In the Suite

13. Lift as You Climb with Stephanie Foster, MBA, CSPO, PMC-III, Head of Regional Product Management, Americas at Finastra

July 30, 2020 Tina Powell | Stephanie Foster Season 1 Episode 13
In the Suite
13. Lift as You Climb with Stephanie Foster, MBA, CSPO, PMC-III, Head of Regional Product Management, Americas at Finastra
Show Notes Transcript

This week In The Suite welcomes Stephanie Foster into the guest chair. From starting as an intern in FinTech nearly two decades ago to working her way up to her current role as Head of Regional Product Management for the Americas at Finastra, the third largest FinTech company in the world – Stephanie’s career is one of risk-taking, perseverance and continued learning. 

In addition to her role at Finastra, Stephanie is a member of multiple professional organizations, including Women Driving Innovation in Atlanta, which she co-founded, that aims to connect, inspire and showcase the next generation of female thought leaders in tech. 

In this episode, we dive into Stephanie's commitment to strengthening diversity and inclusion in FinTech, a predominately white and male industry. Throughout the conversation, Stephanie uses her love affair with statistics to present not only the case for continued D&I efforts, but also the tangible, research-informed ways in which we can all offer support to Black women in the industry. 

Stephanie has a wealth of unique industry knowledge and perspectives that she brings forth in a conversation that I know will inspire and activate you. 

Join the conversation to hear more about:

  • The powerful industry event that Stephanie nearly didn’t attend that led to this conversation In The Suite (6:09)
  • Stephanie’s untraditional career path from intern to now managing more than $50 million in revenue and over 1,000 agent locations in 13 territories (12:24)
  • Stephanie’s helpful advice for anyone looking to ascend in their career (16:45) 
  • How product marketers can best glean insights to know what the market wants (18:40)
  • The four skills Stephanie points to recognizing that someone is meant to be in FinTech (22:52)
  • Why this line item makes its way onto Stephanie’s personal budget (26:40)
  • Which financial technology organizations we all should know and look to join (34:18)
  • Stephanie’s timeless advice to young professionals on managing their career (44:50)
  • The stats that illustrate the State of Black Women in Corporate America (49:17)
  • Five ways you can support and elevate Women of Color in Corporate America (54:00)
  • The tangible and intangible things that gives Stephanie superhero strength in the suite (61:45)


Referenced Materials:

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Tina Powell  0:08  

Hi, this is Tina Powell host of in the suite where I sit down with top women leaders and some of the biggest names in the financial services and the wealth management industry. Together we'll discover some of their best secrets and top strategies to grow great business build a strong brand and lead teams in the 21st century. I hope you'll enjoy hearing their amazing personal stories of triumph, trepidation and transformation in hopes of becoming better leaders ourselves. The time for you to lead is now and you're in the sweet


Stephanie foster launched a stellar career in financial technology two decades ago. Stephanie is the head of regional product management for the Americas region at finastra. The third largest FinTech company in the world, Stephanie has successfully led product commercialization internationally and within the US at fortune 500 organizations over the course of her career, Stephanie holds a number of industry accolades, including money 2020 rise up class of 2018 and electronic transaction associations eta 40 under 40 for 2018. Stephanie also received WNET sets Women's Network and electronic transactions, women in emerging trendsetter award in 2019, where she presently serves as a member of the Women's Network and electronic transactions WNET advisory board. And in this suite we also talk about Stephanie's commitment to strengthening diversity and inclusion in FinTech and how she helped found Women Driving Innovation in Atlanta with a mission to connect, inspire and showcase the next generation of female thought leaders in tech and one of the many Gifts you'll discover about Stephanie in this suite is her ability to take risks lesson instilled by her mother at a very early age and lifelong learning. She's earned an MBA in international business, a cspo, certified chrome product owner from the scrum Alliance, and a PMC three pragmatic certified product marketer from the pragmatic Institute. And did I mention she can speak three fluent languages, English, French and Creole. And what makes this episode with Stephanie foster so special is that she's the first women of color in this week, and she offers great advice and resources. Focus on increasing the number of women of color in FinTech and how white women allies can show our support. I'm grateful to Stephanie for accepting our invitation. And to Cheryl Nash and Ryan Shanks, who unbeknownst to them, connected us in a way that will bond our friendship forever. So take out your notebooks and get ready for the lesson of your life. Because guaranteed Stephanie foster will lift you up in the suite. Stephanie Foster, I want to say thank you for being here in the suite. Wow. It's fantastic to see you here today. I'm so, so grateful. This is going to be a very, very special conversation today. How are you doing?


Stephanie Foster  3:25  

I'm great, Tina, thank you so much, again, for inviting me to be a part of this conversation. I appreciate you and I'm so grateful that our paths have crossed.


Tina Powell  3:34  

Me too. Me too. Well, let me tell you something. There's a lot of a lot of really important reasons that you're here. First off, I want to congratulate you on being named head of regional product management for finastra. For those of you who don't know finastra they are the third largest FinTech company in the world. 1.9 billion in revenues. 10,000 employees at 500 customers, including 90 of the top 100 banks globally, and again, we're lucky enough to have Stephanie Foster, who's recently been named their head of regional product management. It's a position that you've only had for a few months, right?


Stephanie Foster  4:19  

 That's correct. 


Tina Powell  4:20  

Yeah, there's so many accolades, and we're going to talk about it, we're going to get to it all. But first off, unbeknownst to you, your name was mentioned in the suite by Cheryl Nash, the CEO of Tegra 118, formally Fiserv, and she sang your praises with the deepest affection and admiration. And I thought that that was really really special. We know that Charles is a pioneer, and she's a giver, and she's a leadership maker. She finds unbelievable people in the industry. And so I thought that you Should Know that your name was mentioned on her episode.


