When interviewing Nancy Langer over the phone, it becomes apparent that the newly appointed president and chief operating officer of financial technology company Zafin is accustomed to handling business over long distances.
“I’ve travelled my whole career; you just make it work,” Langer told Business in Vancouver from her office in Toronto. “We are a growing company, so you just roll with it. We have an office in London, some business in Asia, but the lion’s share is in Toronto and Vancouver.”
Langer will only make it to Zafin’s headquarter offices in Vancouver once a month.
Most of the time she will handle operations from the company’s Toronto location, which is its largest office in North America.
Zafin is a Vancouver-based fintech that provides banking software to clients like Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of the West, Nedbank.
Had it not been for her previous role at Fidelity National Information Services (FIS)(NYSE:FIS), Langer might never have stumbled across Zafin.
Langer said her company was undergoing major changes in its products and Internet presence at the time and was looking for software to help automate the offering of products and setting of prices online.
“We selected Zafin because we determined that we could build it out in time to be competitive,” Langer said. “We did a partnership with Zafin, and then ultimately I ended up joining the board, then joining the company and leaving FIS for what was a nice change of pace to a smaller company with a lot of potential that was B.C.-backed.”
Zafin’s flagship miRevenue software allows banks to customize services, control billing, track product use, manage loyalty programs and set prices according to what is known in the industry as “relationship pricing,” a framework based on a customer’s purchases and circumstances, rather than on a product-by-product basis.
“The core product [for Zafin] is rich in terms of both corporate and retail capabilities,” Langer said.
“With corporate, we have a number of clients that use this for anything from traditional billing to sophisticated relationship pricing.
“On the retail side, we have more interest in relationship pricing, which is important for digital. Delivering the right product at the right place at the right time – that’s really what Zafin does.
“It allows banks to relationship price but also do analytics, drive [marketing] offers and loyalty [programs].”
Langer’s extensive background in product management has made her a strong leader in business development.
During her tenure at FIS, she learned the finer points of product strategies, which led to her taking on the role of chief product officer. She ran a number of product lines in addition to handling a broad range of other responsibilities.
After 17 years with FIS and its predecessor, Metavante Technologies Inc., Langer switched gears and entered the rush of the startup sphere, working for Billeo Inc. in Silicon Valley as president and Carreker Corp. in Dallas as president of payment consulting.
“Working at a smaller company, where you can lead and really make a difference in how a company gets to the next level – for me that’s exciting,” Langer said. “Moving quickly and being part of a highly dynamic environment is where I like to be.”
She also worked for Wausau Financial Systems Inc., another startup company, serving as president. Langer ran all the business lines during the time when the federal Check 21 legislation was just taking off in the United States and financial technology was moving into the mainstream.
“I’ve always liked to be where you have leading-edge technology that fits what market trends are,” she said.
Langer was born in Milwaukee, which she likes to call “the northern suburb of Chicago.”
She earned her bachelor’s degree in management information services from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Langer also attended Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and took MBA classes at DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management.
“We still have a home [in Milwaukee], and that’s really where my career began,” said Langer. “I’ve always been located there or a place in Jacksonville and commuted to wherever I needed to be.”
Being a strong leader has been in Langer’s blood since she was young. It’s a trait that also translates to her personal life.
“It’s really all about being a good role model for your kids and helping them advance in their careers and in life,” she said. “That’s my first and foremost role as a parent.”
Because of her hectic travel schedule, family time is paramount when she isn’t working.
“I have a daughter in Chicago, a son in Milwaukee and a husband that works for FIS, so I try to spend as much time with the family as I can,” she said.
In what little time is left over, Langer is an avid runner and golfer.
