Citi’s Arlene Ennis discusses her work leading the technology build supporting the company’s digital consumer payments initiative.
Arlene Ennis works as the global chief technology officer for Spring by Citi, the company’s digital consumer payments initiative within its treasury and trade solutions technology division.
She has almost 20 years of experience in financial services, a bachelor’s degree in software engineering and an MBA from Dublin City University.
Ennis joined Citi in 2002 and has held roles in operations, customer delivery and technology. She also supports several initiatives aimed at young people and women in technology.
“I constantly evaluate the e-commerce experiences I personally have”
– ARLENE ENNIS
If so, can you describe a typical day at work?
I wish that was a typical day in my role as it varies from day to day. But usually I’m in the office three days a week, remote two. I have many meetings during the day as I have teams in India, EMEA and North America, so depending on the time of day I will be interacting with different colleagues.
Zoom, Teams chat and email are the tools I use throughout the day. I manage my workload by prioritizing what really needs to be done and is achievable on any given day or week. I usually have a list on a Monday with four or five important things to accomplish during the week, and that helps me focus on what’s important.
What kind of projects do you work on?
I have worked on large technology projects in recent years. I currently lead the technology build supporting Citi’s digital consumer payments initiative.
I really enjoy leading this project as e-commerce was a new domain for me and I have learned so much in the last three years.
As a new technical implementation, it has been very energizing for me and the team to build an e-commerce solution from scratch. The freedom to create a modern technology stack with no legacy to contend with has been an amazing experience.
I get great personal satisfaction as more and more clients take advantage of this solution and are proud of everything the Spring by Citi team has achieved to date.
What skills do you use on a daily basis?
On a daily basis, it’s about people, people, people – building and managing positive relationships, open communication, negotiations and project implementation.
When I started working on the digital consumer payments project, there was a small core team. However, over the past two years we have had to scale significantly and the team has grown exponentially.
I really had to focus on my delegation skills, building the confidence and competence of the people in my team to take on additional responsibilities and grow in their own careers. I spend a lot of my time building the core competencies of my team through delegation, so my team has a voice and I don’t become a bottleneck moving forward!
What are the hardest parts of your workday?
The hardest part of my day is saying goodbye to my kids in the morning, they would much prefer if I stayed home and played with them all day. Since my kids are young, there have been several tearful mornings, which can take their toll and is not a great way to start anyone’s day.
When I’m at work, back-to-back meetings can take a toll, and as an introvert, I need time in the day to have some non-meeting time. This allows me to recharge my energy and focus during the day.
Since I spend most of my working day communicating with other people, I always try to maintain a positive outlook and a sense of humor with my colleagues. I think this can make the most challenging days a little better for everyone.
Do you have any productivity tips to help you through the day?
If you’re leading a team, I really believe in investing in your people. It is so important to support them in their career growth by delegating effectively to them. This enables them to grow and frees up time for you as you build the trust and capacity of your team.
I get a lot of email and meeting traffic and I tend to delegate this and “step out” of things that can and should be managed by someone on my team.
I’m also a big believer in the power of a list and use pencil and paper every day to keep track of important things that need to be done.
What skills and tools do you use to communicate daily with your colleagues?
During the pandemic, everything was Zoom, and I think everyone had to adapt to building relationships remotely. In the years that travel has opened up, I have traveled to meet people in person and strengthen relationships and improve communication.
It’s also been great to be back in the office and talk to people in person, as you connect with a wider network of colleagues and have the ‘water cooler’ discussions.
How has this role changed as this sector has grown and developed?
My current role is always evolving to support new payment concepts and technology that support digital consumer payments.
It is exciting to consider how people pay for things globally. This varies from market to market considering cards, digital wallets, alternative payment methods, bank transfers, instant payments etc. and even looking at the future of biometric payments, will people pay with their fingerprint or palm?
It’s an ever-changing landscape, and my role evolves with it as we develop digital payment solutions for Citi’s customers.
What do you like best about the job?
The people and the opportunities. I really enjoy working with my team, colleagues and partners. I am lucky to work with different people from all over the world and they are great to work with.
I love e-commerce and the possibilities of how payments and the underlying technology that supports this domain is evolving. It’s so exciting and I find myself evaluating my personal e-commerce experiences and considering how it could be better for me and a merchant.
What could be better to get me to spend more? Did I abandon my shopping when the checkout experience was painful? I really love online shopping!
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