The latest candidate in our series of Q&As with influential women in the technology business is Ilona Fagyas, Head of Sales, Canada, Adyen, a global financial technology platform for businesses.
Name: Ilona Fagyas
Job Title & Company: Head of Sales, Canada, Adyen
Years in the Industry: 20+ Years
The Quote That Most Inspires You: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.” (- Robert Stevenson)
What drew you to a career in the fintech industry?
After graduating from business school at the University of Western Ontario, I started my career in investment banking as it was the traditional path. However, I had second thoughts when I saw a job opening at Scotiabank in electronic banking that piqued my interest. I decided to take a leap of faith, made the move, and I haven’t looked back. From there, each career move took me deeper into the fast-paced and innovation-driven payments industry and further away from the more traditional banking environment.
I’ve found a home in the payments industry as it is changing so rapidly. I am constantly learning and growing as I face new challenges. With my latest job change, I was specifically drawn to Adyen because of its global perspective and reach on payments. The last eight months have been one of the most exciting chapters in my career.
Have you encountered any roadblocks along the way that were related to your gender?
Deciding when to have a family is a challenge many women face, and I was no different. I naturally had concerns around how the break could impact my career and progression opportunities. Especially in sales roles, there is a lot of travel involved, and it poses a challenge when raising a young family.
Ultimately, I had my daughter about 10 years into my career, when I was in a director-level role at the time. I learned through this experience that raising a family takes a village, and having a supportive work environment that advocates and supports women in the workplace is a big part of that village.
What unique characteristics or perspective do you feel you bring to your organization as a woman?
As a working mother, I’ve mastered the art of balancing priorities – a skill that has become part of my secret sauce in excelling at sales. When faced with multiple demands, I take a step back, evaluate what will have the greatest impact, and confidently proceed. This also helps achieve my own version of work life balance, juggling my career with my family life.
I also bring strong emotional intelligence to my role, a quality I’ve found essential for effective leadership of not only my direct team, but also with clients and partners in forging new meaningful relationships.
In Canada, we are a melting pot of cultures and this diversifies and enriches your perspective. Being the daughter of an immigrant, the mentality of making something from nothing was instilled in me at a very young age. Knowing nothing will ever be handed to you, has shaped my view on really owning your path. My resilience and work ethic has certainly served me well.
Technology is historically a male-dominated industry, yet the use of tech is fully embraced by women, and many studies even suggest that females are the primary buyers of tech in the home. What do you feel the technology industry needs to attract more women, particularly into high-level positions?
A recent study highlighted how women in the fintech industry suffer from a triple glass ceiling from the finance, tech, and entrepreneurship sectors, finding women account for only 7.69% of (co-)founders, 18.2% of executive committee members, and merely 4.04% of fintech companies are led by a woman.
I think it’s so important for myself and other women in leadership positions to lend our time to networking with women interested in getting into the fintech industry and encourage our male counterparts to do the same. I take on speaking opportunities when I can to connect with women in the industry and provide guidance and support in advancing their careers. Representation matters, so I think it’s important for women interested in the field to see women in leadership positions.
I also see a great opportunity to bring more women from the finance sector over to the fintech industry. Whether through upskilling or providing more education around the sub-sectors within the fintech industry, I think the tech industry would greatly benefit from tapping more into that pool of talent. Since I entered the payments industry, we are slowly seeing that more and more global businesses have a dedicated payments team, which I think will also help bring more women into the field. Having payments recognized as a centralized business function will help bring awareness that payments can be a viable career path.
If you had to sum up what it is like being a woman in this male-dominated technology industry in just a few words, what would you say?
Be the change you want to see! Women bring an important diversity of thought to the industry, and it’s something we need more of to drive progress.
Are there women in the tech industry who inspire you?
I am most inspired by leaders who are intentional about their team’s success, and invest time on their development by challenging them to think bigger. In a way, paying it forward. I have been fortunate to have several female leaders who have motivated me to take risks. Early in my career, I remember a conversation with my female leader where she said, “I know you won’t work here forever, and you are capable of so much more. I am just happy to work with you as long as you want.” That simple comment made me realize I had outgrown my role, and it was time to move on.
What are some of the misconceptions/myths about women working in the technology space that you’d like to dispel?
When you think of tech sales, people often think of the “tech bro” stereotype or of a typical boys’ club which can often dissuade women from breaking into the industry. In reality, you don’t have to fit a stereotypical mold of being pushy or a golf pro to excel in tech sales.
In fact, there are many typically “female” qualities, like thoughtfulness and attention to detail that can go a long way in tech sales. For example, in my experience, women tend to like to buy from other women as they don’t want to feel intimidated or pushed into a deal. Instead, they want someone who clearly understands their needs and someone they can trust to deliver a good product. This can also come into play in the relationship-building aspect when courting a potential client: thoughtfulness and attention to detail can make all the difference.
What’s one thing you wish was done differently in the industry, and why?
In terms of payment technology, Canadian businesses are typically five years behind U.S. and European businesses. I joined Adyen to make it easier for businesses to innovate in payments. Simple things like “Buy Online, Return In-Store” or “Buy Online Pick Up In-Store” can leave customers frustrated with a poor buying experience. These gaps leave Canadian businesses vulnerable to losing market share to companies that come in with better technology and can immediately deliver.
The better the customer experience, the more likely a customer is to remain loyal. Many top traditional Canadian businesses have the most legacy systems and need a significant investment to modernize their tech stack. It’s a huge undertaking, but the upside of new customer acquisition and greater conversion should always be their north star.
How do you feel the latest shift to AI will impact the way you do your job and opportunities for women in the industry?
In terms of how AI is impacting the payments industry, I think the biggest shift we’re seeing in 2025 is AI more deeply integrated into business operations to drive efficiencies and increase revenue. At Adyen, we just launched an AI-powered payment optimization suite, Adyen Uplift, to help businesses increase payment conversion, simplify fraud management, and reduce the cost of payments. AI is a great tool to power solutions that solve challenging business problems, so I’m excited to continue to see innovation there.
In terms of how AI will impact opportunities for women in the industry, AI is driving significant growth in the industry which means more opportunities for women to get their foot in the door. It’s an exciting time to jump into the fintech industry, so I am eager to see more creative and bright women in the field thinking of non-traditional ways of achieving results through AI.
Are you optimistic for the future in general and for the industry?
I have worked in sales within the tech industry for a long time, and I feel very encouraged and optimistic by the changes I have seen. We still have a long way to go, but I am proud to be proof that women can excel and climb the ranks in this industry.
I am also encouraged to see I am not alone – more recently there are many more women in leadership positions in the payments industry in Canada, which was not a reality 10 years ago. For young women starting their career, being exposed to women in leadership positions in the payments industry allows them to believe they can follow in their footsteps.