Stephanie Foster  5:03  

Wow, that's that's pretty amazing. Now I have to go back and tell me which episode so I can go back and listen to it. But no, I was not aware of that. But I mean, Cheryl is one of the first senior leaders that I met when I started at Fiserv. And she and I just had an immediate connection. We went from No, she went from being a coach and advisor, a mentor to being a friend in a matter of months. She and I were on stage together at money 2020 last year. And you know, when I landed this role at Finastra, she was one of the first people I called to share the news because I was so excited. So it's an honor that Cheryl even mentioned my name and your podcast, I can't wait to listen to it.


Tina Powell  5:48  

Heard aid and what i'll do is i'll i'll tell you exactly where it is to and she's been extraordinary and has had a tremendous impact on women and leadership. In the industry, so we're grateful to Cheryl Nash for that. I'm also grateful that you agreed to be here today. We wouldn't be meeting if it weren't for FAA matches and Ryan Shanks Koren Tina. That happened during the height of the George Floyd riots. And that was an incredible evening. Tyrone Ross was also there from altruist Edward Dudley from we are connected. And it was an emotional, emotional evening, all of our hearts were were so heavy. And I felt that after that conversation like everyone who was part of the quarantine of that night, that I knew that I needed to do more and wasn't doing enough. And you were kind enough Stephanie to accept my invitation. You had no idea who I was. was, and to at least be open to a conversation that, by the way preceded this podcast. But what were you thinking? And how were you thinking that night I felt like it was an incredible moment in time that we all bonded and that we shared a deeply emotional experience.


Stephanie Foster  7:22  

Yeah, it was definitely and and I think we talked about this before I initially was not planning on attending that night. I mean, just everything that was happening in the media is just still so fresh and so raw, and a lot of friends and colleagues were reaching out to me via text messages people were calling so people were reaching out on Twitter and Facebook and I've had enough I didn't want to have the conversation one more time. But for whatever reason, I did end up showing up you know, Ryan personally sent me an invite. And you know, when I think back at that night, where Tyrone and I shared our stories, it was very is scary for me to put myself out there and be vulnerable in front of a group of total strangers that have not attended any of his events before. So it was definitely a raw moment and an opportunity that I could not miss out on. Just knowing that I had that platform at the moment. And you know, live experiences of black women need to be told, our stories need to be told I was a very quiet up until that point. But after receiving such a warm reception in the engagement from the group that night, I really gained the courage to speak up more on this topic. So I do have to thank Ryan for providing the platform and for elevating the voices of black professionals


in financial services. And thank you to you as well, Tina, for elevating our voices that those stories need to be told. 


Tina Powell  8:53  

I wanted to make sure that we had this platform To tell and amplify the stories of all women, but I needed to do a better job. And I acknowledged that the conversations too for me were very difficult. And you Stephanie Foster, I'm proud to say that you're the first black woman on this podcast in the suite. And I am, again grateful for your presence here and for your courage that night. And for Ryan Shanks for everyone that night that participated. It was very emotional and it was hard. For all of us. It was hard for you to tell the story. And it was hard to listen to the story. And I will absolutely never, ever, ever will forget that night. And one of the things that I like to do is to always to find the silver lining and I think that the silver lining in that moment was that look, this now has spun off into lots of conversations like the type that we're having right now. And in the suite does plan to invite we have a lot of great interviews a lot of fantastic and really formidable women in the industry. I'm fascinated to talk to you and I know that we're gonna get into a lot of your credentials are exceptional, your your track record. So I want to acknowledge that you're a woman first of incredible achievement in FinTech. And that's why you're here


Stephanie Foster  10:32  

Thank you so much again, Tina. It is an honor particularly to you know, to be the first woman of color on your podcast. And you know, as we've always talked about, I do want to open up the door for others. So I am happy to recommend more women to be a part of this conversation. My motto is lift as you climb. So I'm ready to do that.


Tina Powell  10:55  

Wow. I will always remember that. That's an incredible statement. Lift as you Climb. And what great. Well, we'll start with that. Let's start. And this podcast is about lifting. It's about lifting the careers of our listeners right now, there's so many incredible women in the industry. And I think that they could learn a lot from your experience.


First off, I want to acknowledge that you have a lot of in researching your background. The first thing that sticks out are the initials after your name and financial services. I'm used to those types of initials. However, you're the first product head of a regional project management that we've had here on the podcast. And I am fascinated I think that one of the stories that we do want to hear Stephanie foster is what other opportunities are there for women to participate and these end to even earn some of these certifications. So Can you explain to us you have the PMC-III, I don't even know if I'm saying it correctly. And the CSPO obviously, I've done my googling so I know what they stand for right now. But talk about those certifications and why they are important what they mean, in the industry.


