In honor of International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the women who lead the charge here at Chargebacks911. Located all over the world, each of these women uses their remarkable strength, knowledge, and work ethic to drive our company and industry forward. Learn about their career paths and advice for success in the spotlights below.
Monica Eaton
Co-Founder and COO
What motivates you? Is it a book, a quote, an activity, someone, or something?
I feel most engaged when I’m learning something new. I sincerely enjoy finding a new concept or skill and studying it from every angle – taking it apart and putting it back together again until I understand exactly how it works. It’s been a huge driver in my professional life and has helped me discover new opportunities and ways to do business.
This quote from Muhammad Ali also really speaks to me: “I hated every minute of training, but I said ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
What’s one challenge you have faced in your career that you believe helped you to grow as a person or a professional?
One challenge I faced in my early career was the urge to listen to the advice from self-professed “experts” over my own experience. I was determined to find a solution for chargebacks, but conventional wisdom said it’s better to just accept them as a cost of doing business. Even though I knew most of the disputes filed against me were invalid, I was advised not to fight back, and so I didn’t. Months went by, and I was losing more and more money with each one. Finally, I said, “enough is enough.” I decided to handle things my own way, which proved to be the right decision.
What is the most important thing you have learned in the last year?
I learned how to truly unplug. While many of us have been working from home, it’s easy for the days to run together and for the lines between work and home to blur. It can be hard sometimes; after all, the company is incredibly important to me and I want to see it succeed. That said, I know I’ll be much better positioned in the long run if I take time to recharge and come back with a fresh perspective. I do this by getting outside, staying active, and spending time with my family.
How do you think having a diverse team has aided your company’s success?
Not only is fostering diversity the right thing to do – it’s also a business imperative in the technology space. In order to build a tool that works, everyone who uses it needs to be represented with a seat at the table. I strongly believe that by having a diverse team, we are making better products built with all of our customers in mind.
Tracy Cray
Director of Card Scheme Compliance
Tell us a little bit about your career path and how it led you to your current role.
I really came up in the payments industry, having spent 35 years working with credit, prepaid, and debit. Prior to joining Chargebacks911, I specialized in chargebacks and Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Now I have the privilege of providing advice and assistance to issuers, acquirers, and merchants globally on their chargeback handling as well as supporting organizations such as UK Finance and other government bodies. I even set up the UK Experts Chargebacks & Compliance Group about four years ago and I chair this with the aim to evoke change and keep people in the industry connected on the topic of chargebacks.
What motivates you? Is it a book, a quote, an activity, someone, or something?
I’ve been fortunate to have great leaders throughout my career who helped me get to where I am today. A manager I had at RBS put a huge amount of faith in me in a very male-dominated environment. Followed by the amazing opportunity I was given by Monica to set up the UK team for Chargebacks911. Those displays of support and confidence drive me to succeed.
I also surround myself with like-minded women through networking groups like Women in Payments. We openly share our ideas and initiatives, and it’s reinvigorating to see so many talented people shaping the future of the industry.
What advice do you have for any who is trying to progress their career? Or what’s the best advice you’ve received?
Taking time to recharge is essential to long-term success. When you’re passionate about your work, as I am, it’s easy to get swept up in it and forget to truly step away. It’s not sustainable and will inevitably lead to burnout. Instead, taking that time to work on hobbies, see loved ones, travel, or do whatever inspires you will allow you to return to your work with renewed energy and a fresh perspective.
What’s one challenge you have faced in your career that you believe helped you to grow as a person or a professional?
The fintech world is still a largely male-dominated environment, and I have felt at times that I had to work twice as hard to succeed. But by learning to focus on my work rather than compare to those around me, I came to be recognized as an industry expert globally.
Tan Jia Min
Director of Business Development – APAC
Tell us a little bit about your career and how you got where you are today.
I am a very motivated individual who enjoys taking up challenges and creating a positive impact on people's lives. Throughout my career, I have chosen to take the path least traveled, which people often find risky and avoid, but I see as undiscovered opportunities.
Throughout my career journey, I have learned to embrace my own fear, learn from others' experiences, but also trust myself and have faith in the decisions I make. The journey has been greatly rewarding, and I have been blessed with lots of growth opportunities. I have grown confident in making important decisions, leading a strong team through uncertainties, allowing me to become the leader I am today.
What advice do you have for anyone who is trying to progress their career? Or what’s the best advice you’ve received?
My message to those who are at the crossroads of their career or are in doubt - have courage and faith in yourself. Life is a learning journey and the only thing stopping you from achieving success is your own uncertainty.
What’s one challenge you have faced in your career that you believe helped you to grow as a person or a professional?
Taking the path least traveled often requires me to be able to work with limited resources and ambiguity. When I first joined a startup, I was forced to learn quickly, adapt to a fast-paced and ever-changing environment, and build my own resources from scratch. The initial phase often left me exhausted.
Through this journey, I learned to be resilient. I began accepting new challenges more readily, worked on sharpening my communication skills with others, adapted to new environments quickly, maintained a positive and open mindset when learning new things, and taught myself to not be complacent.
These challenges have not defeated me but instead, helped me to mature and grow as a person in life and at work.
What achievement in your career are you the proudest of?
Successfully leading the company to expand and prosper in a new territory.
Melissa Fitzsimmons
Vice President of Customer Success
Tell us a little bit about your career and how you got where you are today.
