Facing today’s new normal in the wake of Covid-19, companies in the digital commerce industry are re-evaluating, repositioning, and retooling the way they do business. Increasingly, women executives are taking the lead.
The CardLinx Association researched women at the forefront of these efforts, and identified those making unprecedented strides. With membership spanning retail, fin-tech, mobile payments, digital advertising, banking and loyalty program arenas, the non-profit trade association is pleased to recognize the women making a difference in today’s definitively different world.
To create the CardLinx Top 20 Women in Digital Commerce, the CardLinx Association evaluated numerous candidates. Twenty stand-out individuals were selected based on the following criteria:
- Demonstrated leaders in innovation
- Acknowledged as industry leaders by their peers
- Leaders of significant businesses/organizations
Congratulations to the CardLinx Top 20 Women in Digital Commerce for 2020!
1. MARGARET KEANE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BOARD MEMBER, SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL; BOARD MEMBER, ALLSTATE
Margaret has a passion for technology, employee development and diversity. As head of Synchrony Financial, she’s known as an industry and business leader: Margaret’s been one of American Banker’s Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance for 12 consecutive years, and one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women for four years. She was on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year list in 2016.
Prior to Synchrony’s IPO and split-off from GE, events she led, Margaret spent 18 years with GE Capital, as president and CEO of the North American retail financial business, and earlier as president and CEO of the retail card platform. She held leadership roles with GE in consumer finance, vendor financial services, operations and quality, and with Citibank. She has degrees from St. John’s University.
2. PAULINE DOLLÉ-LABBÉ, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, 24S-LVMH
Pauline serves as chief marketing officer of 24S-LVMH, the e-commerce arm of the Paris-based luxury goods retailer LVMH Group, responsible for strategy, branding, cross-channel marketing, analytics and change management. A strategic and creative thinker, Pauline is known for being customer oriented and action driven.
Prior to joining LVMH in early 2019, Pauline was with Fnac, a large French retail chain selling cultural and electronic products, where she held positions of increasing responsibility. She also served in various capacities at Club Med, a company specializing in all-inclusive holidays. She has a business law degree from the University of Paris; attended the Institut d’Etudes politiques de Paris; and has an MS from ESCP Europe.
3. LYNNE LAUBE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & CO-FOUNDER, CARDLYTICS
Lynne is chief executive officer of Cardlytics, recognized as one of the fastest-growing technology companies by Deloitte Fast 500 and Inc. 5000. Co-founded by Lynne in 2008, Cardlytics helps marketers understand how and where consumers spend money by partnering with financial institutions to unlock value inherent in transaction data in a way that protects both banks and customers.
In 2018, Lynne took Cardlytics public, and from 2008 to 2017 secured $200+ million in capital and scaled the company to become the leader in purchase history-based analytics. In 2016, she was named one of the top-10 venture-backed female founders by Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur 360. She’s also held senior positions at Capital One and Bank One. Lynne graduated from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Virginia Darden Executive Leadership Program.
4. STEPHANIE FERRIS, COO, FIS
As chief operating officer at financial services technology leader FIS, Stephanie and her team drive the company’s strategy; M&A activity; marketing and communications; portfolio analytics and optimization; Worldpay integration; the FIS global delivery organization; and partner and vendor optimization.
A transformative business leader, Stephanie was previously CFO at Worldpay, acquired by FIS in 2019. She was also CFO of Vantiv, Inc. where she also held a GM role, transforming an underperforming business unit into the highest growth portfolio within the company. Earlier in her career, Stephanie was CFO of the payments processing division of Fifth Third Bancorp, later spun out to became Vantiv. She held other leadership roles at Fifth Third, and began her career in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers (now PwC). She is a graduate of Miami University.
5. JUDITH MCKENNA, PRESIDENT, CEO, WALMART INTERNATIONAL
Judith heads Walmart International, a segment focused on making life easier for customers and associates. She leads more than 6,000 retail stores and 700,000 associates across 26 countries. Previously, she was EVP and COO for Walmart U.S., leading 1.5 million associates and operations for its 4,600 US stores. Under her tenure, the Walmart Academy was established, and online grocery pickup was launched. Judith has also served as EVP of strategy and development for Walmart International, and as COO and CFO for Asda Stores Ltd. (a Walmart International subsidiary).
A champion of diversity and inclusion, Judith has been named one of Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women since 2015. She has a law degree and honorary doctorate from Hull University in England.
6. MANJU MALHOTRA, COO, HARVEY NICHOLS
Manju’s 22-year career with UK luxury fashion retailer Harvey Nichols includes serving as COO since 2018, and previously serving as CFO. Throughout her tenure she has focused on leveraging technology to improve performance and sustainability. In her current position Manju has redefined business strategy, delivering record financial results and instituting omni-channel customer experiences.
She was named to the Asian Women of Achievement 2019; Ambassador for Women of the Future Network; Retail Week’s Power List; and Drapers Power 100. Manju was also recognized by The Evening Standard as one of London’s most influential people. She supports charities on poverty in the capital and those mentoring underprivileged young people. A Chartered Accountant, she has an economics degree from Warwick University.
