Paulette Rowe CEO at Stax Payments … Trailblazer Series featuring “Women of Impact”

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You're listening to Bridges to Excellence. Inspired leadership in payments and fintech.

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My philosophy is if you want to do great things for your customers, if you want to change your industry or, even the world, you need to be clear on your mission, vision, and values as a company. You need a purpose, you need a North star. And that's where I center my leadership. And so at Stax, we're talking about our North Star being, about providing our partners and the merchants. We serve with the fastest path to growth, through our embedded payments, solutions.

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Welcome to Bridges to Excellence Podcast. Inspired leadership in payments and fintech. Bringing you conversations with payments most fascinating people on top of their game. Leaders, influencers, experts, and innovators. Each weekly episode turns our guests wisdom into practical advice. Their personal journey starts now. are meant to inspire and challenge you to explore your possibilities. Here's your host, Desmond Nicholson. In this episode, part of our Trailblazer series featuring Women of Impact, I'm talking to Paulette Rowe, the CEO of Stax Payments as of August 1st, 2023. Since 2014, Stax has grown to process over $30 billion in payments and serve more than 30,000 businesses while based in London, Great Britain. Paulette was previously the CEO of Paysafe's Integrated and e-Commerce Solutions Division. She's a seasoned global executive with strategic leadership experience across banking, Payments and FinTech. Paulette has held senior leadership positions with organizations such as Barclays, Facebook, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, and GE Capital. Paulette is considered a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion in the payments industry. She has the reputation of having a tenacious approach to running businesses and teams with an unwavering dedication to creating and nurturing an inclusive working environment. Widely recognized as a prominent figure in financial circles. Paulette has earned multiple accolades, including being listed in the digital banking club's, power 50. A list of the most influential leaders in European financial services. Also recognized as one of the most influential women in payments 2017 and 2020 by PaymentsSource in 2020 Power List by Powerful Media voted her one of Britain's top 10 most influential people of African and African Caribbean heritage for the second year. Also, name one of 100 Executive Women in tech to watch in 2022 by Women Tech Network. Paulette earned her MBA at the prestigious Insead Business School, often listed as one of the top two business schools in Europe, An accomplished executive with a breadth of experience. Paul understands the complexities of the industry and inspires teams to greater success. A direct quote from Ross Crawley, founder and CEO of GSV, and chairman of the board at Tax Payments. With that being said, I hope you choose to come along on this journey with us. Enjoy the episode.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:03:45

Paul, welcome to the show,

Track 1: 00:03:47

Welcome, Desmond. I dunno what to say after that introduction. Thank you. Incredibly flattering.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:03:55

Uh, it, It's, it's great to have you here on the show, and thanks for your time.

Track 1: 00:04:00

Oh

Desmond Nicholson: 00:04:00

Now,

Track 1: 00:04:01

pleasure.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:04:01

further ado, let's get into it, shall we?

Track 1: 00:04:04

Absolutely.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:04:05

Okay. In starting, can you give us an introduction overview of Stax Payments, your functional role, and who do you service? Customers, clients, and partners in the payment space?

Track 1: 00:04:20

Yeah. Well, Desmond, I think you captured a lot of it in your introduction. So I joined Stax in August as the Chief Executive Officer. Stax has had a formidable history. It's grown high growth consecutively for several years, and, reached that, unicorn status that so many fintechs, aspire to, back in 2022. Uh, but Stax at its heart is a payments technology company and, we have a direct book of businesses. So we work with small and medium sized businesses and offer them, payment solutions, but we also partner with software companies and, Independent sales organizations, ISOs, and with all of them we're enabling flexible, multi-channel payment processing and invoicing solutions that we hope, helps them to unlock new revenue streams and drive, growth and, success for those businesses. And as you mentioned, we have 30,000, uh, customers and still growing strongly.

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Good. And of course, we'll circle back later to unpack some of your salient points. Now, Paulette, take us to the important context of your childhood, your early life, that is where you grew up, and what your life was like growing up.

