Chief product officer
Conducting a choir sounds much different than developing complex payment products, but there’s a surprising overlap in the disciplines, based on the experience of Elle Kowal, chief product officer at MineralTree, which provides automated invoice-payment solutions for businesses.
MineralTree’s platform provides a customized approach for businesses to pay suppliers through any channel including checks, ACH and virtual cards from Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
“We help organizations that have a painful number of invoices or payments bring those under their control through a smooth process, and we’re constantly developing and refining our products to meet their needs,” Kowal said.
As a music major in college specializing in vocal performance, Kowal learned how to perform in front of small groups to large audiences, and how to pull all the voices of a team together for the best shared outcome.
“We have people of all different backgrounds, and as they work together they need to have ruthless honesty, selflessness and grit to push through failures on the way through various iterations required to develop the best possible product,” Kowal said.
Empathy is another important trait in product development, according to Kowal, who feels she could have been an educator if she hadn’t ended up at a fintech.
“You need curiosity and empathy for the end user, as we see things through the eyes of those who will ultimately use this product,” she said.
In addition to gaining the respect of the leadership team since her arrival in 2019, Elle does important work behind the scenes to make sure initiatives keep moving forward, while giving people the space to own projects and add their unique value.
Kowal developed her experience in getting the most from teams over years of developing products and workflows at two different banks plus six years at bank technology platform provider Fiserv.
After getting a job at a small bank in Connecticut following college, one promotion led to another and she augmented her music education background with a bachelor’s degree in business.
Joining MineralTree in 2019, Kowal formally introduced Agile product delivery to MineralTree for the first time since the company launched in 2010.
“We have a clear framework for how we go from having an interesting idea to a creative and innovative solution that people will use and buy, with a system for driving cross-team engagement and collaboration while training and growing members of the product development team,” Kowal said.
Innovation during COVID-19 has added challenges, Kowal said.
“Product development tends to feed off of other people’s energy — tossing out challenges, playing through conflicts — and that’s hard to do virtually,” she said.
But MineralTree’s teams persisted through the lockdowns and when the company in September 2020 raised $50 million and acquired two companies in its space — Inspyrus and Regal Software — Kowal played a key role in the due diligence and planning, including mapping integrations and customer onboarding.
Whether she’s in the office or working remotely, Kowal believes in driving excellence through encouragement.
“People often aren’t aware of the strengths they have. They need positive reminders of the overarching goals and mission they’re on,” she said.
Kowal draws inspiration from women who make it their mission to show others the way forward. One is Maria Cirino, cofounder of venture capital firm 406 Ventures, who sits on MineralTree’s board.
“She’s an amazing example of what’s possible, and how to lead with authenticity and approachability,” Kowal said.
Prior to the pandemic, Kowal commuted weekly from her base in Connecticut where her family lives to MineralTree’s offices near Boston, and the elimination of travel has dramatically changed her lifestyle. She’s appreciated the down time and a break from traveling, but feels it’s almost time to hit the road again.
“COVID-19 taught us a lot about how to collaborate, and [while] I think we’re going to operate in a hybrid mode for a long time, I’m looking forward to getting back to a hands-on environment.”
Nominating executive:
Vijay Ramnathan, president
What he said:
“In addition to gaining the respect of the leadership team since her arrival in 2019, Elle does important work behind the scenes to make sure initiatives keep moving forward, while giving people the space to own projects and add their unique value.”
