Michelle Ziolkowski's work ethic and passion built a career spanning from consulting to helping deliver economic stimulus when it was most needed. This path brought her into her current role as an executive position at one of the world's largest banks.
"I grew up underprivileged, the 'sleep-in-your-winter-coat-as-we-had-no-heat' kind of poor. I was always fascinated by money, mostly due to my lack of it," said Ziolkowski, senior vice president and head of global payables in Wells Fargo's treasury management group, and one of PaymentsSource's Most Influential Women in Payments for 2021.
Ziolkowski has also taken a passion for combating hunger and food insecurity with her into adulthood.
"I lived this reality so I understand its impact both physically and emotionally," she said. "It's a baseline need for our country because without proper nutrition, so many other issues can manifest. I also appreciate that I can act small, such as delivering meals or volunteering at a local food bank, while helping on a larger scale by donating more broadly to end hunger and programs that feed America."
Ziolkowski worked multiple jobs to put herself through college and graduate school, earning a degree in Economics from John Carroll University and an MBA in Finance from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.
A job in management consulting soon followed, culminating in a 15-year run at Wells Fargo, where she has been at her current post for four years.
Prior to Wells Fargo, Ziolkowski was a senior client partner at American Express, and also worked in the Enterprise Resource Division of Deloitte Consulting for five years.
There was a learning curve when she assumed responsibility for ACH at Wells Fargo. "I was not really a subject matter expert at that time," she said. "Taking over the team and being able to immediately recognize challenges and opportunities made me realize that while subject matter expertise is important, the true ability to lead is seeing the big picture, quickly assessing, and course correcting for a team of seasoned professionals."
Leadership has also been a learning experience for Ziolkowski, who says it's important to constantly seek feedback. "When you ask for input, you will likely get some advice or information that helps you further round out the edges or fill in the gaps in your leadership style and approach," she said.
Ziolkowski's experience, leadership and financial services skills reached a critical point early in 2020, with consumers and businesses reeling from the year's health and economic crises.
"In April 2020 a number of banks came together to ensure stimulus payments got to taxpayers in the most expeditious way," Ziolkowski said, adding the cross-bank cooperation addressed challenges such as repairing incorrect items for ACH payments, as well as the issue of payments sent to tax preparers instead of directly to taxpayers' accounts.
"The collaboration, sharing, and problem-solving within the industry towards the common goal of helping Americans was a gold star moment in banking and payments," said Ziolkowski, who is a Certified Treasury Professional, a member of the Board of Directors for Nacha, and sits on the Early Warning Services Wholesale Payments Advisory Committee.
Ziolkowski's scope runs the gamut of payments, including the Real Time Payments network, Push to Card, and Disbursement with the bank-led Zelle transfer service, along with more traditional forms like wires, ACH, and checks. "Payments and money movement [are] a passion of mine, and I thrive on growing new payment types, driving adoption in the industry, and helping our customers meet their business needs," she said.
That diverse experience has helped her grow digital payments during the past year. But that growth also brings new challenges and risks as scammers emerge to take advantage of CARES and the Paycheck Protection Program, which were designed to help get funding to the people and companies most in need.
"Fraud management continues to be a key tenet of financial services, and we need to remain vigilant to effectively serve all segments, especially those severely impacted, like small businesses owners," Ziolkowski said.
