Julie Kontes
330 East 79th Street
Summary
Senior payments executive with 10+ years driving commercialization, digital channel growth, and ecosystem partnerships across regulated financial services. Proven track record translating payments strategy into scaled commercial adoption — from product MVP through GTM launch — while balancing growth with risk, compliance, and operational rigor. Fluency in payments, fintech space and partnerships; passionate about the convergence of traditional and emerging payments infrastructures
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
SVP Digital Merchant Growth
U.S. Bank MPS/Elavon
New York
03.2024 - Current
- Owned P&L levers for the digital sales channel, including pricing strategy, margin analysis, and run-rate forecasting
- Executed an end-to-end go-to-market strategy for digital payment capabilities
- Built a high-performing team in a fast-paced environment to deliver against revenue goals
- Drove 10% YoY growth in activation rates through targeted customer acquisition strategies
- Built a performance measurement framework to enhance accountability and transparency
- Developed seller workflows that improved productivity and accelerated deal velocity
- Embedded fraud prevention tools into seller workflows to mitigate risk
- Facilitated cross-functional alignment across partners and internal stakeholders to drive results
Embedded Payments Commercialization
Fiserv
New York
01.2021 - 03.2024
- Launched embedded payments platform from concept to market to drive independent software companies (ISV) and developer adoption
- Led cross-functional teams to implement go-to-market strategies
- Developed segmentation, value proposition, and positioning
- Architected partner distribution strategy and launched a referral program that maximized payments attach rate and accelerated platform adoption
- Drove integrated demand generation across online and offline channels to accelerate pipeline growth
- Mentored and development team of high- performing go-to-market strategists
Sr. Director, SMB Payments
Fiserv/First Data
New York
04.2016 - 09.2021
- Developed and scaled an end-to-end digital GTM engine for SMB payments, generating $60 million in incremental revenue over five years
- Drove product-led growth and commercialization throughout SMB customer lifecycle
- Executed global GTM strategies across EMEA, LATAM, and APAC regions
- Managed cross-functional teams in marketing, sales, product design, and engineering to drive execution
V.P. Payments
J.P. Morgan Chase
New York
12.2014 - 04.2016
- Owned commercialization of digital payment products, executing go-to-market strategy to generate $40 million in new business revenue
- Led development and launch of digital payments application, partnering with engineering for API-based integrations to enhance customer acquisition by 5%
- Drove optimization of product and customer journey across all touchpoints using data analytics to identify friction points.
- Launched advocacy and referral program converting early adopters into customers, strengthening brand equity and increasing qualified pipeline
ECommerce Marketing - Operations Director
Aeropostale
New York
07.2012 - 12.2014
Account Director
Publicis Sapient
New York
07.2004 - 07.2012
Education
Banking School
ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking
Philadelphia, PA06-2026
AI Essentials For Business
Harvard Business School Online
Bachelor of Science - Business & Marketing
Munster Technological University
Cork City, IrelandSkills
- Go-to-market strategy
- Partnership and ecosystem development
- Cross-functional influence
- Digital product scaling
- Executive communication
- Market measurement
- Channel growth and acquisition
- Leadership development
Affiliations
- Women in Payments
Timeline
SVP Digital Merchant Growth
U.S. Bank MPS/Elavon
03.2024 - Current
Embedded Payments Commercialization
Fiserv
01.2021 - 03.2024
Sr. Director, SMB Payments
Fiserv/First Data
04.2016 - 09.2021
V.P. Payments
J.P. Morgan Chase
12.2014 - 04.2016
ECommerce Marketing - Operations Director
Aeropostale
07.2012 - 12.2014
Account Director
Publicis Sapient
07.2004 - 07.2012
Bachelor of Science - Business & Marketing
Munster Technological University
Banking School
ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking
AI Essentials For Business
Harvard Business School Online