Meet our new VP of ISV and ISO sales for North America: Casey Russell shares his vision for success Can you share your professional journey and how it has prepared you for your role at Nuvei? I’ve spent my entire professional career in the payments industry, starting in risk and underwriting, and then transitioning to managing and developing partnerships, and eventually managing sales teams. I’m hoping my experience puts me in a position to make a positive impact in my new role at Nuvei.
Having worked extensively in the payments industry, what are your top strategies for cultivating a sales culture that delivers results? Any positive culture starts with expectations and accountability. Particularly for partners, everyone should be aligned on what we are looking to accomplish and how we are measuring toward those goals. From there, it’s important to feel comfortable holding each other and ourselves accountable for that performance. When we win, we celebrate. When we lose, we work to understand why and continue to learn and improve.
In your opinion, what are the key changes that have opened opportunities for merchants as digitalization in payments accelerates? Being able to accept digital payments is no longer a nice-to-have for merchants; it is paramount to their ability to survive and thrive. The mom of three kids loading her kids in the car doesn’t have time to make a call, pull out her wallet, and read a number over the phone. The simple reality is that if you aren’t providing ways for customers to seamlessly pay with a few clicks, you are losing customers. Being able to provide merchants with ways of accepting digital payments and understanding the implications that come along with that (better advertising attribution, deeper insight into customers, ability to identify churn risks, driving average ticket sizes, etc.) are quick ways to differentiate as a true partner.
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What, in your view, characterizes a strong and successful partnership within the payments ecosystem? Healthy collaboration, technological differentiation, low attrition, strong NPS scores, and lots of celebration.
What do you consider to be the primary challenges and growth prospects within the ISO and ISV space? A very interesting question. ISOs have to find ways to achieve technological parity with the verticalization that’s happening in payments. ISVs need to understand the implications that come with supporting a verticalized software solution and decide where they would like to partner and where they want to innovate.
What inspired you to join Nuvei’s journey, and what role do you envision yourself playing in our continued success? Nuvei has proven itself to be the only global payments technology that offers a full-service partnership powered by technology and collaboration, which both inspired and excited me. I hope to be able to provide a positive impact by providing additional structure and resources to our partners.
What excites you the most about your new role at Nuvei? The opportunity to build upon the best-in-class partnership ecosystem.
Have there been mentors or influencers who have significantly influenced your leadership style, and what valuable lessons have you taken from them? I’m fortunate to have had several folks make a material impact on my leadership style. Understanding how to balance urgency and importance, remembering to celebrate the wins, and being comfortable with transparency through failures are probably the big ones.
If you could offer one piece of advice to individuals striving for success in sales or aspiring to leadership roles, what would it be? Never stop learning.
To wrap things up, could you tell us a bit about your life outside of the office, both physically and virtually, and how you maintain a healthy work-life balance? My wife and I have a two-year-old daughter, and we are expecting a son in January. I maintain a healthy work-life balance by sneaking in as many hugs as possible throughout the day, attempting to garden, taking our dog for incredibly noisy walks, and making sure that every night we sit together and have dinner.
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