Track 1: 00:05:35

How, how long do we have So I guess the first thing to say is, you probably guess from my accent that, I was, born across the, the Atlantic. So I was actually born in and raised in, London, London, England, as, you Americans like to say, I was one of two daughters of a Jamaican, nurse who'd immigrated to the UK in her, teens. and I guess that, link back to the Caribbean was kind of the, start of me being very interested in all things cultural travel and really understanding that, the UK in particular is a real melting pot. when I was 16, I was one of two girls admitted to a boys' school. a long story as to why that happens, but, I wanted to study maths and, science and, it wasn't possible to do that at my own school. so I went to this, boys' school and then. Post that, at university I studied, mechanical engineering. and there too, I was the only woman, and not only the only woman on my, degree course, but also the only, black person on my degree course as well. And I, I remember one of the things that really stuck with me was being in one of those tutorials very early on in, the degree where the head of departments said that. And remember I was the only woman. He, pointed out that, all of the boys, the men on the course were sons of, in his words, captains of industry. And he was somewhat fascinated by the fact that, some woman who was the, daughter of a Jamaican nurse, yeah. And had been raised by a single parent had made it onto the course. And, he sort. Suggested I would be a little less likely to succeed I had a very happy upbringing in London. it was challenging in many ways being from, an immigrant family with a single, mother. but I was always brought up and taught to, know that, being different is actually a strength. And, nothing to be, ashamed of or intimidated by. and I guess from a very early age, as you've heard, I was thrown into, working with a group of people who on paper I had nothing in common with. So I learned from a very early age, how to, rub along with people of all sorts of backgrounds and build strong relationships.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:07:49

Multicultural.

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Absolutely.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:07:52

Where did you go to university?

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I went to, Birmingham University. it was one of, I think four or five universities in the UK at the time that did this enhanced, mechanical engineering degree. So it was four years full time. Plus I did, management and studied, French, alongside it. So it was, quite, an exceptional course. and, Birmingham was Quite, quite a nice place to study. It's a beautiful campus if you ever get to, visit.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:08:19

Now, you got your MBA at Insead.

Track 1: 00:08:23

Yeah.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:08:24

Insead and London Business Schools are often considered two of the most reputable MBA programs in the world. I guess we may also throw in Harvard as a third for safe, uh,

Track 1: 00:08:35

absolutely. Yeah.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:08:39

However, Insead and LBS are typically thought of as the top two business schools in Europe. What led you you getting into MBA program why Insead not London Business School?

Track 1: 00:08:54

Yeah. Well, I have a quick confession, which is I applied to one business school, and that's very unusual. Usually when people want to go and do an MBA, as you said, there are a number of great schools out there, so they apply to a variety of schools. In, my case, I knew I wanted to go to Insead, and it comes back to that sort of multicultural, really interested in meeting people from a variety of backgrounds, and so Insead as well as being ranked as amongst The best in the world is a truly international school, and in my year there were 27 different nationalities at Insead in my promotion, sorry, as they refer to it at insead. and not only that. But you had to speak three languages in order to graduate. So for us, Britts, that was a bit more of a challenge. 'cause, 'cause often, you know, we spoke English, tick you might speak French, which I did tick, but the third was a bit more of a challenge. So I studied Spanish, while I was there and, had to pass the Spanish exam in order, to graduate. But also going to Insead was part of my general love affair with France, Paulette, as, your listeners may know, is actually a, French name. It's a very old French name. It's a little outer fashion, these days. And, I remember at 11 reading about Paulette in my French school books. And from then on. being very curious about all things France and the Insead campus is, based in some of the most beautiful French countryside. So it was, just a lovely environment. It was great to hang out with such a diverse group of brilliant students and, honestly, one of the highlights of, my time on this earth so far.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:10:28

Beautiful

Track 1: 00:10:33

I.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:10:39

Okay. Now, what has been your career path prior to, payments?