Stephanie Foster  12:21  

There are so that's, that's a that's a good one. So, you know, in my career, I've held a number of roles from from marketing to business development to being a country manager, to being a regional manager responsible for a p&l of over $50 million in 13 territories and over 1000 retail locations. So, in that sense, I was not a traditional Product Manager. But in order for me to move into a product role, it was important that I learned the basics of product management. CFPO stands for Certified Scrum Product Owner and Agile software development and Agile software development is a very unique approach to building product that focuses on collaboration and self organizing team to deliver value to the customer quicker than today in FinTech, the majority of organizations, all the fintechs are all using some flavor of agile methodology. So it was important for me to gain that certification in order to transition from a business role to a product role. So you know, in addition to taking the courses and being certified, I also spent a number of months attending agile conferences and local meetup groups to supplement that class as well. So that's number one. The second one PMC III it's from it's a pragmatic marketing certification that focuses on how to build products from a market driven approach, rather than building from the inside out. So instead of looking at uniqueness customer requirements and customizing. You're looking at what the market is asking for, what are the market requirements and you build your product based on an emerging market needs. So one example of that is, you know, instead of building an app that allows you to just check your bank balance, why don't we see what the market is really asking for? Or is the majority of the market asking to just check their balance? Or are they looking for one screen or like one platform that enables them to view approve, initiate and send out payments from one page so that's what you know, the pragmatic approach means and you know, Product Management is looking at the entire product lifecycle from ideation creation, to launching and selling. My expertise had always been on the launching and the selling of the product, not so much the building so it was important for me to gain those certifications in order for Need To Be thankful and a product role.


Tina Powell  15:02  

And how did you know about those certifications? Did you have someone that directed you in a path? Was it that you were eyeing different parts of the business? And that you knew that there were certain, I guess, credentials that could forward your career. I know that you've spent 17 years with your first employer. And so you've had a well, which is a really long time. But how did you know whether or not to go in that direction? Obviously, you needed the skills. But my question is, did you have anybody from the outside kind of championing that for you? How does it show up in your on your roadmap?


Stephanie Foster  15:46  

I mean, at the time, it was purely experience, and going to interviews for certain roles and being turned down because I didn't have these letters behind my name anymore. I wasn't a classically trained Product Manager. So I learned, really through experience of interviewing through going to networking events, and talking to folks who were in those roles. And they counseled me on what's the right pathway in order to be able to qualify and be successful once I do have the opportunity.


Tina Powell  16:22  

And so you and I both have a love of marketing, you have your bachelor's in marketing. So what intrigued you or how did you know that product management was going to be the right fit for you? When did you start to make that transition into more of a project management role than a than a marketing role? Like not every marketer can do project management, how did you know that that was the area that you had a skill and an aptitude and obviously now you have a high degree of competence. See there?


Stephanie Foster  17:01  

It was totally unplanned I again, I do have to be grateful for my initial experience. And the field again, just being exposed to a number of different functional areas. You know, I started and events marketing actually. So I went from events marketing, to brand marketing and product marketing and eventually an opportunity to move into business development project presented itself. And from there, I manage a region. From a career development perspective, the next step was product. And it just made sense. When I think about where I want to go next in my career. My ultimate goal is C suite. It's important to have a diversified background and different parts of the business to be successful as a leader. So To me, I always focus on the ultimate goal, the end goal, and what do I need to do to get there?


Tina Powell  18:07  

Yeah, I think that's great advice. And you said something about the PMC III certification that I thought very interesting, and that is that you're reverse engineering for what the market wants. So marketing is very, I would say like, outbound, yes, there's an inbound component, but we have a product and then we basically tell the world about it. Whereas It sounds like you are from the project management perspective, you're turning that formula onto its head, right? You're no longer you're creating something that you think that the market wants. How do you gain those insights?


Stephanie Foster  18:45  

That to answer your question, there are tons of resources out there. One of the first places that would typically like is to work with industry analysts that typically have our report available different segments of the market. So your first source typically would be your industry analyst. You can also work with a research firm to learn what are some of the currently trends in the marketplace, right, based on your customer segment. A third way of understanding what are the market needs would be through your customer advisory boards and asking your customers? What are some of their pain points? Or what are some other problems that they're trying to solve? In that way provides an opportunity for you to co create and co innovate with your clients.


Tina Powell  19:35  

Yeah, that's a really good point. We had Julie Littlechild on the podcast before you and she is the founder of absolute engagement. And we were talking about serving your clients and this co creation process that you just explained that. I think even companies that a small, a small to medium sized organization, we could probably do a better job And now's a really good time that the society is just fun. fundamentally changed because of COVID-19. It seems to me the perfect opportunity to actually survey your clients and reach out to them. And perhaps that, again, there are different needs that we aren't aware of. So thank you for those, those three different areas. And again, we'll make sure that all of these are in the in the show notes. With that you've spent 17 years, you don't get to this level where you are today, you spent 17 years before that at your first employer, not even your former employer, but your first employer, and that is a really, really super long time. You know, what obstacles did you face? And how did you develop the perseverance to just stay the course for 17 years to be in the same place?


Stephanie Foster  20:50  

Yes, you're right. 17 years is a very long time and it's way too long. I can tell you that I do not plan on doing that again. story for another day.


But I started my career in financial services right out of high school


graduation to corporate America, thanks to Inroads and Inroads is a nonprofit organization that develops talented minority students and placed them in four year internship programs. I'm really grateful to end roads. Anybody who's out there if you have a child, a cousin, a friend, a mentee, who is currently on minority wanting to enter corporate america and roads is a great place to to help you get there. So I always say that I didn't choose financial services but financial services chose me. If it were up to me right now. I would be working with Anna Wintour at Vogue and I would be Paris Fashion Week.


Tina Powell  21:50  

It doesn't it doesn't hurt also to that you speak three fluent languages. And that I'm looking at you right now. And there's no way that you spent 17 years at one company, there just isn't it just don't. And, yeah, because you started your career a lot earlier. And I do want to mention, we will have notes on Inroads. You're, you're actually a facilitator now. So you went from being on the receiving end to the giving, and I show that you've been a volunteer and a facilitator then since 2004.


Stephanie Foster  22:30  

Yes, that's right. I mean, after I graduated school, I, you know, landed into a full time role. And I was on the other side of inroads and I became a mentor to other interns. I actually hired and turns into my group at the time, and I do go back every every year as my schedule permits, to facilitate workshops for other students too.