I have worked in the e-commerce industry for over a decade. Before joining the Chargebacks911 team, I served as Advertising Account Director for Clickbooth.com and was already passionate about spreading awareness and education on affiliate fraud, which is a devastating source of chargebacks for some merchants. That passion has only grown in my role of VP of Customer Success as I help merchants adapt and thrive in this ever-changing payments landscape.
What motivates you? Is it a book, a quote, an activity, someone, or something?
This may sound cliché, but family is my number one motivator. My daughter will always be my greatest accomplishment, and I’m driven to provide opportunities for her and set a positive example. I want her to know that if she’s willing to work hard she can achieve anything she sets her mind to.
What advice do you have for anyone who is trying to progress their career? Or what’s the best advice you’ve received?
“Stop selling, start helping,” this quote from Zig Ziglar really resonates with me and has stuck with me throughout my career. It’s a simple shift in perspective, but it goes a long way. My goal is always to help my clients, colleagues, or whoever I’m interacting with - not to serve myself or make a sale. When you make that distinction, others will feel the difference and success will follow naturally.
What is one change you would like to see in the fintech industry to make it more inclusive?
Unfortunately, there are few women at the very top executive levels in the fintech industry. I’m lucky to work for a company led by one of them, but we need to see more instances of it. I think that dedicated mentorship between women at the highest levels of leadership and those in middle management would go a long way towards elevating more to the top.
Maria Papadi
Senior Business Analyst
What motivates you? Is it a book, a quote, an activity, someone, or something?
I get very motivated by the people around me, their dreams, and their passion to succeed in life. Here are a few quotes that motivate me:
“I know that I know nothing.” Always walk in a situation with an open mind and don't assume you know everything about a subject.
“You cannot get blood from a stone.” Assess who or what you are facing and do not expect to get what cannot be given to you.
“The wrong person in the wrong place is regression. The wrong person in the right place is frustrated. The right person in the wrong place is confusion. The right person in the right place is progression.” The right person in the right place thrives, a company utilizing correctly the personalities and skills they have as part of their team can only do great things.
And lastly “prevention is better than cure.” There are certain things in life that can be avoided and taking the right steps to avoid an issue in the long term is better than trying to deal with its consequences.
What advice do you have for anyone who is trying to progress their career? Or what’s the best advice you’ve received?
These are a few pieces of advice that I try to live by:
Always know where you stand at a personal and professional level.
Do not focus on the tree as you might miss the forest but always be aware of how many and what type of trees your forest has.
If you focus on your best qualities, that's what others would see. If you focus on others' best qualities that is what others will give you.
What’s one challenge you have faced in your career that you believe helped you to grow as a person or a professional?
I do not see anything as a challenge, just opportunities for growth. Everything is a learning experience at a personal and professional level.
What achievement in your career are you the proudest of?
I accepted a role in a different country, leaving family and friends to live on my own in a country where I did not know anyone. It is not necessarily an achievement, but rather a decision that ultimately opened the door for my growth as a professional.
Felicia Figueroa
Director of Workflow Implementation
Tell us a little bit about your career and how you got where you are today.
I was actually recruited to Chargebacks911 by my brother, who also works for the company. I interviewed with Monica and it was very dazzling. I never thought about payments as particularly exciting or interesting, but I realized the huge opportunity to be part of this growing fintech industry. It turned out to be the right choice, I’ve had a long list of positions here and learned so much from each one. Now, I manage the team that governs development operations and sprint planning, supporting some of our biggest partners. Not only have I developed as a professional, but I also get to work with amazing, capable people.
What advice do you have for anyone who is trying to progress their career? Or what’s the best advice you’ve received?
My advice is to step back and look at the big picture. There’s inevitably going to be hard days throughout your career, but when I think about my journey as a whole, I’m glad I’ve pushed through to get to where I am today. Remember that what you’re working towards is bigger than any little struggle along the way.
What achievement in your career are you the proudest of?
So many of the people I have cultivated or worked with are flourishing and that’s really satisfying for me to see. Their success is what makes me feel a sense of purpose in what I do.
How do you think having a diverse team has aided your company’s success?
I think that diversity brings more creativity and innovation to the team. Everyone has different backgrounds (there is no degree in chargebacks) so we all approach the business in a unique way. This pushes us to examine new ways of doing things, and we are better for it.
Kaylee Frahs
Director of Client Relations
Tell us a little bit about your career and how you got where you are today.
I started with Chargebacks911 in 2015 in the Diagnostics department; I moved up to lead that team. Then, joined the Client Relations team in 2017 in order to provide a more analytical perspective and data-driven processes to the team's repertoire of skills. In June of 2020, I became the Director of Client Relations
What motivates you? Is it a book, a quote, an activity, someone, or something?
In simple terms, I'm motivated by learning and exploring. This can take many forms. For example, at home, I love exploring different cultures through learning languages and connecting with people from those cultures. At work, I love finding and investigating problems, whether it's a new fraud scenario being indicated in the data, or learning about different aspects of the payments industry and how that ties into what we do at Chargebacks911.
"Adversity is inevitable, failure is optional." This is one quote I love because it recognizes that there will always be situations in which things are not going as planned; however, we don't have to let the situation win... similar to the Rocky quote, "It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." It simply reminds me we are all human, and we may not reach every goal or every task within the deadline we've given ourselves, but if we hold ourselves accountable and put forth the effort, it'll happen.
What advice do you have for anyone who is trying to progress their career? Or what’s the best advice you’ve received?
Put the effort in, take on new challenges, and be flexible.
What is the most important thing you have learned in the last year?
Self-care is a necessity.