Track 1: 00:10:44

Yeah, so coming out of insead, I joined GE Capital. You mentioned GE Capital in, the introduction, and I was moved to Connecticut as part of their global leadership development program where they'd gone around the world and selected people from some of the top business schools in different. parts of the globe. It was a great time to join GE. They were growing their financial services arm, uh, globally. and I got to travel all over the, world with them. I, I remember being invited to go on one of the largest acquisitions GE had ever done in, the financial services space in Japan. Which was, again, back to multicultural experiences that was just a really brilliant thing to do as a, recent MBA graduate, After my time at GE, I ended up working for them, as I said, in a number of markets spent, three years working for them in, France, for example. I joined RBS NatWest, I returned to, the UK and RBS NatWest is one of the four biggest banks in, the UK. Um, they had just, come together as, two brands. And I joined the retail banking executive of what was then. It has changed a lot, but since, but what was then a very male and a very Scottish, executive committee. so I was more than a little surprised when I was three years or so into my career at RBS NatWest, they, they pro wanted to promote me to be the Managing Director of the NatWest retail division. So that was. Taken on accountability for 1600 branches and 20,000 employees. It was, the jewel in the crown of the RBS NatWest, uh, business. And so I I was a little, to be honest, I was a little terrified about being given this huge responsibility. And, uh, I actually said no. I said, no, no, thank you, was my first response. And then, I, chatted to a, friend and she was like, you know, pull yourself together, you know, they wouldn't be offering this to you if they didn't have the confidence that you could do it, and you should have the confidence in yourself. So, I came to my senses and took the job. And, shortly after I, moved from RBS, one of my, jobs after that was, moving into payments. So, I did a couple of things in the FinTech space and then got approached by, Barclays, another one of the major UK banks to run their merchant services division. which at the time was processing one in three card payments, across the UK and was the second largest Still is the second largest processor in Europe behind, Worldpay. So it was, a fantastic time. that was the end of 2012 was when I joined. And, you've got tons of payments experience, so you'll remember that, it was, around that time that things really started to accelerate. in terms of, digital payments, Worldpay had moved out of RBS NatWest into, PE hands, and there was a lot of money coming into the sector, A lot of new fintechs, starting up. So I'm really proud of the fact that by the time I completed my tenure. Um, running, the, Barclays, uh, merchant services business, we had still managed a, against that backdrop, we still managed to grow market share. and I'd also led the transformation of the platform, which was 30 years needed to be retired and replaced with new technology that would allow us to meet the needs of Omni-channel and e-Commerce, et cetera. and so by the time I left there to join, uh, Facebook, we were processing 250 billion sterling,

Desmond Nicholson: 00:14:17

Okay, so, now what about Paysafe?

Track 1: 00:14:21

Yeah, so Paysafe is obviously part of that, payments career. So I went from running the Barclays book to joining Facebook now Meta, as everyone knows, and running the, Financial services and, payments partnerships team. and then I had worked at Barclays with a superb, boss, Philip McHugh, who had recently joined Paysafe. And he reached out to me and said, I. Would love you to join my team again. So I went in to be the, Divisional CEO of the integrated and e-Commerce, division, which was actually a brand new division that they were creating to go after that integrated, embedded payments, market. so yeah, I was there for three years, working with Philip and, a few of my other ex Barclays colleagues, joined as well.

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Good. We have come full circle. It's August of 2023 and you're now the CEO of Stax payments. I read someplace where you stated that you love the Stax startup story. What is it about the story you found compelling that got you really energized?

