Sabra Fowler
Middle Island
Summary
Accomplished, visionary and forward-thinking leader with over 19 years of experience in the financial industry. Proven history in leading payment strategies, optimizing payment systems, and enhancing transaction and governance and oversight processes. Expertise in regulatory compliance, risk management, and innovative payment solutions. Adept at aligning organizational goals with operational capabilities to deliver exceptional results and sustainable growth. Proven history in leading large teams, leading complex projects, and fostering a culture of inclusion, empowerment, and excellence.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work History
Payments Governance and Oversight Leader
Capital One
New York
03.2021 - Current
- Spearheaded the creation and execution of the institution's comprehensive payment strategy by building out a team of Risk and Process Managers to implement governance and oversight controls in partnership with Risk, Finance and Legal teams, mitigating $43B worth of risk exposure and reducing external fraud 10-20%.
- Develop and implement policies and procedures to enhance payment operations and compliance, setting payment ecosystem standard.
- Implemented compliance training courses for 7K+ associates to educate associates on AML payment processing protocols and risks associated with wires/checks, saving 75% in training time and reducing compliance/processing issues by 83%.
- Strengthened risk and control framework parameters to satisfy MRA (Matters Requiring Attention) issued by OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency), achieving compliance, and mitigating operational risk.
- Analyze payment data to find trends, issues, and opportunities for improvement.
- Identified inefficiencies in payment processes and implemented improvements, reducing error rates by 22%.
- Designed and launched a role-based payments education curriculum, improving onboarding efficiency by 80% for new hires across Product, Risk, and Engineering teams.
- Partnered with senior leadership to manage career paths and competencies for key roles across the Payments org, supporting internal mobility and succession planning.
- Designed the strategy for integration of multi-factor authentication (MFA) for external banking portals, improving security controls.
- Provided oversight of the end-to-end redesign of access provisioning for payments systems, reducing provisioning time by 90% and increasing audit accuracy.
Enterprise Wire Operations Manager
Capital One
New York
12.2018 - 03.2021
- Managed a high-performing team of thirty payment professionals across two sites, established foundation for collaboration Risk, Finance, and HR, and automated manual processes, saving team 260 hours monthly of manual work.
- Directed daily operations of the payment processing department, handling over 5K transactions per month.
- Streamlined payment workflows and implemented process automation, achieving a 15% increase in productivity.
- Managed vendor relationships and negotiated contracts to optimize payment processing costs and service levels.
- Partnered with technology team to migrate and combined call authentication process from three systems into one (AWS Connect), saving 50% in software/application costs and reducing authentication process by 66%.
- Eliminated 5 legacy systems (Account Management, Workflow Tool, Dialer), saving $500K+ in operational expenses.
- Mentored and coached team members, resulting in increased employee satisfaction and retention.
- Spearheaded migration, established controls, and set up tools to enable remote transition.
- Collaborated closely with customer service teams to address and resolve payment-related issues promptly.
Treasury Operations Manager
Capital One
New York
07.2017 - 12.2018
- Managed day-to-day operations for a team of 8 (2 supervisors, six production associates), reducing five processes 20-45% by eliminating manual work and saving $160K in annual operating budget.
- Implemented dual control processes to mitigate operational risk within Escrow department and led year-end tax reporting activities for two hundred primary accounts and 2K sub accounts, preventing regulatory fines by achieving compliance.
- Migrated operational activity and processes onto AWS cloud, centralizing functions and enabling scalable growth.
- Managed client profile agreements and all accompanying documentation related to Implementation of accounts.
- Provided oversight over the Implementation process for new accounts, supported maintenance and reviews on existing accounts, provided training to new employees, performed ongoing client support, and supported the team with any issues related to client deposits and returns.
- Ensured compliance with all state and federal regulations and internal company policies.
Branch Manager, Assistant VP
People's United Bank
01.2014 - 01.2017
- Led a team of ten sales and operations associates who managed daily bank operations, exceeding all sales targets by 50% and resulting in promotion to manage a bank with double the monthly deposits.
- Managed customer service relationships with teams and established customer engagement activities, exceeding all customer service scores by 10% while passing all audit requirements for the bank.
- Ensured branch compliance with all regulatory requirements, including AML, KYC, and privacy.
- Conducted regular audits and risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential risks.
- Fostered relationships with community members and local businesses, growing deposit 30% within 12 months.
Operations Supervisor
Bank of America
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business Management & Economics
Empire State College
Saratoga Springs, NYSkills
- Problem Solving and Decision Making
- Risk Management
- Governance and Oversight
- Transformation and Innovation
- Strategic Planning and Execution
- Process Improvement and Automation
- Team Leadership and Development
- Data Analysis and Reporting
- Relationship Building
- Business Management and Operations
Websites
Hobbies and Interests
- DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
- We Revolutionize Payments
- TEDx Talks
- Master Class
- Travel
- Basketball
Leadership Experience
Rotary International, 05/14, 06/18, Past President & Member, Led fundraising initiatives and coordinated outreach for annual fundraiser, growing donations by 40%.
Timeline
Payments Governance and Oversight Leader
Capital One
03.2021 - Current
Enterprise Wire Operations Manager
Capital One
12.2018 - 03.2021
Treasury Operations Manager
Capital One
07.2017 - 12.2018
Branch Manager, Assistant VP
People's United Bank
01.2014 - 01.2017
Operations Supervisor
Bank of America
Bachelor of Science - Business Management & Economics
Empire State College