A willingness to step sideways and occasionally even backwards to move forwards has defined the unconventional career of Sara Savidge. From helping to shape the payments value chain during the dotcom era and leading growth and global expansion for many of the world’s largest payment processors, to the helm of Killorglin-based fintech Fexco International Payments as CEO, her journey showcases resilience, innovation and adaptability. Originally published in Business Plus online on 14th October 2025.
Savidge credits her network, grassroots leadership, and pragmatic self-awareness for shaping her leadership and governance expertise. These qualities have enabled her to lead transformative change across complex, multi-stakeholder payments ecosystems for almost three decades.
She also cites the value of her membership with the Institute of Directors (IoD) Ireland and believes access to a senior director community with professional development opportunities has supported her as leader and enhanced her governance expertise. Her finance career began straight from secondary school with Barclays Bank where she worked in various roles. From a young age, Savidge had a passion for sales, earning extra pocket money breeding rabbits and chickens to sell in her local village. “I’m proud to be a salesgirl by trade,” she says modestly. My payments career started in the ‘90s, pounding London streets selling point-of-sale machines during a period of rapid industry change, demanding grit and entrepreneurial spirit.”
Building a Career in Ireland
After 16 years at Barclays, her husband’s career move brought the family to Ireland—a lifestyle decision that also posed career challenges. “The skills I had built weren’t in high demand locally in County Wexford, so I took a year out to build a house, integrate with the community and spend quality time with my young children. This had been time I felt I had missed out on in the early years due to the pressure, as many new mums face, balancing career with motherhood.”
Following various leadership positions with a couple of Irish financial institutions, the Irish Banking Crisis opened a career defining opportunity for her in 2010, as Savidge made the conscious decision to step back into a Corporate Sales role, joining AIB Merchant Services. “Payments had always pulled me like a magnet. It’s a constantly evolving field full of potential, and AIBMS had an ambitious growth agenda I was excited to be part of.”
When the chance arose to broaden her scope, she moved across to the global payments powerhouse parent First Data, now Fiserv, to help accelerate their global expansion strategy in EMEA. After 10 years with the Fiserv family, she later served as CRO at TransferMate and Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Payments, deepening her global expertise before joining Fexco International Payments as CEO in 2023.
The Fexco Group, with nearly 3,000 employees serving clients and partners in over 50 countries, combines global scale with entrepreneurial spirit, fostering innovation and customercentric solutions, a perfect fit for Savidge’s leadership style.
Leadership Style and Outlook
Savidge’s leadership blends adaptability, hands-on experience, and a pragmatic approach forged across diverse industries and geographies. “My perspective balances the complexity and scale of global payment giants like Barclays, JP Morgan and Fiserv with the agility of a FinTech and the ability to meet the ever-evolving demands of customers.” She describes her style as growth-oriented, people focused, and innovation-driven, but grounded in her early sales grit of delivering bottom-line sales growth.
Savidge highlights the fact that she has built a career on listening, learning, and evolving, renowned for staying calm and centred in chaos while guiding others through change, not by having all the answers, but by asking better and sometimes quite provocative questions. For Savidge, the CEO role continues to evolve into a dynamic, multi-dimensional position.
“A CEO today must be a visionary change agent,” she explains, “They must be a lifelong learner to avoid stagnation which is why the best CEO’s use data to guide decisions, lead with strong values and respect while building teams who embrace collaboration, innovation, and accountability to drive sustainable growth. Self-awareness is critical in leadership” she continues “knowing your strengths and where others shine is one of the most important skills a CEO can have. Identifying, growing and empowering people who are smarter than you is essential: it ensures succession and the right foundations are laid for the next generation.”
The Role of Boards
Savidge highlights the powerful role of effective Boards beyond governance and accountability, “The difference between a good Board and a great Board lies in their ability to go beyond statutory requirements to act as a powerful enabler of high performance and forward-looking. Her message is strong that “Diversity is key, the best boards foster inclusive, transparent dialogue and welcome constructive criticism and dissent.”
Her IoD Ireland membership and experience has expanded her views on governance and boardroom dynamics. “A strong board should drive innovation, resilience, and stewardship that helps organisations adapt and thrive amid change.”
Reflecting on her own journey, she says, “Being part of the IoD Ireland community has helped me transition from executive leadership to Board membership by building, refining, and sharpening my governance skills.”
Championing Diversity and Inclusion
While women make up around half the financial services workforce, senior leadership and Board representation remains limited. Savidge, with nearly three decades in the industry, believes “There has never been a better time to be a woman in payments. Innovation is breaking down barriers and creating real opportunities for all underrepresented groups to lead, influence, and shape the future of this sector.”
She adds, “Industry networks and communities provide vital mentorship, career development, and a sense of empowerment, which is why I continue to champion and drive meaningful change”. Savidge is clear that when diverse voices come together, the entire industry benefits from richer ideas and stronger leadership. She credits these growing networks and communities, along with visible diverse role models for progress.
For Savidge, an Advisory Board Member, Mentor, regular Keynote Speaker and Panellist for multiple industry forums, says “Diversity isn’t just about gender, it’s about all the ways we’re different, which could be age, background, education, culture, experiences, beliefs, values, and identity. “It’s about embracing all those unique perspectives that make teams stronger, smarter, and more creative.” Savidge concludes, “I’ve seen firsthand how diverse teams consistently outperform, it’s vital for business success and innovation.”
Looking Back
Savidge reflects on her career sideways and backward steps as crucial slingshot moments, occasionally for self-care and family, at other times for career growth, and filling important skillset gaps. “Sometimes you need to step back to catapult forward personally and professionally. Perhaps another path would have brought me here sooner, but I wouldn’t have the life skills, successes and scars or perspectives I have now, so to be honest, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Looking ahead, Savidge will continue to leverage the invaluable resources and support of IoD Ireland.
“Through continuous learning and a strong peer network, IoD Ireland equips leaders with essential governance skills, board readiness, and amplifies diverse voices, all crucial for Ireland’s business future and long-term resilience. Being part of this community means staying ahead in a fast-changing world, leading with confidence, and shaping organisations that thrive today and tomorrow.”
This article is the view of the author(s) and does not necessarily reflect IoD Ireland’s policy or position.
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