Track 1: 00:15:26

First of all, I hugely admire the story, of, you know, Sal, that the Stax founders who, basically went into the ISO industry with a different model, with a software first approach, and, a subscription, model that hugely simplified billing for small businesses. And were able to, as we've both talked about, grow that business, um, rapidly over a relatively short period of time. And if you get a chance to look at the Stax, front-end tools, they are. Beautifully designed, that sort of focus on, user, experience and being a sort of technology slash software first company really comes across in, those Stax tool. Um, and, getting to, unicorn status, to also people of immigrant heritage. who and a woman, CEOI mean, it was a fascinating, story and, just a huge achievement. But the other side of it, the other bit that got me energized is actually. the investment by Greater Sum Ventures GSV, who you mentioned, and Ross Croley, they have as an outfit, have proven time and time again that they are masters of creating value in, the SaaS space. And they're also entrepreneurs. You know, These are people who've been there. Built businesses, sold businesses and, have used their expertise to help other entrepreneurs grow their businesses along the way. And so with their help stack saw the potential of embedding payments as this huge growth area. so in addition to, going the traditional ISO route of, going after small businesses, Stax has been pivoting to work, with ISVs alongside our direct offering. And so for me, having come from Paysafe where a lot of my time was in that embedded payment space, as I mentioned, seeing the potential, how much this market is, growing, and how much it really simplifies things for smaller businesses that they can have there. Payments and software in, one solution. I was just, yeah, hugely excited, to be part of that, journey. And I guess the last thing, and I know it's a long answer, but there's a lot to be excited about it Stax with GSV and the board. There is a vision that I absolutely share for being more than an ISO.;; And in fact, we're on a journey where we've moved from being just an ISO. To, a payfac, to now very much on this transformation to become a fully fledged payment processor. ultimately owning more of our, technology and owning the payment rails that, that support us. And I think that's hugely important because, so many fintechs out there, they've invested in the front end. they've got a reasonably good front end, obviously maybe not as good as Stax, but they've got a reasonably good front end. But everyone is using the same legacy players to support, the payment processing. and that I think limits innovation. It limits potentially speed to market. And whilst, I have huge respect for those, the big names that have consolidated and grown considerably over the last few years. it's hard to imagine that they're going to be able to provide the same level of service. to smaller and mid-size, uh, companies that they, have been able to potentially do in the past. And so we hear a lot from our customers that they like our flexibility. They like the attention that we give them. and they like the high touch, service that we're able to offer that they're not, able to get from, the legacy players

Desmond Nicholson: 00:19:01

Okay, now talk to us about Stax recent acquisition of APPS, Atlantic Pacific Processing System, and what value it brings to Stax portfolio and how does its serve your clients and customers.

Track 1: 00:19:17

Yeah, so it's very much that the acquisition of APPS is very much part of this journey of going from more of a sort of sales led ISO to becoming a payments organization in our own rights. And so, with APPS, we have our own Bin for those who like to get into the technical details. and we also have a platform that we are, um, standing up, it's not live yet, but will be live in 2024, which will mean that we can actually process end-to-end a transaction, without having to rely, as I said, on, the legacy, super tankers. So it was, the acquisition of some really strategic technology. That will allow, Stax to not only own our own destiny more and be less reliant on third parties, but as I mentioned previously, I think this means that we can become a more flexible, player and, allow our customers to differentiate in ways that they may find more difficult to do with other partners. and then along with the APPS acquisition has come a lot of additional really deep, payments, knowledge in terms of some of the people there, they've been in payments for 20, 30 years. They know everything about how the payment process works from A settlement, clearing a settlement point of view, for example. So that's just been a marvelous addition to Stax where you have people who really understand software and the, the user builds in great user experience. We've got great technologists and we've also, but built a team around some very deep, payments expertise.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:20:52

Okay, let's segue into your personal style.

Track 1: 00:20:57

Oh, okay.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:21:00

How would you describe your leadership style and the philosophy behind it?

Track 1: 00:21:05

So going back to my GE days, I was introduced to a very simple model called the four Es and the E were Energy Energize Execution. and Edge. And to be honest, it's one of the simplest leadership models. I've learned along the way and I've been exposed to many of them, but it's the one that I probably is my go-to. because I think, those four things in a leader are extremely important. And then the fifth that I've kind of, Put more emphasis on over the years from my point of view is empathy. My philosophy is if you want to do great things for your customers, if you want to change your industry or, even the world, you need to be clear on your mission, vision, and values as a company. You need a purpose, you need a North Star. And that's where I center my leadership. And so at Stax, we're talking about our North Star being, about providing our partners and the merchants. We serve with the fastest path to growth, through our embedded payments, solutions. and I also believe, and thank you for touching on this in the intro, that being different is a positive. And that's why, It's not just about the technology, it's also about the people that you hire. and I am passionate about diversity. I am passionate about inclusion. ;';;';';And so for a company that was started by the son and daughter of an immigrant to A CEO now, who is also the daughter of, uh, an immigrant, I have six women on my leadership team. you know, I would challenge many other, tech companies to have that kind of, gender diversity. Um, and HRSI. Uh, they have a diversity and inclusion organizational certification, so I'm really proud that, Stax qualified for that, for the first time in November, 2023. And so to me, that mix of a clear purpose, bringing the five Es as a leader and making sure all of my people leaders, think and work through those five E's, and then going out and getting the best talent regardless of background. Those are the things that, I think have helped me be successful in the past and will help Stax continue to thrive in the future.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:23:16

Okay. is there a common theme in your career? What threads can we find between the various things you've done?

