Julie Fergerson: Leading the Charge

Julie Fergerson started her career at McDonald’s working the drive-through, where she fell in love with customer interactions. Endowed with an inherent curiosity and a natural affinity for computers since the late ’70s, Julie found herself in the midst of brilliant minds in her first professional role. Guided by these luminaries, Julie immersed herself in the realms of technology, mastering Unix, mainframes, PCs, and networks.

Driven by an entrepreneurial spark, Julie established her own company in 1995 to facilitate online sales and capitalize on the emerging digital landscape. Her company thrived and soon attracted the attention of FIS, leading to its eventual acquisition.

Not content with her accomplishments thus far, Julie played an instrumental role in the establishment of the MRC (Merchant Risk Council), a non-profit organization dedicated to educating eCommerce retailers about the intricacies of online payments and combatting fraud. Building upon her experiences, she then ventured into her second startup, placing a stronger emphasis on preventing identity theft. This new endeavor caught the eye of Experian, resulting in yet another acquisition.

Undeterred by previous successes, Julie embarked on her third startup, spearheading the development of a disruptive tool that revolutionized the dispute resolution process for eCommerce merchants. Recognizing the potential of her creation, Mastercard swiftly acquired the company, and Julie then became the CEO of MRC the small non-profit she helped co-found early in her career.

Transforming the Industry

Established by Julie Fergerson, the MRC is a global non-profit membership association with a presence in the US, Europe and LATAM. It represents the voice of merchants and its mission is to enable eCommerce fraud prevention and payment professionals to collaborate, network and educate. While the majority of MRC’s membership is merchant based, the non-profit organization openly collaborates with all stakeholders across the payment value chain. Close collaboration between merchants, issuers, card networks, acquirers/processors, regulators and the full spectrum of fraud and payment service providers is the only way to solve fraud challenges, figure out new and easier ways for consumers to pay and unlock growth opportunities.

Leadership is Challenging

Recognizing the inherent challenges in leadership, Julie firmly believes in a key principle for achieving success – the ability to identify and acknowledge personal failures. To her, embracing these failures, examining them closely, and promptly implementing necessary adjustments through quick pivoting are paramount. Julie places great emphasis on the importance of recognizing one’s own failures without succumbing to self-delusion or false confidence. She views failure as a catalyst for innovation and growth, asserting that leaders who do not experience failure may be lacking in their capacity for innovation. Julie advocates for sending a resounding message to the entire team, underscoring the significance of taking calculated risks and exploring new approaches as the sole means of progress.

“The markets we operate in don’t stay ‘status quo’ for long, and we need to be able to change course quickly and create the sense of psychological safety that’s needed for an entire team to excel without fear,”– she explains.

Motivating Creativity and Innovation

As the founder of MRC, Julie has always worked to create an environment which is safe to fail, which helps removing the fear of failing and allows people to be more creative. In line with this philosophy, MRC recognizes and celebrates individuals and teams who has show the most creativity and innovation by awarding them the prestigious Penguin Award several times a year.

“The idea behind the first penguin award is if you are a penguin on the edge of the iceberg, with all the other penguins, who is the first one to jump into the water and swim to land? What risks are lurking under the surface? Will they all just freeze waiting on the iceberg? No one wants to go first… because maybe the first penguin will get eaten. And if they do get eaten then the others know not to jump in. So all the penguins just stand on the iceberg looking at each other,”- says Julie. “Until one brave penguin steps up. They are the ‘first penguin’ to jump into the unknown. And they make it to land safely! The other penguins decide to follow! And everyone moves forward. Or, maybe they don’t make it safely. And the other penguins now know they will get eaten if they jump in. Either way, someone had to take the first step.”

Tackling the Complexity of the Payment System

The greatest challenge Julie and her team face lies in the intricate nature of the payment ecosystem. Its inherent complexity renders change a double-edged sword, as the ripple effects across the ecosystem remain largely unforeseen, resulting in unintended consequences. Innovation, while pivotal, occasionally disrupts the delicate equilibrium. To navigate this challenge, the MRC assumes a crucial role as the representative voice of merchants™ within the payment industry. Armed with clear, fact-based communication, the MRC serves as a vital conduit, facilitating effective dialogue among various stakeholders such as card networks, regulators, issuers, acquirers, processors, and all the interconnected players within the ecosystem. By assuming this role, the MRC strives to foster a comprehensive understanding of merchant perspectives, working towards a harmonious collaboration that minimizes disruptions and maximizes the collective growth and stability of the payment landscape.

Looking at the Future

Julie and her team is now fully focused on creating a career path and education platform for people who wish to join the payment and fraud prevention industry. She also wants to continue to invest in critically important advocacy work that is proven to drive positive change in the industry.