OFF THE BOOKS
In terms of markets , as well as the UK we are currently operating in the US , Canada , Japan , Australia , Ireland , France and Spain .
What has your career looked like so far ?
I ’ ve always been in the FinTech industry . I started out at GMAC-RFC ’ s ( a tech-based residential funding company ) graduate programme working in sales , product , risk , securitisation and strategy . After spending three years at the organisation , including a secondment in Australia to support the launch of the business , I stayed in Australia and moved to Cuscal ( a payments provider ) where I managed the largest debit portfolio in Asia-Pacific .
We strive to live by these same values in the workplace , which is done through a number of initiatives .
At Block , embracing diversity – in all its forms – is key to building a high performance team and culture . We carefully monitor how we ’ re doing in terms of diversity and inclusion , and this helps us inform our hiring strategies and grow our teams .
To remove bias and level the playing field in promotions and pay , we ’ ve got multiple built-in safeguards . These include prompts to help managers consider their full bench of talent and checklists to reduce the influence of bias before decisions are finalised .
It was during my time at Visa where I found myself coming into my own as a leader . I spent eight years with the company where I held a number of leadership positions across Australia , New Zealand and Singapore including Head of New Channels and Prepaid and Head of Loyalty Solutions .
Now , I ’ ve been with Square for four years across Australia and the UK and it ’ s been amazing to be a part of such an innovative organisation that is helping millions of businesses to run , start , adapt and grow . This is the part that brings me the most satisfaction and fulfilment – seeing how we ’ re able to make a difference to businesses and in many instances , communities .
We work with some incredible entrepreneurs that have amazing business ideas , so it ’ s really uplifting to be a part of their journey . I recently spoke with one of our sellers , Dimeji , the owner of Vegan Shack which has restaurants in both London and Manchester , who said that Square has helped him achieve 130 % approximate growth year-on-year since starting out , demonstrating the impact our technology can have .
How do you ensure diversity and inclusion practices in your workplace ?
Inclusion and diversity is at the core of what we do , as we aim to give all sellers equal access to opportunity through our offerings .
When it comes to hiring , we ’ ve also set a Block-wide commitment to consistently interview candidates from backgrounds underrepresented in tech , FinTech and finance .
Finally , we have multiple inclusion and diversity focused communities at Block that serve as safe spaces or offer development opportunities and mentorship . These communities support people of multiple religious and ethnic backgrounds . We also have regional pride-focused groups and groups dedicated to supporting employees who may have additional needs , such as neurodivergent employees or parents .
Could you share how you empower and mentor female leaders in the payments industry ?
I ’ ve been fortunate to have great mentors throughout my career and it gives me real joy to be able to pay that forward . I am a mentor at Square , in a newly refreshed programme bringing talent from different business units and markets together . I also started the Women in Leadership programme at Visa , which was adopted across APAC , when I identified a gap to support more women in leadership and create a platform for allies . I really believe that it ’ s important to use your platform to share stories , wisdom and be vulnerable to help women and other minorities feel seen in their career journey in the payments and tech industry . � www . intelligentfin . tech
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