, diversity and

inclusion, not just as checking boxes, but

405

it's the inclusion part of thinking about

our unconscious biases, and really just

406

being more open to diversity of thought.

407

Desmond Nicholson: Good.

408

We've touched on this earlier,

but I've got to ask the question

409

this way, what role mentorship

play in your professional life?

410

And does any one person come to mind?

411

Kim Fitzsimmons: I've had several

mentors, and advocates as well.

412

I do think there's a difference

between mentors and advocates.

413

certainly I mentioned Ed Labry

he kept me from quitting.

414

35, 34 and a half years ago.

415

Diane Vogt Faro is another one

that was a huge mentor, and

416

critical person in my career path.

417

she basically told me to

get out of my own way.

418

she's the one that encouraged me to

get out in the industry outside of.

419

the company and the four walls

that, at First Data build my own

420

brand, get my name out there.

421

So she was a huge advocate.

422

and then of course, I always go back

to my parents that just instilled

423

those core principles and values in me.

424

Desmond Nicholson: Okay,

let's talk about networking.

425

How important have your networks

and connections been in your

426

career and overall success?

427

Kim Fitzsimmons: Extremely important.

428

the old phrase of it is who, you

know, sometimes, it's not what you

429

know, but who, you know, that is true.

430

it's true throughout your career, no

matter, how long you've been at it.

431

sometimes I'll get, somebody to answer

the phone because I know them, and they

432

know me of my reputation or what have you.

433

So I think a network is critical

to anybody's career path.

434

Desmond Nicholson: Is there a

common theme in your career?

435

And if so, threads can we find between

the various things you have done?

436

Kim Fitzsimmons: I go

back to probably change.

437

I'm not afraid of change.

438

I actually embrace it.

439

a lot of times people think about a career

path is straight up a career ladder.

440

I tend to pay it forward and

do a lot of mentorship myself.

441

I enjoy that and the first thing

that I tell people is that the

442

career ladder is not a straight line.

443

It is typically zigzags.

444

and my career path has done that.

445

sometimes I would be in the same role and

just take on additional responsibility.

446

So, not being afraid to get out of

my comfort zone, I think is a common

447

theme, not being afraid of change.

448

And challenges, and really just

taking things head on, believing in

449

myself, if not me, who, if I don't

believe in myself, and if you don't

450

believe in yourself, Desmond, who

else is going to believe in us,

451

Desmond Nicholson: Words of wisdom.

452

Now, keeping in mind two of your

most recent accolades, achievements.

453

454

most influential women in payments.

455

Fourth time, I might add, in your opinion,

what are some key factors that make the

456

difference when it comes to winning?

457

Kim Fitzsimmons: Certainly,

my reputation, my career path,

458

and I have been successful.

459

I've been very blessed to

have a successful career.

460

I also think it is the network

going back to networking.

461

if Diane, Faro had not told me to

get out of my own way and go build my

462

brand within the industry, I don't know

that, anybody from American, Bankers

463

would have even known who I was.

464

So, I think it is networking, and then

certainly you have to have a successful

465

career and, a good reputation, one

of the core founding principles in

466

business is, both personal and business.

467

I think most people learned in either

Sunday school or elementary school.

468

And it's the golden rule of

just doing unto others as

469

you want them to do unto you.

470

And I lived my life that way.

471

Desmond Nicholson: Given your experience,

what advice would you give to women just

472

coming into the payments fintech industry?

473

Kim Fitzsimmons: I mentor a lot of

women, as I had said, I would give them

474

the same advice that Diane gave me.

475

Go build your network, look for mentors

and advocates, really advocates within

476

your internal organization, look

for mentors, not just internally,

477

but externally it takes time.

478

And as we know, most women

are wives and mothers.

479

So they have other

responsibilities outside of work.

480

So asking them to do something outside

extracurricular may or may not be

481

the right time, but it's important

to get out there and, be involved

482

in Paytech Women and ETA and other

organizations, even outside of payment.

483

Get involved in local chambers of

commerce or local women networks or

484

any network, but just be involved.

