How FIS is empowering female employees as it grows its business globally

When Susan Laws was exploring job opportunities about five years ago, she knew she wanted to work for an organisation at the heart of the global fintech sector. Her decision to join FIS fulfilled that ambition – the company works with 95% of the world’s leading banks and provides innovative software to support over one million merchants across the globe.

But Susan – who is Senior Vice President for Global Sales Operations – didn’t just join FIS because of its industry-leading technology, she also saw an opportunity to grow her career within a working environment that incentivises and empowers female leaders.

Susan spoke with eFinancialCareers about her own career journey, the skills FIS is looking for as it expands, and how the company supports women to succeed in their roles.

What motivated you to move to FIS?

I was looking for an opportunity to lead and effect change. I joined a division, capital markets, that had recently been acquired by FIS, and the challenge of integrating the sales organisation and growing a new part of the FIS business appealed to me. I also moved from a traditional sales leadership role in my previous company into sales operations. The business showed great trust in my transferable skills and ability to learn something new.

How has your career progressed since you joined?

I’ve recently been leading not only European but also global capital-markets sales operations. This involves ensuring we have global consistency for operational excellence. I’ve been inspired to grow my career internally at FIS primarily because of the people I work with, and the entrepreneurial and creative culture we have here. Our sales leaders have the flexibility to drive the projects that we see value in.

What does sales operations encompass at FIS?

It covers four pillars, including data, insights and analytics; sales enablement, tools and technology; and compensation – how to incentivise people and make FIS careers attractive. The fourth key responsibility is business partnerships. My internal customers are our sales executives, so we drive operational excellence to accelerate their commercial success by enabling them to maximise their networks and express their creativity within a framework of best practice. My team also partners with other areas of the business, including finance, product, legal, and technology.

What kind of roles are you hiring for?

Within sales operations, we have open roles within all our pillars – both leadership and individual contributor positions. My colleagues in sales are also constantly hiring, broken down by region and solution suites. For example, we’ve recently been looking to enhance our sales team around selling services, including software services and business process outsourcing.

Where are these jobs located?

Our headquarters are in Jacksonville, Florida, and we have a heavy presence in financial centres including London, New York and Singapore. Within sales operations, the virtual environment has also allowed us to have an open mind in terms of where people are located. For example, our global head of sales markets, and the president of our banking solutions division are both based in Europe rather than the US.

What kind of soft skills do you need to succeed at FIS?

We fundamentally need people who can manage a complex enterprise sale, so it’s important to be able to tell the ‘FIS story’ to customers, and articulate solutions to solve their business problems. We also need people who can work with multiple stakeholders to lead an idea through to execution while driving best outcomes for customers. Our most successful people help us to think differently, take ownership of their own roles, and thrive on autonomy. Creative, entrepreneurial, tenacious, inquisitive, and independent are words I’d use to describe the qualities we’re looking for.

The job market remains buoyant in fintech. Why would a sales candidate choose to join FIS?

What we do is intellectually stimulating: we sell multiple products and fee solutions, and we take ownership of how we take that value proposition to the customer. And our roles are super rewarding because we’re focused on growth, and our culture is all about effort in, results out – you’re given the independence to succeed. The fact that we’re global, especially within sales, is also a strong pull. I might start my day with a call to Singapore, and then spend time engaging my leadership team in Paris. I’ll probably speak to somebody in Florida during the afternoon.

Does the global, multi-divisional nature of your business create opportunities for internal mobility?

Yes, I’ve seen several instances of this during my time here, and I’m currently moving somebody from London to New York. We also transfer people between teams – for example from presales and business solutions into sales. Management here is openminded about using your core skills and developing them to put you on a new career path.

How is FIS creating an inclusive working environment for women to achieve success?

This is something I'm passionate about as I co-chair the EMEA chapter of FIS Empower, our women's network. We’re a hugely diverse organisation with a very clear diversity strategy encompassing areas such as sourcing talent, education and awareness, partnerships, sponsorship, mentoring, networks, and engaging our customers and partners. We’re creating an environment where everyone’s needs count and people are empowered to achieve their full potential. In combination with this high-level strategy, we have grassroots initiatives. For example, I’ve set up a mentorship programme specifically for female colleagues in sales, which includes exposing them to senior leaders.

What advice would you give a new joiner at FIS?

The first priority is focusing on what good looks like in your role, and delivering on that, as that helps you build credibility with your manager and more broadly. FIS also organises networking opportunities, which help you navigate our large organisation and are a fabulous place to meet people. They open up lots of avenues, and give employees a platform to speak and enhance their skills. It's through these networks that I began building my business, and gaining exposure to different teams beyond capital markets.