Tina Powell  22:53  

So being that you've had, such that you are one of the earliest guests here You're in the sweet, that's been in FinTech Cheryl Nash also to like right from the beginning of time here. Are there certain qualities that you see in other people, again, from a mentoring and leadership perspective, at a very young level, like let's call it high school and college, that you can identify bam, that person, it absolutely needs to be in this industry. And if the answer to that question is yes. How do you know like, what qualities do you need? What what skill sets soft skills, hard skills begin to show up at an early age that would pose one for career and financial services?


Stephanie Foster  23:46  

That's a really good question. I don't think I've ever really thought about that, to be honest with you. But I would say if if you are if you're looking to identify the right skills to be successful, And financial technology. I would say number one is resilience. Hmm. Because it is, you know, it is an industry that's combining financial services and technology to industries that are not easy to get into it to begin with their highly male dominated majority white, let's be honest, right? Oh, right. So it is important to be resilient number one. Number two, a person who is creative and innovative, you are able to look at opportunities from a unique perspective. That's very important. Number three, you have to be a lifelong learner technology changes very rapidly. So you know, staying on top of the trends based on You know what market segment your focus on is important. Having a, an interest and you know, learning more constant upskilling is going to be very important as well. And I would say last but not least, networking, someone who is open to meeting new people open to giving back and helping others.


Tina Powell  25:25  

Those are really good, good points. I'm sure that there's a lot of people here listening in the suite today that fit those qualities and that know of a younger person, perhaps that you have an intern on your team right now. Or you have a family member, somebody that you know, that could find their way into financial services because we both acknowledge that we need to change the complexion of the industry. We need more women. We need more women of color, we need more young people. So There are ways that I feel that we can all do our part. And you've helped to at least identify some of the skills needed. And again, what I love you, what you just said is that you're bridging that gap between, hey, I'm a young person starting out my career. And now I'm talking to a very senior person that has had tremendous experience. And that has actually gone through the path. you'd mentioned something about being that lifelong learner. And I think whatever industry you're in right now, you need to constantly refresh, go back, take online classes. Is there a particular method that you have, I noticed that you just did a panel on blockchain? What is like the general consensus about lifelong learning? Should it be done on an individual basis? Should it be done at the corporate level? How does one keep up right now in such a rapid changing technological environment?


Stephanie Foster  26:57  

Yeah, I mean, you're you're absolutely right, Tina. It is. It is an environment that is changing rapidly. And I can tell you that from my personal experience, and this is both areas where I failed, and where I've succeeded is to not wait on your your manager or your organization to offer out the opportunity for you to upskill it's to me it's a personal responsibility. It's important that as a professional, you invest in your career. So just like you know, you would go out and I don't know you're gonna go out and you're gonna go shopping, buy a new bag, a new purse, because you want to look good for an interview. It's just as important to invest in learning. So you know, if for whatever reason your company would not be willing to help you invest in your masters or help you invest in the next you know, Scrum certification. Do it yourself. Like for example, I have A professional development budget and my own personal budget. I love that, right. So I if there's a conference coming up, I go into my professional development budget, and I'll pay for it myself. Yeah, there are situations where the company will help subsidize some of these costs. But that's not always the case. So I dig into my own personal budget. And I attend these conferences, and I travel for, you know, board meetings that are happening out of faith as necessary for all the organizations that I volunteer with. So I look at it as personal responsibility. And again, having a strong network is important, because that's where you stay on top of the trends. And you know what's going on?


Tina Powell  28:41  

Hmm. It's almost like you're managing your own p&l for yourself to have that line item for that professional development. I've never heard it phrased like that. That's a great, great, that's a great takeaway.


Stephanie Foster  28:54  

You're the CEO of your career. Yeah.


Tina Powell  28:58  

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Are But to provide that kind of line budget and the way that you would invest in yourself the same way that when we go into that interview and yes, we put on a new pair of shoes, put on a new bag, I really, really love it. It's investing from the inside out. Now, one of the items that I wanted to talk about was the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic, and there's been a lot of, I guess, negativity around like jobs and the ability to actually find a new position. I wanted to know Congratulations, first of all on your being named head of regional product management for finastra but that this has happened during Coronavirus. And so it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime and while everybody right now is so sour on the job market. I want to know how do you like land, a position that seems to be Like the opportunity of a lifetime during a pandemic.


I was like, wow.


Now look, I'm sure. Obviously, it's been in the works for many, many years, right? Again, you've had a record of achievement. You've gone through the scrum certifications and the project management certification. So clearly you've you've done your homework and invested in yourself the right way. What would your advice be to right now to people being really sour on the job market, when there could be actually a new opportunity? And I guess that that's what that's, that's why I'm asking. I want to give people hope, that great things can still happen even in a pandemic.


Stephanie Foster  30:49  

Yeah, and they Thank you, Tina, this is another another good question. You know, I'd spent 17 years with one organization in my entire network was tied to that. company at the time. So during the last few years I had gotten married, I relocated to another state, another city had two kids was working from home. And I was keeping my head down and doing the work and minding my own business. So when I made the decision to pursue my next chapter, it was a big risk. And I actually left without having a new job lined up.


Tina Powell  31:26  

Wow. Yeah, during Coronavirus, no less. That is awesome. Wow, that takes a real strong belief in in oneself. But again, you're a woman that's guided by faith like me. And you have just an amazing support system around you with your husband and your mother. You've got two beautiful kids. You had to have felt that there was some sort of divine intervention when you take a leap of faith like that.