485

Desmond Nicholson: What can women

in the payments industry do to

486

advance when they feel stuck in

a place on the career ladder?

487

Kim Fitzsimmons: They can

always look for an advocate.

488

the other thing, and I'll probably

rephrase it a little bit, answer your

489

question that you probably didn't ask,

but because I'm a strong advocate for

490

women and advancement, I think it's

got to be the woman has to know what

491

it is when we go circle back to work

life balance, what's most important

492

to her, and understanding her own

personal desire for success, and not

493

let other outside influences tell her.

494

What that definition

of success looks like.

495

So I will give you an example.

496

My career didn't really take off

because I didn't travel a whole

497

lot when my kids were younger.

498

That was a personal choice.

499

I didn't want to.

500

miss out when they were younger.

501

Could I have done more if

I had done that sooner?

502

Maybe, maybe not.

503

I've been blessed, but I absolutely

would tell every woman to make sure

504

that she knows what is important to her

and her personal definition of success.

505

Desmond Nicholson: Good.

506

what do you see as the biggest threat

to the payments industry right now?

507

And conversely, what is

the biggest opportunity?

508

Kim Fitzsimmons: So the biggest

opportunity of course, is technology.

509

That's obvious frictionless

payments, embedded payments, we

510

as consumers demand immediate.

511

ease frictionless.

512

We don't even want to know

that we're making a payment.

513

It needs to be seamless

and behind the scenes.

514

I think, technology is also the biggest,

threat because of things are moving so

515

rapidly, we had the big, technology snafu

this morning, that impacted industries,

516

airlines, banks around the world.

517

So I think technology can

also be the biggest threat.

518

I think the biggest opportunity,

however, is artificial intelligence.

519

And when we think about the use of

artificial intelligence in the way of

520

security, risk management, preventive,

proactive retention type efforts,

521

when you're thinking about your

business, attrition rates, I think

522

artificial intelligence is definitely

a huge opportunity, as well as, APIs.

523

Desmond Nicholson: me is

524

Kim Fitzsimmons: API technology, and I am

the furthest thing from a technologist.

525

Desmond Nicholson: reflect

526

Kim Fitzsimmons: to me is like

cut and paste, but it does provide

527

Desmond Nicholson: enable,

528

Kim Fitzsimmons: a seamless

529

Desmond Nicholson: can

530

Kim Fitzsimmons: companies like ours to

be able to embed things besides payments,

531

Desmond Nicholson: um,

532

Kim Fitzsimmons: deposit accounts,

533

Desmond Nicholson: it

534

Kim Fitzsimmons: insurance,

535

Desmond Nicholson: the world of

536

Kim Fitzsimmons: Like you can

run a business and seamlessly

537

embed mobile wallets.

538

Any type of, P2P type transactions.

539

It just opens up the world of what could

be the possibility, beyond payments.

540

Behind acquiring, right?

541

Credit and debit.

542

Desmond Nicholson: Indeed.

543

what are you most excited

about Talu's future?

544

Kim Fitzsimmons: I am most

excited about our roadmap.

545

The acquisitions that we have done in

the fourth quarter, that I referenced,

546

we are in execution mode head down.

547

We've got a game plan and

a strategy, and we are just

548

crushing it, building a pipeline.

549

And it is just really exciting.

550

I don't want to divulge too much,

but we are in the midst of really.

551

Turning out something I think will

be a little bit different than

552

what's the norm in the industry.

553

Desmond Nicholson: Well,

looking forward to that.

554

us in suspense.

555

what keeps Kim up at night?

556

Kim Fitzsimmons: get an average

of four to five hours of

557

sleep a night on a good night.

558

It's never uninterrupted.

559

So, you know, two hours in a

clip, what keeps me up, it varies.

560

So there's always something going

on personally or professionally

561

that will keep my wheels turning.

562

And then the other piece of it, if

there's not something that's keeping my

563

wheels turning, then it's the excitement,

excitement about the next day and what

564

lies ahead around the corner the next day.

565

I'm a pretty, excited, happy person

about waking up in the morning and let my

566

feet hit the ground and off and running.