Track 1: 00:23:25

Yeah, it's a really good question and I think the.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:23:28

I.

Track 1: 00:23:28

When I think about it, the most obvious, thing that sort of pops into my head is I enjoy being part of an ecosystem that drives commerce, because commerce directly touches consumers, and I've enjoyed being in spaces that, that really almost every consumer. Interacts with in some way. If you're in financial services and you are in payments, you are, touching millions and millions of customers. And, when I joined Facebook, just knowing that, billions of people were using the Facebook apps was, something that really, energized me, that you can do something that's going to. be used and enjoyed and make a difference hopefully to so many, people. and I like the fact that I can experience my product in my everyday life. I can go into a shop and I can make a payment and I know what that feels like. So that's something that I've really enjoyed. And just generally speaking, if you are connecting buyers and sellers, which is what we do, Desmond in payment, I. I think that is, and helping them, help remove the friction, but also helping them transact safely and securely. 'cause, fraud and, all those things are just as important. that to me is the way in which you help not just the business to grow, but ultimately the economy to grow. So, yeah. it's big picture stuff, but I think sometimes that's what you have to remind yourself of. You're not just there to. Your board or your customers, et cetera, you are actually contributing on a much grander scale to helping the whole economy grow by connecting buyers and sellers.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:25:01

Absolutely. Now, Dr. Vanessa Weaver, DEI, expert and founder, of Alignment Strategies, has done extensive studies around a model called pi PIE, and I've heard you talked about it before. Can you tell us what PI is at its fundamentals and how its practical application as a tool can be put to work in one's career advancement?

Track 1: 00:25:28

It is so funny that you raise PIE because anyone who's worked with me probably knows that when I mentor, when I'm asked to talk about things that have been important in my career, I always reference the pie model because I think it is, Something that just simply works and everyone should think about. So, you know, pie stands for Performance, Image and Exposure. Sometimes I use the E to say executive sponsorship, depending on, the level of the person that I'm mentoring because, exposure in on its own might, might not be enough. and the whole idea behind PIE is. Yeah. If you say and let me test this on you, Desmond, but you've read it so you'll probably know the answer, but Yeah. If you ask most people what, yeah. The root to your next promotion, how important out of a hundred, how important is performance? Yeah.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:26:20

I would say 50%

Track 1: 00:26:22

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Most people are going to say it's at least 50% in fact. And, and this is what we find is some of the differences sometimes between female and male executives. Women are very focused on, Hey, it's just about how I perform. But the PIE model kind of throws that on its head and says, everyone has to perform it's table stakes. So once you are performing, actually that becomes 10%. Of what you need to do to get promoted because you know there's a pool of people who are all doing well, who are all performing. So then you need to think about the other two. You need to think about your image and you need to think about that exposure. And let's say your image is about 30%. So image is not necessarily what you're wearing, but more about do people see you as a future leader? Do they see you in that next role? Are you seen as contributing outside of your role in terms of helping the company more generally? Maybe taking part in, employee resource groups, just mentoring other people. And then the exposure is, do people even know? Opportunity, do they know that you are performing and what you've contributed and. Is something that really rings true. both as a people leader myself, but also in my own career. I've, seen times when I've just had my head down and been working, working, working, that that hasn't necessarily led to me moving as quickly as when, yes, I'm performing, but I'm also carving out a little bit of time to make sure that people understand, hey, this is what I'm doing. And, creating a network.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:28:02

Now since exposure is such a big factor, what kind of tips you would give to people, um, to really enhance their exposure?