Stephanie Foster  31:57  

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And you know, at the time had to make a decision. It was either my mental health, or it was the job. And at that time, I chose my mental health and in my sanity


Tina Powell  32:11  

that's always the way to go. I think one of the things that Coronavirus has taught us is that life is is really being fully engaged and fully present. And life is too short to be in situations that that might not be healthy for us for whatever reason, and that we do have a lot more opportunities than we think just because it is a pandemic situation. I think if you're thinking that you want something and if you're working hard towards achieving that, then it will come to you and you won't need to do a whole lot of you won't have to try so hard. Right. I feel like the greatest things that have come in my life have just been where I didn't have to try they just showed up and it is really being intentional. And knowing thyself, and what types of situations make you make you happy. So I'm really glad that you're in a great position right now. And that you have this incredible opportunity and that you're here in this suite and sharing what it means to you in hopes of helping to help the person that's listening right now.


So Stephanie, one of the things that really inspires me about your career is the fact that you're involved in so many women led groups in technology. And we have there there are a lot in research in your background, I have to say it was like, wow, I want to mention these groups because I think that they're really important and I want to thank you for putting them on our radar. They are Women's Network in electronic transactions. You're also involved in women's driving innovation. You're actually a co founder of that at the Atlanta Innovation Forum. And you were also to class of 2018. Money 2020s inaugural rise up program. So you're someone that's really touched a lot of different areas of the financial services industry, with these groups. So how do we find out more about groups like WNET, and get more involved in things that are within our community? And help us to meet other women who are like minded, passionate like you? I wish that there was a little bit more of, like almost an association membership of all of FinTech, right, all of these different initiatives I find that really fascinating. But especially the ones that you've been a part of. Do you want to tell us a little bit about each?


Stephanie Foster  35:06  

Yeah, I would love to I love I love talking about this because I get asked this question quite a bit. My involvement with a number of these groups started several years ago when I was going through my first big career transition. So I joined, you know, local professional organizations, and many of them were offering discount memberships or even free memberships. If you volunteered, at the time not having a job. If it was free, I was there. So I would volunteer and raise my hand and participate. And that's how I was introduced it to a number of folks in the industry, but it really became a ripple effect that just kept leading me to new opportunities. And one of them was, you know, I had the honor of being selected as one of 35 women out of 500 Global applicants for the money 2020 raise up for grabs. Yeah. Congratulations, by the way.


Tina Powell  36:04  

Yes.


Oh, by the way, she's payments geek on Twitter. Yes.


Stephanie Foster  36:11  

Yeah. So through money 2020 rise up, I had the opportunity to meet and network with the President and the Board of WNET, which stands for Women's Network and electronic transactions. And they extended the advisory board opportunity to me so I went to the interview process and, thankfully, was was accepted for that role. But really, Wnet is, is a nonprofit organization, you know, in our and we believe that a woman's potential is as unlimited as her ambition, man.


Tina Powell  36:45  

Great, great.


Stephanie Foster  36:46  

So WNET has over 3000 members all over the US and Canada. We recently expanded to Europe through a partnership with another woman's group there and really what I love about that net is that we serve women in the payments and FinTech space across all career levels, from women who are just entering the industry fresh out of college, to those that are mid career level, like myself, and senior executives and women who are in the C suite. So I have really enjoyed being a part of this organization. And I'm really grateful to have had access to terrific mentors and coaches who have helped me through my various career transitions thus far. So that's the B unit. And then another one I really would like to talk about Tina is Women Driving Innovation.


Tina Powell  37:43  

Yeah. And your co founder of that organization?


Stephanie Foster  37:46  

Yeah, correct. So So Women Driving Innovation is actually a special interest group within the Atlanta Innovation Forum, which is a local Atlanta group that's been around for over a decade. And as you can imagine, The membership and the leadership are reflected the industry married the industry, ie majority male group had its first ever female president five years ago. Yes. And he's the opportunity to create the special interest group just for women called the Women Driving Innovation. She recruited 11 of us to join her on this journey to connect, inspire and showcase female thought leaders and technology and what I love the most about being a part of the group is that many of our speakers and panelists are first time speakers. Really Yes. So you know, the fact that we're providing this platform for women at all career levels to become thought leaders and technology is huge, and it's something I'm really passionate about, because I wish you know early on in my career and had access to a Women Driving Innovations group so I could grow my network in a safe place and have the opportunity to be on stage and speak and share my voice and share my thoughts. So I'm really passionate about our mission and what we're doing here in Atlanta,


Tina Powell  39:12  

we all need to be in a safe space where we can learn to talk and present because it's such a key skill throughout your throughout your career. One of the things I wanted to ask you about the Women Driving Innovation at the Atlanta Innovation Forum, is are you also to touching different verticals? Because you are in innovation, right? And are you meeting other people in like healthcare and biotech, so that it's not only FinTech per se, right. It's Oh,


Stephanie Foster  39:47  

yeah, yeah, absolutely. You know, one of the things that I do love about the organization is the fact that we're looking at innovation across all technologies across all industries, from health tech, to fin tech. To cybersecurity, also looking at marketing technology, retail technology. So it is across all technology. So it is an opportunity to learn across industries as well.


Tina Powell  40:17  

Wow, you make me want to join to find the Innovation Forum in my neighborhood here to really inspiring me with your membership to org to all of these groups. Obviously, everything is is online right now. So are the demands to allocate one's time towards a membership. Organization. Balance is one word that that comes to mind because it does it takes time. Is it a little easier right now because things are now transitioning to more of an online platform. Do you have any thoughts on that?