567

Desmond Nicholson: Good.

568

given your distinguished career and

stellar accomplishments so far, and

569

with so much more runway ahead of you,

I had to ask this question, Kim, who

570

do you ultimately aspire to become?

571

Kim Fitzsimmons: I don't know if

it's who, but what I never say never.

572

I've learned that in my career.

573

I'd like to take my experiences that

I have honed my skill sets and I'd

574

like to take them beyond payment.

575

So, potentially serving on different

boards in an advisory capacity or

576

a board of directors capacity I see

so many times companies that really

577

truly don't know how to motivate.

578

individual team members, especially

sales growth oriented companies.

579

and so I think, I'd like to take my

experience in being able to motivate

580

individuals, being able to architect a

compensation and incentive type plans

581

beyond outside of the payments industry.

582

Desmond Nicholson: We'll be right back.,

583

The lightning round bridges to

excellence inspired leadership

584

in payments and fintech.

585

Desmond Nicholson: Kim, lightning round.

586

Kim Fitzsimmons: Okay.

587

Desmond Nicholson: I pose the following

rapid fire questions and you respond

588

with a single word or a sentence or two.

589

What does success mean to you?

590

Kim Fitzsimmons: That my

children are productive adults.

591

Desmond Nicholson: What is the

one thing you have never done,

592

but I've always dreamt of doing?

593

Kim Fitzsimmons: skydiving.

594

I don't know that I ever

will, but skydiving.

595

Desmond Nicholson: Okay.

596

What is the best career

advice you have ever received?

597

Kim Fitzsimmons: It was the advice

from Diane Faro get out of my way,

598

go build my brand, go network.

599

Desmond Nicholson: How would you

define yourself in one or two words?

600

Kim Fitzsimmons: Driven,

601

Desmond Nicholson: Okay.

602

Kim Fitzsimmons: driven, driven.

603

Desmond Nicholson: What is the

one talent you wish you had?

604

Kim Fitzsimmons: Gosh, that's a tough one.

605

one talent I wish, I wish I could sing.

606

Desmond Nicholson: What is the cause

that is important to you and why?

607

Kim Fitzsimmons: St.

608

Jude has always been,

an important charity.

609

for me primarily, I spent

28 years in Memphis.

610

most recently it has a personal,

meaning, my boyfriend of three years

611

lost his son to cancer at the age of 17.

612

cancer is a horrible disease.

613

And it really truly is just not

something that a child should go through.

614

Desmond Nicholson: What is one

thing the people you work with

615

would be surprised to learn?

616

Kim Fitzsimmons: Oh gosh.

617

They'd probably be surprised to

learn how much reality TV I watch.

618

That's my mental escape from everything.

619

Desmond Nicholson: Okay.

620

And finally, what drives Kim?

621

Kim Fitzsimmons: My family,

the people around me, my team.

622

I really get a lot of, pleasure,

self satisfaction from seeing

623

others succeed, and their happiness.

624

That's what drives me.

625

Desmond Nicholson: Now, Kim,

it's been great catching up

626

and having you on the show.

627

there anything you want to add

or we didn't mention that it's

628

important for you to talk about?

629

Kim Fitzsimmons: I don't know,

Desmond, I don't think so.

630

I think you covered the gamut.

631

It's been great catching

up with you as well.

632

really, really proud of, everything

that you have going on here

633

with Bridges to Excellence.

634

it's tremendous.

635

I appreciate you inviting me,

to just chit chat with you.

636

Desmond Nicholson: Kim, again.

637

We thank you and that's our

conversation for this week.

638

Our guest, Kimberly Fitzsimons, CEO of

Talus payment technology your business.

639

And to our listeners, as always,

thank you for your time and never

640

forget the more you expect from

yourself, the more you excel.

641

You've been listening to Bridges

to Excellence podcast, inspired

642

leadership and payments and fintech.

643

Be sure to join us next time for more

conversations with another of your

644

colleagues in payments and fintech.

645

Insightful conversations in their

journey to excellence for transcripts

646

and other materials covered on the show.

647

Visit us at DesmondNicholson.

648

com.