MY CAREER IN SIX SPOTLIGHT
YVONNE TAN
VP Commercial APAC
Worldpay
Sharing her career journey by answering the six questions below.
Who or what has been your biggest source of inspiration throughout your career?
The people that I work with who have demonstrated humility in their leadership, integrity, resilience, and a genuine passion for what they do. Early in my career, I had a leader who showed me what it means to lead with both empathy and strength, which shaped the way I approach challenges and manage teams today.
Beyond the amazing leaders and teams that I’ve had the privilege to work with, I am also inspired by the constant evolution in the payments industry—the pace of innovation and the opportunity to solve those challenges keeps me motivated to continue to collaborate within the industry to drive impact for the community we serve.
Would you say your success is primarily due to luck or hard work?
I would say a combination of both, but primarily hard work. Consistency, adaptability, and resilience have played the biggest roles in where I am today. That said, I fully acknowledge that timing, opportunities, and the people I have crossed paths with—which some might call ‘luck’—have also made a difference. I believe luck only becomes meaningful when you are prepared to take advantage of it, and that preparation comes with hard work.
What is the driving force behind your career aspirations?
It’s my genuine passion for the industry, leading, helping others, problem-solving, and a desire to make an impact that drives my journey forward. I have been in the payments business for over 18 years and have seen how fundamental it is for businesses—online or offline—to have a trusted payments partner that helps them navigate the complexities of payments and supports their strategic growth to ensure a secure, seamless, digital payment journey for their customers.
Optimizing and maximizing successful payment transactions, and leveraging insights to better manage their business, is what excites me. I’ve been very lucky to have great leaders and colleagues to learn from, and they are what motivate me to keep going after the next big challenge.
At the end of the day, it’s all about bringing it all together to create meaningful impact for the team and the community or customers we serve.
If given the chance to do one thing differently in your career, what would it be and why?
The one thing I would do differently would be not to chase a promotion just for the promotion’s sake, but rather focus on learning, development, and growing comfortably into the next level. The next big role will come when you are already operating at that level.
This was the biggest learning for me. Jumping into a promotion opportunity because it was a director role was exciting at first, but soon I realized I wasn’t enjoying the role. Being miserable doing what I had to do really affected my mental wellness. It took a lot of courage to recognize that and to make the decision to leave the role. Looking back, this was probably the best decision I made, as it allowed me to take a step back, reflect, and reset my path forward to be more conscious and deliberate in the next role that came my way.
What was your most favourite job/role and why?
My current role at Worldpay is by far my favourite job so far because I truly feel that I am making a difference and bringing impact to our business and our team by being my authentic self—leading with empathy, transparency, and clarity.
The biggest bonus for me is that I get to work with people I have known and trusted, who are equally passionate about payments, being the best at what we do, and taking pride in delivering on our commitments to our customers.
We share a very strong culture of putting the customer at the centre of what we do, taking ownership to drive toward an outcome, and collaborating to win as a team. This is why I love what I do.
Do you have a favourite motto or quote that guides your professional life?
People are your greatest asset—invest in them, empower them, and they’ll drive the business forward.