Stephanie Foster  40:53  

I would say yes. And no. Yes. It's definitely not Like it's not easy. extra curricular activities outside of work are in especially if you're on a board membership role, it is a full time job because you have to prepare. Even if it's an online webinar that are planning, there's still preparation that happens in the background and bringing the event to life. So I would say yes, it's easy in the sense that it might be less time consuming because you're not having the drive to different places. Right, if you're having you know, a physical event, you don't have to go two hours early to set up and make sure that the technology works and setting the table for registration. But it still takes a lot of work on the back end to produce a webinar and have everybody on the same page. Make sure like technology works, plan everything and advertising so it is still very much time consuming, and I do call it my second job. One thing that I am extremely grateful for is the fact that I do have an amazing husband who supports my career. intubations so he provides me with the flexibility to focus on my extracurriculars and after hours


Tina Powell  42:12  

that you actually that you did that you take time to mention him because there needs to be a support system, no matter who you are. I think we all need people whether or not they're at home or whether or not their work that are just kind of helping us out. You are certainly you are a major major giver that you're in all of these organizations inroads to was something that was really deeply fascinated about and what I love about what you're doing stuff and he is that you're starting, you're getting to reach people at a impressionable time in their life. It's that one small decision that one slight little decision that leads to such a major effect in one's life. And that maybe if we knew a little bit more on the front end of our careers coming out of high school and early college, if we would have been exposed to these groups, it would have changed our life. So it sounds like these types of organizations include memberships at different levels. So would you recommend that young people join these organizations, even if they haven't had much experience but just an interest in financial services, payments, innovation technology as like a first step out of high school or college?


Stephanie Foster  43:31  

Oh, yes, absolutely. I mean, I wish I had access to such a huge network, and the content and the knowledge that comes with participating in these professional organizations. So I would say absolutely another and I didn't create this I stole it from somebody else who said at one time your network is your net worth. Yes. You know what I live another motto of my I live by that. I always say that. It's It's important to find your tribe, especially if you're a woman. Right? There's a saying, and I can't remember how it goes, but it's like, you know, Behind every successful woman, there is a tribe of successful woman or something. And I know I think that I'm a perfect example of that. Because I have so many wonderful women who have coached me throughout my career and Cheryl Nash is one of them. Of course. You know, one of my best friends Shawna bear said Dunbar is another phenomenal woman in the industry who I have learned so much from. She is the only person I can count to truly be honest with me and she calls me on my Bs, and you need that.


Tina Powell  44:42  

You do need that my fiance does that for me.


Stephanie Foster  44:45  

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.


Tina Powell  44:47  

My kids occasionally, too.


Stephanie Foster  44:51  

Yeah. So my advice to, you know, young professionals at this point in your career is to make sure you have a career roadmap, you need to Have a plan. Hope is not a strategy. Right? You need to build your personal Board of Directors, in my opinion, Long gone are the days of just having one mentor, right? I find it beneficial to have a group of trusted advisors that I can reach out on based on the situation. So you know if I need to say if I'm negotiating a contract, there is one particular person who is trying that area who I will call on if I'm dealing with a conflict at work. There's another person that I would call on. That's number two. So number one is network number two, build a career roadmap. Number three, build your personal board of directors. Number four, we talked about lifelong learning, keep learning the certifications, the conferences, keep learning and getting those certifications and I would say Next up, position yourself. To find a sponsor within your organization, it's important to network with the decision makers and make sure that they know who you are and they know what you're working on. These are all important tips that I would like to share with any, you know, anybody who's new to the industry, or young professionals that are figuring out what you know, what is their next step. And there's a French proverb that I grew up with that my mom always said to me, which is, he knew he screwed up again, not again, which is basically no risk, no reward. Hmm. You have to take calculated risks and then in your career, in order to win.


Tina Powell  46:43  

That set of advice there is is fantastic. I really appreciate those five points, and again, we'll memorialize them in the in the show notes here. And it reminded me back to when I was in grad school, a piece of advice from a professor was Build your networks before you need them. And that is absolutely is changed my life. And my career. There's nothing that we do here in the suite and and beyond, that doesn't touch somebody or that hasn't been made possible through other people. And you also mentioned an important differentiating fact between the having that sponsor and having mentors, you need them both. And that sponsors the person who's going to advocate for you when you're not in the room. And we've interviewed great women here on this podcast and that they have had both they've had mentors, sponsors, coaches, ambassadors, and I would even argue to say that as part of your lifelong learning, that even people you don't know can be a mentor to you. Just listening to your those those five tips and going back and forth and listening over and over and making sure that They're under your pillow when you go to bed at night could really help to move your career in in a different direction. So that's great, great advice. Thank you for the for the roadmap for the people listening. And I think no matter what level career you're in, that that's just really good, solid advice. And, you know, one of the reasons I wanted to have you on the podcast is I wanted you to be part of I want it to be part of your network has that I wanted to be part of, of Stephanie Foster's network. And I want to bring it back to the main goal of this podcast is, what can women like me in the industry? How can we show up and do a better job to support our female allies in the financial services industry? How do we all do a better job of banding together? Yeah,


Stephanie Foster  48:57  

thank you for that. On behalf of all of us, women of color in the industry, thank you for asking that question. And before before I get to the how I want to take a little bit of step back and look at the state of, you know, black women in corporate America today. So I'd like to share some stats with you. I please do. So there are 37 women leading fortune 500 firms today, and that's an increase from last year's will being 33. Out of the 37 only three are women of color. None of them are black or Latina. There has only been one black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. And that was Ursula Burns.


Tina Powell  49:50  

Yep, and she was on my advisory board. I did my graduate work at NYU and I will never forget being and listening to Hurt speak at our dinner. And she was also to at Xerox. She started as an intern. I will never forget it.


