Inspired by a shared value of servant leadership and role models, the Celero Commerce executive team created a special award late last year to recognize elite performers who exemplify the company’s values. Now, we are pleased to announce the third quarterly recipient of the Michael P. Duffy Leadership Award, Karo Torosyan.
A 16-year veteran of Celero legacy company UMS Banking, Karo currently serves as Senior Director of Infrastructure for Celero Commerce. During his time working with the unified Celero Commerce team, Karo has been a “true culture carrier since day one,” according to Celero Commerce CEO Kevin Jones. “Karo has worked tirelessly to drive material change for Celero on a number of fronts. His work isn’t easy in normal times, but to accomplish what Karo has during a period marked by a global pandemic and civil unrest is truly extraordinary.”
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.
“I can’t say enough about Karo’s value to this company,” Charlie Berard, Chief Technology Officer, explained. “Karo and his team were instrumental in our COVID-19 response, quickly enabling the whole company to work remotely. In addition, he moved four legacy companies into multiple, unified technology systems to make our operations and communications more cohesive and efficient. Perhaps most importantly, Karo successfully led our annual PCI audit for the legacy UMS Banking Unit, even earning special recognition from the assigned Qualified Security Assessor for his preparation and responsiveness.”
As a Duffy Award recipient, Karo 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 executives will lead the session and have some great Nashville entertainment planned for the group as well.
Karo’s name will be engraved on a commemorative Duffy Award plaque, joining previous honorees Nicole Becher and Abigail Lucier, at Celero’s corporate offices.
According to Jones, quantifying Karo’s honor means that he is now part of a select group of standard-setters for an emerging world-class company. “In a company of more than 100 team members, Karo’s leadership and performance means that he represents Celero’s top one percent,” Kevin explained. “It’s a great honor for him, and it’s an honor for everyone at Celero to work alongside someone of Karo’s caliber.”
The next Duffy Award winner will be named in November.