7. JASMA GHAI, VP, EMERGING PAYMENTS INNOVATION, DISCOVER
As the executive in charge of emerging payments innovation, Jasma is responsible for strategy, design and delivery of consumer and commercial products that position Discover to continue to be a leading payments partner. She also has responsibility for international product strategy to better meet the needs of Discover’s Network Alliance and Diners Club franchise partners.
Previously, Jasma led the innovation office for Discover Network. She has an MS in statistics from Michigan State University and attended the Kellogg Executive Leadership Program on leading transformation in the digital age. Jasma serves on the Chicago Chapter Board of Governors for American India Foundation, and is a member of the board of the CardLinx Association.
8. JILL (YATES) MOSER, SVP, LOYALTY INNOVATION & PLATFORMS PARTNERSHIPS, BANK OF AMERICA
Jill is Bank of America’s senior executive responsible for business strategy and partnership development for third-party rewards offerings across all platforms that will ultimately become the future of the organization’s reward programs. Her responsibilities include vetting, prioritizing and negotiating strategic partnerships that increase clients’ digital engagement through incremental rewards, offers, deals, experiences and events—and subsequently enhance the Bank of America experience.
Previously Jill served as GM and director of strategic partnerships for Shop Your Way, where she successfully negotiated the launch of the SYW GasBuddy partnership—and drove relevance and incremental revenue for Sears Holding Company. She is a a graduate of the University of Louisville.
9. SARAH MCCRARY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GASBUDDY
As chief executive of GasBuddy, a top-10 travel app on the Apple App store, Sarah is responsible for leading product and operations teams to deliver on GasBuddy’s vision and elevate the user experience to a differentiating level. She also has responsibility for the Pay with GasBuddy savings program. Prior to serving as CEO, she was COO, driving operational strategy and execution necessary to deliver business results for the company, its customers and users.
Sarah previously held executive management roles for Heartland Payment Systems and was a digital transformation consultant at Signal318. She’s also been CEO and COO for Leaf, a built-for-business (POS) solution, where she led a team to build an apps ecosystem and marketplace for SMBs. She has master’s degrees from New Mexico State and the University of Dallas.
10. ERIN WARREN, GM, RAKUTEN CARD LINKED OFFER NETWORK
Erin leads the Rakuten Card Linked Offer Network, RCLON, serving more than 20 million consumers. A marketing veteran with 20+ years of experience—including 15 years in direct-to-consumer digital marketing—Erin is motivated by the opportunity to enhance the way companies execute marketing strategies to attract, retain and grow customers.
She previously served as senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Cartera Commerce, and is a former CollegeWeekLive, Sallie Mae and UPromise executive. A member of the 1994 and 1998 U.S. Winter Olympic Luge Team, Erin currently serves on the U.S. Luge Association’s board of directors. She is a Northwestern grad; has an MBA from Babson; and is a CardLinx Association board member.
11. RIMA QURESHI, EVP & CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, VERIZON; BOARD MEMBER, MASTERCARD
As executive vice president and CSO, Rima is responsible for development and implementation of Verizon’s corporate strategy, business development, partnerships, strategic investments and acquisitions. She’s also on Mastercard’s board of directors, and on the board of GSMA, the global telecom industry association.
Before joining Verizon in 2017, Qureshi was president and CEO of Ericsson North America. She has demonstrated expertise managing business segments, including sales, product management, operations, R&D, and acquisitions and integration. Her three decades of leadership in the technology and communications industries include more than 15 years of global experience. She has a bachelor’s and MBA from McGill University.
12. ALYSSA CUTRIGHT, VP, GLOBAL PAYMENTS, EBAY
Alyssa oversees global payments at commerce leader eBay, Inc. which connects millions of buyers and sellers around the world. In this executive role, she and her team play a vital role in the company’s ability to enable economic opportunity for individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations of all sizes. Operating in 190 markets around the world, eBay’s portfolio of brands includes eBay Marketplace and eBay Classifieds Group.
Prior to eBay, Alyssa was advisor and chief operating officer at Plastiq, and managed international operations at Square. She also spent 12 years with PayPal in executive roles, and 10 years at Wells Fargo. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
13. KIM CRAWFORD GOODMAN, PRESIDENT, MERCHANT JOINT VENTURES & ACQUIRING PROCESSING, FISERV
Kim was named president of merchant joint ventures and acquiring processing at Fiserv in 2019. She was previously president of the Fortune 500 company’s card services business, enabling the company’s technology to grow to better deliver more efficient debit and credit processing, ATM payment solutions and the Accel debit payment network.
Prior to joining Fiserv, Kim held senior positions at leading organizations, including CEO of Worldpay US; president of global business travel at American Express; VP at Dell; and partner at Bain; as well as board membership at Alcatel-Lucent and Charter. She was named one of the Most Powerful Women in Corporate America by Black Enterprise Magazine, and one of PaymentsSource’s 2020 Most Influential Women in Payments. Kim has a BS and MS from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard University.
