WEX’s CEO and chair Melissa Smith has scored a lot of firsts, including becoming a bit of a corporate legend for taking the helm as the company's first female chief on the eve of becoming a first-time mother.
But Smith, whose achievements in 23 years at WEX have earned her repeat honors among PaymentsSource’s Most Influential Women of 2021, says her success originated with humble beginnings working on her family’s potato farm near Winn, a Maine town with a population of 400.
The family also raised hay, and Smith began driving a huge hay truck across the field when she was just old enough to see over the steering wheel.
“If you dumped the hay truck, you had to reload it yourself, so I learned pretty quickly I had to do it right,” said Smith, who grew up with several siblings and step-siblings.
“Along with a menagerie of family animals, I learned how to navigate chaos and developed my own ability to influence others quite early,” Smith recalled.
Smith’s mother, a human resources executive at the University of Maine, constantly encouraged her daughter to fearlessly try new things, leading her to become captain of the high school math team and also its cheerleading squad.
“It influenced me to never think I couldn’t lead, and I did it without much conscious thought,” Smith said.
In college Smith chose a career in accounting, but it wasn’t just because she was good with numbers.
“I loved the variety of constantly working with different people at different locations — it’s the people part of it I liked best and was able to refine skills around working with others,” Smith said.
Hired first by Ernst & Young in Portland, Maine, Smith leaned in to understand her clients’ organizations on a holistic level. Several years later she joined WEX as a senior financial analyst and at age 32 became chief financial officer, four years later ushering WEX through its IPO. In 2014 she became CEO and in 2019 was named the first female chair of the WEX board.
Always championing fearlessness, Smith believes bold leadership requires facing adversity and even inviting criticism.
“I’ve structured our C-suite and executive leadership team to ensure we have a level of productive conflict,” she said.
Team members at the 5,000-person company based in Portland, Maine, are encouraged to question one another and push back, making sure to explore the alternatives in serious discussions to spur better decisions.
“Sometimes this exercise results in critical feedback, for me as well, and produces a more positive outcome,” Smith said.
A strong believer in diversity, Smith works to ensure equality at WEX, where 50% of employees are women and half of senior leaders were born outside the U.S.
“We celebrate the differences in our people and encourage them to be their most authentic selves,” Smith said, adding that WEX routinely conducts open forums with employees to discuss the impact of racism, including unconscious racism.
The pandemic was a major challenge, but WEX was well-positioned to weather it. WEX has long touted its flexible company culture and family-friendly style of working, according to Smith.
“When the pandemic is finally over, we’ll operate with a hybrid approach and employees will be able to do what works for them in terms of working in the office or at home,” she said.
Payments technology was put to the test during the pandemic, exposing positives and negatives.
“It’s easy to see in hindsight that leading up to the pandemic, payments companies that were more narrowly focused either on a singular piece of technology or customer segmentation had greater volatility,” Smith said.
Inside WEX, employees are encouraged to support each other by finding and serving as mentors across departments. Smith herself derives inspiration from colleagues and the rapidly changing political and social landscape.
“Seeing women of color in leadership positions is happening across industries. Vice President Kamala Harris sets an example that you can go for the roles you want, no matter your gender or background,” Smith said.
When any woman breaks through a glass ceiling, it creates tangible proof of new openings for women, she believes.
“It’s a bit like drafting on a bicycle — sometimes you feel the headwind but once in a while you get the beauty of a draft pulling you and it’s a little bit easier."