Track 1: 00:28:12

Yeah. So first of all, you've got to find the time and that can be very difficult. And it can be difficult if you are a parent or if you are looking after elderly parents, you know, you've got commitments at home. And so what I've tended to find, and Don't mean to generalize too much, but I tend to find that women spend less time on that aspect of their career. So I would join, and particularly if you are a woman, there are so many networks now that are available, through, organizations like the A TPC, ETA, American Banker, um, and sometimes, People will say, oh, I don't have the time, or I don't want to be involved in a network like that. I don't see the point. I would say just do it. Go. 'cause you'll meet some incredibly talented people. You'll meet, allies along the way who want to support and find the next talent. And so being in those networks are important. I always, tell people you have to have your one-to-ones with your line manager. There are line managers who don't necessarily find the time or enjoy having one-to-ones, and they may put them on the back burner. I've always been that pain in the dairy air for line managers who've said, No, we need time. And that time is important because A, you need the feedback. Yeah. If you are not sat in front of them, hearing from them directly what they really think about the job that you're doing, you could think you're performing and they may think I. Something very different. But also it's an opportunity for you to tell them about your career aspirations and where you need help and what things you want to do next, and get them on board with how you want your career to progress. So to me, those are, yes, the networking is super important and there are lots of, good, networks out there that you can join. But the other thing is, network internally. Speak to your line manager, speak to HR and speak to leaders in other parts of the business when you can. Because often as you'll know when promotions, et cetera are being discussed, it requires more than one person to, be rooting for you in that room.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:30:25

Now you've touched on networking. your network is your net worth. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Now, these are quotes that have gained traction over the years. Do you buy to them?

Track 1: 00:30:42

I definitely believe in networking and, I've been amazed at how many times I've been able to, reach out to people that I've worked with in the past or simply met through, a networking, group and yeah, had some Invaluable advice or they've helped me solve a problem or they've just, helped me get my head straight on something. The other quote, about being the average of the five people, I need to think about because, true to diversity and inclusion. I like spending time with all sorts of. So, that one I'm a little less sure of, but No, absolutely. I think the friends you surround yourself with are very, very important. And when I mentioned when I was, offered the MD role at NatWest this huge job, as I talked about a few minutes ago, it was one of my friends, now that friend could easily have said, Hey, you know what? Yeah, you are right. You are not ready. You are way too confident. You need more. No. Instead of that, she was like, Paulette, what's the worst that can happen? And if it doesn't go well, we've got your back. We still love you. And that's the sort of thing that I think is incredibly important.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:31:55

Now, given your experience, what advice would you give to women just coming into the payments FinTech Industry

Track 1: 00:32:02

Well, I would say, it gets better and better. So, it's still tough. I still don't see as many women apart from in Stax where I think we're doing, a good job. but I. We'd like to see more women. And so first of all, I would say do it. It's a great industry to be part of It is getting better. I think a lot of companies are conscious that they're losing out on some incredible talent by not casting their net wider. I've talked about some of the fantastic networks that are out there that, organizations like the ATPC, ETA, American Banker, go online, get involved with these companies, go to the conferences and meet people. Um, and 'cause if you're not making headway where you are, there are so many new companies. There are so many companies that are growing fast. There's so much change still in this industry that there will be other opportunities for you to grab hold of and, thrive in your career.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:32:59

So what can women in payments do to advance they feel stuck in place the career ladder?

Track 1: 00:33:09

I think if you feel stuck, it's, it sort of goes back to some of the things that I just shared. So first of all, go talk to people, let people know that you are looking for the next opportunity. So I'm not saying say go and whinge, but go and be very proactive about, Hey, I've been doing X and it's, I feel it's time for me to do something new and be as specific as you can be about what that looks like. And if you don't know, go research it. Figure out what sort of opportunity would suit you next. And I think it's also about, There are times when you know, the opportunity just isn't there. The job that you want is not available. I always say that in large companies you either get promoted too early or too late. Exactly the right time.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:34:00

Time.