14. PEGGY MARIE ALFORD, EVP, GLOBAL SALES, PAYPAL; BOARD MEMBER, FACEBOOK, MACERICH
Responsible for the global sales and distribution of PayPal’s products and services, Peggy Marie also leads the strategic customer success and go-to-market teams that help drive PayPal’s position as the preferred digital payment method for consumers and businesses around the globe. In addition, Peggy Marie serves on Facebook’s board of directors, and is on the board and chair of the audit committee at Macerich Company, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT).
A CPA and University of Dayton grad, with more than 25 years of finance, general management and product development experience, Peggy Marie served as president and GM at Rent.com (an eBay, Inc. company) and has also held financial leadership positions at eBay.
15. SHERYL PFLAUM, PRESIDENT, AMERICAS, COLLINSON
Sheryl leads the Americas team at Collinson, a London-based loyalty and benefits company serving airlines, hotels, financial institutions and banks. An energetic leader capable of leading teams through business transformation, she prioritizes delivery of value to clients, partners and employees. She joined Collinson in 2005 with a focus on Priority Pass and has since expanded the business line significantly. Sheryl is currently embracing digital commerce by transacting new business in a contactless environment, especially of late, due to the impact of COVID-19.
Previously, Sheryl’s career included roles in sales, marketing and business operations, with a strong focus on helping companies grow products and markets. In 2014, she created a non-profit, TSO Community Foundation, the largest third-party donor to the southern region of the American Cancer Society. She graduated from East Central University and the Southern Methodist University Management Development Program.
16. CHEESAN CHEW, COO, RBC VENTURES
As chief operations officer, Cheesan is focused on making the RBC Ventures vision a reality by articulating and driving its strategic roadmap and enabling the launch and growth of new ventures into market. An Ontario-based subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Ventures is driven to build its venture brands from the ground up.
Prior to joining RBC, Cheesan co-founded and served as CXO at Idea Couture, a company she co-founded, building it into a global innovation leader. She’s a seasoned business leader and innovator with experience achieving growth through market opportunity, exceptional client experiences, and operational efficiency. Cheesan earned an MBA from Western University’s Ivey Business School and a BS from the University of Toronto.
17. DEBORAH LIU, VP, MARKETPLACE, FACEBOOK; BOARD MEMBER, INTUIT
Deborah leads Facebook’s Marketplace, a portal connecting consumers and small businesses used by more by 800 million people from 70 countries. Her responsibilities include directing Marketplace product management, engineering and technical program management. Deborah also manages payments and commerce strategy across Facebook’s family of apps including FB App, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Her 11-year Facebook tenure includes positions of increasing responsibility, including director of product management and platform monetization, as well as in other product management and product marketing capacities. Previously Deborah directed payments, commerce and customer rewards at eBay and PayPal. Deborah has a BS from Duke University and an MBA from Stanford University.
18. BEVERLY ANDERSON, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL CONSUMER SERVICES, EQUIFAX
Beverly was named president of global consumer services at Equifax in 2019, responsible for delivering vision, growth and transformation of the GCS business across the US, UK, and Canada.
She previously served as Wells Fargo’s EVP of cards and retail services, responsible for expansion of the consumer general-purpose credit card, co-brand, private-label, and enterprise-loyalty businesses. Under Beverly’s leadership, portfolio balances grew by almost 70 percent and consumer purchase volume doubled. She’s also held executive positions at American Express, Fleet Bank (Bank of America) and First USA/Bank One (J.P. Morgan Chase), and was the first female partner at Novantas Consulting. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School and is co-president of the Harvard Business School African American Alumni Association.
19. LAURA WIESE, VP, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, AIR MILES LOYALTYONE
Laura is the executive in charge of strategic partnerships at AIR MILES LoyaltyOne. With more than 11 million AIR MILES Collector accounts, 200 retailer brands, hundreds of online retailers and two credit card partners, AIR MILES is among the most recognized loyalty programs in Canada, generating the valuable insights that enable unprecedented connection with shoppers. Laura’s played a key role in the program’s success.
She previously held executive positions at MGA Entertainment (vice president of marketing & strategic licensing and vice president of marketing & key accounts), and positions of increasing responsibility at Bandai America and at Kraft Foods Group. Laura is a graduate of McGill University.
20. DEBRA TAYLOR, FOUNDER, COO, OPENSPARKZ
OpenSparkz, a Sydney-based global technology company providing an end-to-end platform as a service (PaaS) solution that powers rewards or offers programs, was founded by Debra in 2018. She serves as chief operating officer for the fin-tech organization that allows consumers to pay with payment cards and receive rewards, in real time, without the need for separate loyalty cards, offer codes, or coupons.
The company is the first member of the CardLinx Association in Australia, and the first APAC company to become a CardLinx Association Certified Provider. Debra previously served in executive roles at fin-tech firms Stone and Chalk, PAX Technology Australia, iDATS and eFunds Pty Ltd. She was named Fintech Leader of the Year at the 2019 Women in Finance Awards, and the 2019 Innovator of the Year by Women in Payments.
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