Stephanie Foster  50:09  

Yeah. Oh, what a treat now. I'm like super jealous that you guys


Tina Powell  50:15  

I ever and I have a picture with her somewhere on the NYU website. Oh, yeah. Huh.


Stephanie Foster  50:22  

I gotta go and look that up. I'm so excited. Okay, now I feel like we have so much more to talk about now. Yeah. Oh.


Tina Powell  50:29  

Yeah, it was.


Yeah, go ahead. I'm sorry. I just had to it was a blast. It was a blast from the from the past.


Stephanie Foster  50:36  

Wow. That's, that's amazing. That's great


Tina Powell  50:38  

to be on. And I'll never forget it. It was it was Yeah, there were, I don't know. 500 people there that day.


Stephanie Foster  50:46  

That's awesome. Yep. That's really great. Yeah, so you know, as you know, she retired back in 2016. And there hasn't been another black female CEO of a Fortune 500 cents. So Another stat, you know, black women make up 7% of the population. But we also make up 12% of the minimum wage earners. According to leanin.org


C suite leaders 21% are women.


Only 1% are black women. Oh, gosh. Yeah. However, studies show that 75% of black women, myself included, view themselves as very ambitious in their career. And, you know, 40% of us are hoping to make it into a management role within five years. So you know what I say a lot of other leaders say the same thing, as well as like corporate America does not have a pipeline issue. It's not an ambition gap. It's an access gap. Hmm. We do not have the same audience. To needies and access to decision makers and influencers in those boardroom, there is no natural avenue for a mid career level manager or director to network with the C suite or the top 200 leaders within their organization. It's a study by McKinsey and Lena, and that says that no black women are a part of the group that is the least supported by their managers at work, we are less likely to get promoted, we are less likely to get a raise. We cannot bring our whole selves to work because we might be seen as the angry black woman or like the loud person in the room. And you know, again and again, research has shown that most DNI efforts benefit white women retention is a big issue that nobody what he's talking about black women are leaving corporate America in droves to start their own business. We're the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs today. And why is that?


Like, why is nobody talking about that? 


Tina Powell  53:12  

We don't want people to leave. And in talking to even white women, there were many, many times that people wanted to leave. But because they had either an advocate or a sponsor, or a mentor, someone actually to coach them through the difficult times they didn't leave. But what I'm hearing from you and these statistics and they are sobering, at least they provide a current lens of the landscape right now, which I think is really important. Again, we have to benchmark where we are, before we make change, we have to understand actually where we are. It sounds like one of the things that needs to happen is that the people who are in the boardroom, right, it's the people who are already occupying these conversations. The conversation needs to change in The boardroom, the people invited into the boardroom, the people the opportunities that need to be created. They need to be fully accessible to women of color. Do you have any views on where where to go with all this? What's the next best opportunity?


Stephanie Foster  54:23  

I mean, it's big. It's huge. It's definitely not something that can be solved overnight. But going back to your original question around Well, how can you help? And I think you'll learn by now that i like i like numbers. I speak in bullet points.


Tina Powell  54:46  

I will take copious notes after this podcast. One of the things that I actually do is relist into my podcasts over and over and take the notes from it. And I am I love bullets and I love numbers. Well, numbers when somebody else is talking about them, you clearly have an aptitude number. So yes, please bring it on.


Stephanie Foster  55:07  

Yeah.


All right. So I have five tips for you. five tips.


So number one, and this is something I coined from again, somebody else on my board of directors who spoke at an event that we held fairly recently. So I do want to give a shout out a shout out to Gail Burgas. From global payments, and TYSYS. She's also on the board of the WNET. So that's how we met. She kind of coined this term. See us, hear us accept us. Mm hmm. All right. So the worst thing that you can do is say I don't see color. Because it's no I want you to see me as I am saying black is more than just skin color. It's a culture. It's a part of the fabric of who I am the way I love the way I speak. It's different than yours I want to share that. I want you to get to know me and be respectful of my lived experiences. So the worst thing that you can say to somebody like me is I don't see color. It's highly offensive. So that's the first one. I'd say number two is to speak up. If you're witnessing any microaggressions towards black women in the workplace, speak up on their behalf. Because you know, there's there's a huge emotional tax that we deal with on a regular basis. And having somebody in the room who's an ally, or speak up for us, help take some of that emotional tax away. Number three, and I would say this to all the major leaders in organizations is to mentor and sponsor the black woman and your organization. You know who they are. We are ambitious. We want to climb the ladder. We want more. But the majority of time we feel invisible and unrecognized. So having a seat at that table, having somebody who's speaking for us, and we talked about lift as you climb is very important. Number four, which is something that you know, Ryan Shanks, then, you know, through the FAMatch event A few weeks ago is something that you're doing right now by inviting me here is to elevate our voices. There was a recent recent initiative on Instagram, and hashtag Pastor Mike, where white female celebrities offered their Instagram pages to you know, black celebrities and black like high profile executives and I love that I would love to see more of that like I would love if we had a hashtag pipe Pastor Mike infintech inventing hashtag pass the mic in the sweet step ready?


Yes. All right.


Tina Powell  58:01  

reality. Reality? Yeah, these are, these are really good. You have you have a final one for


Stephanie Foster  58:09  

the final one. Number Number Five from an educational point of view is there is there's a, there's a book out there called the memo. What Women of Color need to know to secure a seat at the table with men, the hearts who is like my hero. I know. But the book she actually came to Atlanta last year, I had a chance to meet her in person. And she autograph my book and we talked for a while and shared, you know, our different experiences and they told her that the last couple of years of my career I've gotten through was thanks to following her on Twitter, and learning more and just understanding that I wasn't the only one and that somebody out there was sharing my experiences. So definitely I would encourage anybody to follow me in the hearts on Twitter and buy her book. It's a good way to learn.