Track 1: 00:34:00

So while you are thinking about your move or while you're waiting for that move, find a project, find a strategic project, volunteer to do something. Do something that's gonna help you learn a new skill that's maybe going to get you into a new environment. Get you working with new people. It's going to help with your exposure. Going back to PIE, all of these things are, filling up your piggy bank so that you can move forward as soon as that opportunity, presents itself. Network, network. Talk to HR talk to other leaders. Make sure that everybody knows that you are looking for your next opportunity. As a quick example, when I joined, RBS NatWest, I went in, I was running, products and marketing for the NatWest retail brand. I then felt that I wanted to be a general manager, that I had the skills to be a general manager, and one of the boxes that I felt I needed to tick was a sales box. I just made that EV known. To my line manager, to HR, et cetera, and I would just, say if something comes up where there's an opportunity for me to go and run a sales team. I would love to do that. And here's why, and here's why I think you should give me that opportunity. And lo and behold, after a few months, a, one of my colleagues retired and I got moved into, that role. So I went from running, a team of about, two, 300 to taking on a team of over a thousand sellers and that it was that job. Got me promoted into the MD role. If I hadn't had that experience, I don't think they would've thought I was ready

Desmond Nicholson: 00:35:38

Sure.

Track 1: 00:35:39

do the much bigger retail banking role.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:35:42

Now, Paulette, what aspect of your personality do you think has been the most helpful in your career?

Track 1: 00:35:51

I think I'm very adaptable. So, starting all the way back from being from, the daughter of a Jamaican nurse, coming from, an underprivileged background in London to being at Insead with all of these, amazing people from these different nationalities. You know, being in an engineering school where I was the only woman, only, only black person on my course, it's that ability to adapt, which to me is to show flexibility, to show empathy. And to also show, um, resilience as well, because let's face it, sometimes these things are a challenge at first. You've got to build relationships, you've got to build trust. People are suspicious sometimes of difference. So, yeah, I go with adaptability.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:36:41

Good what is the biggest threat to the payments industry right now? And conversely, what is the biggest opportunity?

Track 1: 00:36:52

I think there is tons of opportunity, um, because again, that process of connecting buyers and sellers is not going to go away. It's going to continue to transform as consumers demand more convenient ways to pay as retailers want to provide better service and, less friction to their consumers. So I think the opportunity is there to continue to innovate, to use new technologies, you know. AI is on everybody's lips, but there are going to be, I think, some really interesting ways to use, AI technology internally to improve efficiency, but also, potentially, using AI to enhance the service to merchants and then merchants to pass that on to their consumers. Coming from Europe where there was a more accelerated adoption of some of these payment technologies. There are things like faster payments that have still really got to take hold in, in the US, which is pretty much mainstay now in, the UK, instantly paying from your bank account. That could be seen as both an opportunity and, a threat in the payment space. If it, depending on how you talk about payments. If you're thinking about payments as only being cards. Then yes, there are going to be other ways to pay than using your debit and your credit card. Digital wallets, faster payments will be, I think, become a big thing. But payments as a whole, that pie is just going to grow and grow And just coming back to embedding payments in software, which is where Stax is firmly focused, that is growing so fast and we see new verticals every day that. People are saying, actually, I can build software for this application for this type of merchant. And if I can add payments to that, that's just going to make their life a whole lot simpler. So big thumbs up for staying in payments.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:38:49

Good What are you most excited about Stax's future.

Track 1: 00:38:54

Well, I think, first of all, it's the, um. It is about this ISV space, integrating payments with SaaS, providers. It's about the journey that, I've talked about. So moving from this path that we're on, and we're making good progress on between. ISO payfac to fully fledged, payments provider. and there's that whole opportunity to take what we do to, to an international stage as well. So yeah, just. Lots of opportunity. And, one thing I haven't touched on is some of the value added services that we have at Stax. So we have, a very, A well-known compliance Surcharging solution, calls Cardex under the brand's, Stax, sorry, Cardex provided by Stax. I'm sure my CMOs going to, beat me up for, not getting that quite right. But that is, yeah, that's another way in which we can help our partners and our merchants, reduce, costs and offer, more flexibility. And then we're also a center of excellence in recurring payments, we offer a subscription payments to our direct merchants, but we also offer subscription software. To our partners. going back to the future of payments, I think subscriptions is one of the things that's just going to continue to grow, in terms of convenience. And that becomes a, another way of offering our partners other avenues to generate revenue and reduce cost.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:40:24

Good. We now move into our final segment.

