Inspired by a shared value of servant leadership and role models, the Celero Commerce executive team created a special award to recognize elite performers who exemplify the company’s values. Now, we are pleased to announce the first quarterly recipient of the Michael P. Duffy Leadership Award, Nicole Becher.
A 25-year veteran of Celero legacy company UMS Banking, Nicole currently serves as an Operations Project Manager, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Jeff Brown. During her time at the new Celero Commerce team, Nicole has become a key contributor for the operations team, leading PCI Aperia compliance and integration of the company’s partnership with Womply, a platform that brings reputation management and customer loyalty programs to the company’s thousands of merchants.
Celero’s leadership team created the Michael P. Duffy Leadership Award in honor of fintech industry legend Michael Duffy, who mentored many of Celero’s leaders earlier in their careers as they served in various positions at payments industry leader Chase Paymentech. The Duffy Award is driven by peer nominations, as colleagues recognize each other not only for performance, but also leadership, especially in exhibiting attributes that abide by company values like selflessness and teamwork.
In summarizing her nominations for the Duffy Award, Brown noted that Nicole is “a true culture carrier for Celero. You might think it would be difficult for someone so embedded in another corporate culture for more than two decades to shine in a new one so quickly, but Nicole has done just that. She genuinely cares about her co-workers, our partner banks, and our merchants. When she tells you she will do something, it’s done.”
“She is always the first to step up and take ownership of a project, and Nicole uses her knowledge of the industry, UMS, and Celero to her benefit and delivers projects on time and on budget.”
As a Duffy Award recipient, Nicole will be invited to attend Celero’s first Leadership Summit, to be held in the spring of 2021 at the company’s headquarters in Nashville. This annual event will convene leaders across our organization to celebrate their successes and mold future leaders of our organization by discussing strategy, new fintech trends, and Celero’s market position. The summit will include the four quarterly Duffy award recipients, as well as the company’s top 10 percent of performers in other departments. C-suite will lead the session and have some great Nashville entertainment planned for the group as well.
Nicole’s name will be the first engraved on a commemorative Duffy Award plaque at Celero’s corporate offices.
According to CEO Kevin Jones, quantifying Nicole’s honor means that she is a standard-setter for an emerging world-class company. “In a company of more than 100 team members, Nicole’s leadership and performance means that she represents Celero’s top one percent,” Kevin explained. “Her infectious energy and dedication to teamwork are setting a high bar for what we expect of each other here, myself included.”
Others nominated for the inaugural Duffy Award include Vice President of Marketing Lea Telonis, Manager of Training and Development Benji Allsep, and Tony Sandberg, Customer Success Manager at RazorSync. “I am committed to building a team that represents the top 10 percent of the fintech industry, and this group of people—Lea, Benji, Tony, and Nicole—encourages me that we can realize this goal as we continue to hire and grow.”
The next Duffy Award winner will be named in late April.