Tina Powell  59:00  

Yeah, that's so great. And I would love and I'm going to throw it out here right now I contacted Minda by the way. She's super busy on her book tour. I would love for you to interview Minda hearts on this podcast. And I haven't read her book yet, but I will and it's really good that you put it out there. I will not only buy my copy, but ladies, I will buy 10 extra copies. So if you want a copy of the book, I will get it for you and you could email me at Tina at C suite social media calm the first 10 people to email me will get a copy of Minda hearts book the memo, and yes, follow her on Twitter, listen to our podcasts. We listen to everything on this podcast. Make sure even though I have the show notes, take out your own journal. I've always been a copious note taker, even though that I love technology and I've got all these kinds of digital tools around me. There's something that happens when you hand right on to paper. I would say that you mentioned so many so many great things here. The stats, the advice, the the anecdotes, the statistics, but most importantly, what you just mentioned, here were the last five ways that women, white women can support black women in this industry. So I want to thank you for that. Because that will help a lot of us to show up the way that we want to show up, because it's hard to ask that question. in a public forum. It's hard to admit that we haven't been doing the best job that we can, and we want to do better. So I want to thank you for being in the suite today and giving us that advice because that gets us now that gets us the ball and emotion and helping to make things like this happen. If anyone wants to get in touch with you, how do they get in touch with you payments geek at Twitter? Right? Yes, absolutely on LinkedIn. And she's Stephanie Foster, and with all of the initials after and all the certifications after her name. Oh, I have one final question. While I'm so wrapped up in just in just what we talked about, thank you so much. That was a real gift. Your gift is one of the questions that I ask of women in the suite. I myself have encountered moments where I know that I really need to show up, and that I might feel a little trepidation inside. And is there something that you tell yourself that you wear that you carry yourself that gives you more strength in the sweet


Stephanie Foster  1:01:56  

that's a bit of a hard one because it's not just one thing for them.


Number four number of thing that we talked about my lifelong dream of working at Vogue and


definitely as a, as


somebody who's very much into fashion and having the right color lipstick, Ah, yes. It makes all the difference and my confidence level when I'm walking, Love,


Tina Powell  1:02:26  

Love it. Love it. Is there a particular brand or I just love that question. One of the things I noticed is when Emirates Airline they're all of their flight attendants have exactly the same color lipstick,


Stephanie Foster  1:02:41  

really I didn't know that.


Tina Powell  1:02:42  

And the same shoes and the same like everything I love, love, love lipstick.


Stephanie Foster  1:02:48  

Wow. So I thought my friend Shauna earlier but she was the one who introduced me to Mac.


So my two favorite colors are Ruby Roo, which is a Read and Rebel which is a purple that are my go to colors are your client meeting or speaking opportunity. Like whenever I need that extra. Those are my two my go to colors for sure. And the other two things like mine is music. I love listening to music. I love techno and I love pop music. So putting on Katy Perry's hear me war will help me drive that energy and the confidence that I need for getting onstage or before a big client presentation for sure. And of course, self affirmations are always helpful. I have posted notes all over my desk here in the office to you know, help me remember past accomplishments past recognitions. You know what this might be a scary moment that I'm walking into, but darn it, I am awesome. So let me remind myself that I'm awesome.


Tina Powell  1:03:59  

You are out Absolutely awesome. And I'm getting goosebumps right now. I don't know you could do them. Here's what I think is that I love that I'm able to talk to you today, July 3 2020. Because there's no doubt, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that you will be in the C suite, and you will be CEO of a Fortune 500 company. And so I love it that this becomes a permanent record of this conversation as a harbinger of what's to happen for you in the future. You have all of the right stuff you have as a woman of color. I see you. I respect you. And I honor you.


Stephanie Foster  1:04:47  

Wow, you're now you're giving me goosebumps, Tina. You know, this really has been an incredible opportunity again, I'm so grateful that I said yes. When Ryan invited me to To FAMatch's zoom, you know, zoom event that night, I'm so grateful that you're kind enough to reach out after the event and say yes to connect thing. Very grateful that you invited me to be a guest on your podcast today. I'm so excited that we're officially in each other's networks now.


Tina Powell  1:05:19  

am married, I might need some, I might need you to teach me a few things. 


Stephanie Foster  1:05:26  

You knowabout it. So you know.


The conversation I hope is the first of many.


Tina Powell  1:05:34  

Yeah, it will be the first of many. And I want to thank you again, all of the women here listening today and the men included here in this suite. You've gone above and beyond today. So I hope that you enjoy the holiday weekend with your family. And God bless and thank you for everything today. I'm just I'm overwhelmed with gratitude right now. Thank you so much Stephanie Foster


Stephanie Foster  1:05:58  

Thank you Tina Powell


Tina Powell  1:06:03  

You're listening to in the sweet, a podcast that shares amazing stories of women in business in the financial services and wealth management industry. This podcast is sponsored by C suite social media, digital marketing and social media agency for C suite leaders in finance and technology. You can visit C suite social media.com to learn more, and for show notes from today's broadcasts. And thank you so much for listening and subscribing and helping to support this podcast with your reviews. I would love it. I know it means so much if you left us a five star review for this episode with the amazing and inspiring Stephanie Foster. And as always, if you would like to share the name of a successful woman in financial services, we should interview please send it to me at Tina at C suite social media. We have received a lot of great names so far and we are working behind the scenes to make it all possible. Again, thank you so much for subscribing and listening to it. In the suite