Track 1: 00:40:28

Ooh.

undefined: 00:40:29

The lightning round bridges to excellence, inspired leadership in payments and fintech.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:40:38

Paulette. in segment, I pose these rapid fire questions and you respond with a single word or a sentence or two. Are you ready? Now, if we ask your friends, What is one thing they would say is most different about you?

Track 1: 00:41:01

I was gonna say adaptability, but I've used that. So how about consistently positive? I think I do a good job of being half glassful. Most of the time I.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:41:16

Okay. What is the one thing you've never done but have always dreamt of doing?

Track 1: 00:41:22

Oh my goodness. I've traveled a lot, and I have a friend who's visited a hundred countries. I think I'm in sort of high sixties, so I would love to, achieve that, that milestone as well and visit a hundred countries that I think just seeing more of the world is one of the best things you can do.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:41:43

What is the best career advice you've ever received?

Track 1: 00:41:46

Well, guess what, Desmond, it's PIE. I actually think if, if there's one thing to take away, if you listen to one thing that, I've said on this call, I would say PIE is an extremely useful tool.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:41:59

How would you define yourself in one or two words?

Track 1: 00:42:02

not consistently positive, but no, I think always up for an adventure. yeah. Up for an adventure, whether that be, an adventure in business in terms of being part of the Stax pack and going on this incredible journey. but also in life, you know, taking time, as I said to, to travel to meet people. Uh, yeah, I love it.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:42:25

What is the one talent you wish you had?

Track 1: 00:42:27

when I moved here, the flat or condo, I think as it said, over here that I moved into, has a piano.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:42:35

in.

Track 1: 00:42:35

I matter to play. So that could be a good goal.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:42:41

Good. What Cause that is important to you.

Track 1: 00:42:45

Well, look, we've talked about DEI, so that, goes without saying. but, I sit on the board of a water utility. I. And, that has really spurred my interest in climate change. It's unbelievable, how this is affecting the water supply, not just in the UK but in other countries, around the world. So, I've been trying to, learn more and, in my role as a board have, a little bit of an impact there.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:43:11

Okay, what's your guilty pleasure,

Track 1: 00:43:17

I would say if you haven't watched it, you should. RuPaul's Drag Race. I just love that program. It is so life affirming, and um, yeah, it's great fun.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:43:30

Okay. Now the final three questions. What's something you notice about someone when you first meet them?

Track 1: 00:43:37

I think it's gonna, I have to say height for two reasons. One is post covid. Obviously we all talk to each other on camera. And then you meet someone and the person you thought was tall is small, et cetera. And I'm actually tall, and so people often remark about my height. So often the conversation starts about, oh, you are taller than I thought you'd be.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:43:58

Okay. what's heavily played on your music list right now?

Track 1: 00:44:03

Okay, so my partner is in charge of, music and he has everything on his playlist from like in Vogue to, he was playing the soundtrack to the Rocky Horror Picture Show the other day, and Mumford and Science, I mean, it's so eclectic, so it's hard to pick one thing because he's constantly changing what we listen to.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:44:23

Hmm. Okay. And last, what drives Paulette?

Track 1: 00:44:30

Making a difference and all the better if that difference is about, involves learning and experiencing new things.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:44:47

Paulette. It's been fun. A trailblazer indeed. Any parting thoughts to share or comments before we wrap up?

Track 1: 00:44:58

As you said, it's been fun. Thank you so much. some great questions. just like to, thank you for the time

Desmond Nicholson: 00:45:05

Paulette, again, thanks for being part of our trailblazer series, featuring women of impact and best wishes in your new role.

Track 1: 00:45:13

Many thanks.

Desmond Nicholson: 00:45:14

listeners, thank you for your time as well. And never forget the more you expect from yourself, the more you excel.

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You've been listening to Bridges to Excellence podcast, inspired leadership and payments and fintech. Be sure to join us next time for more conversations with another of your colleagues in payments and fintech. Insightful conversations in their journey to excellence for transcripts and other materials covered on the show. Visit us at DesmondNicholson. com.