Career moves

There's a cultural shift that's necessary for some companies, Manus said, noting that for many organizations, past success is the biggest threat to a healthy future.

'Fast' may not be the first word that comes to mind when describing her four-year journey to win over the country's largest banks, but for Jan Estep, it's a testament to the perseverance and negotiating prowess necessary to achieve a breakthrough in payments efficiency.

Still uncertain about EMV? You've got good company in MagTek's CEO and chairman, Annmarie "Mimi" Hart.

Fintech companies work in much faster cycles than the traditional payments industry is used to, and these newcomers aren't afraid to pivot. Discover's partnerships have taught it how to stay "nimble," Offereins said, while still allowing it to focus on enabling commerce in a seamless and secure way.

In 2016, most incumbents in the payments industry will probably spend some time defending their businesses and rethinking their strategies, says Reetika Grewal, who has been leading payments strategy at Silicon Valley Bank for the last three years.

"I realized that if you want more, you have to constantly look for new tasks and new areas to be involved and learn new skills, all while making yourself a little uncomfortable in the process," Elliott said.

In the past year, Verifone's European market share has grown more than 10 percentage points, and Felix declares it her proudest moment in a career that spans 26 years.

As ACI Worldwide's executive vice president of application development, addressing the real-time payments challenge falls squarely on her shoulders.

Kazazean’s ability to drive collaboration across diverse teams will be a critical asset as she faces Walmart's ambitious shift to omnichannel commerce this year.

To Kennel, mentorship and encouragement from the top down would go much further toward boosting workplace diversity than any sort of formal association.