If you ask my guests this week about his journey to CEO and President he will be the first to tell you that it’s been a winding trail with a lot of learning on the fly. He started out with a law degree but eventually found himself in payments with a genuine passion (and opportunity) to meet as many of our industry innovators as possible. Innovative Payments Association (IPA) CEO and President Brian Tate leads on behalf of our industry and strives to see it flourish.

For those of you who may not know, IPA is a trade group of a little over 60 companies and their job is to focus solely on payments! They help members digest what is going on in the ecosystem around them, including the most recent regulatory framework and anything of interest on Capitol Hill.

One of the main benefits they provide for our industry is advocacy. They make it their business to develop positions on a consensus basis within their membership team and then use those positions to advocate for the industry as a whole. They ensure key decision makers are educated on the opinions of their membership group and they help their members understand the products in the industry and how they can be used to benefit it most significantly.

Tune in this week to hear Brian talk about his journey to the role of CEO and President, including how an innocent Google search landed him at the desk of his future employer. We also talk about where he sees the industry going in the next 2-3 years as it relates to innovation spikes, super aps, and behind the scenes support systems.