“If you’re not making a decision where you feel nervous or uncomfortable, you’re probably not playing the game hard enough,” says Stephanie Ferris, Chief Executive Officer and President of Fidelity National Information Services (FIS).
That mindset took center stage in April, when FIS announced a $24.25 billion deal to sell Worldpay to Global Payments—marking one of the biggest fintech transactions of the year.
The deal is a three-way reshuffling of assets: Global Payments will sell its issuer solutions unit—offering card processing and account services—to FIS for $13.5 billion, while simultaneously acquiring Worldpay from FIS and private equity firm GTCR. It’s a bold move in a market that typically favors caution.
For Ferris, the decision wasn’t made lightly. But in a moment when volatility keeps many legacy players on the sidelines, she saw opportunity.
“If you know strategically what you’re doing is the right thing—no matter what’s going to happen in the market—you move forward,” Ferris told me in an interview.
Sure, it’s easier to move in calm waters—but in today’s environment, calm is rarely an option. The day before FIS announced this deal, interest rate news rattled the markets.
“It was scary, but we trusted our partners, knew the outcomes would benefit our clients, and believed in the strategy,” she said. “At that point, you leap.”
A Big Bet on Focus
The Worldpay deal isn’t just a sale. It’s a signal: fintech is moving away from sprawling portfolios toward focused specialization.
For FIS, this sale allows the company to focus on its core: serving financial institutions with issuer and banking infrastructure while cementing its status as a scaled fintech leader with global reach.
“Financial services are no longer just transactional,” Ferris said. “They’re experiential.” And to deliver those seamless experiences—from onboarding to real-time payments—companies need modern infrastructure and maniacal focus.
That’s exactly what FIS is doubling down on. By reacquiring its issuer solutions business, it’s trading a non-cash-generating minority stake for recurring revenue, EBITDA growth, and an estimated $500 million in free cash flow in the first year post-close, according to the company.
The move also unlocks real cross-sell potential: combining FIS’s debit processing with Global’s credit capabilities.
The Strategy Behind the Fintech Shake-Up
So how does a fintech CEO build conviction around a $24 billion transaction?
“I analyze everything,” Ferris said.
Ferris has a finance background. She’s data-driven, analytical, and methodical. But when making decisions of this scale, her process isn’t just about spreadsheets.
“I do a ton of analysis—market, customer, financial, investor,” she said. “I know what the textbook academic answer is.”
However, her decision-making process also includes instinct and empathy. She talks to her board, her leadership team, and even takes long walks to weigh big moves. “Why wouldn’t we do this? What are we afraid of? If it still feels right, that’s your answer,” she said.
And perhaps most importantly: she listens. “The higher up you go, the more listening you do,” she said.
That blend of rigor and intuition has shaped Ferris’s rise—and defined her leadership.
Since becoming CEO of FIS in 2022—one of the country’s largest financial firms, processing more than $12 trillion annually—she’s led the company through structural shifts, strategic pivots, and now one of the industry’s most closely watched carve-outs.
What made this latest move stand out? It was, in her words, a “win-win-win.” FIS streamlines its business. Global Payments becomes a merchant services powerhouse. And GTCR, the private equity firm that bought a majority stake in Worldpay just two years ago, walks away with a tidy return and a 15% stake in the newly combined company.
Leading in Public—and in Private
Ferris is also refreshingly transparent about what it means to lead under pressure. During the final days of negotiating the deal, she was in Cancun on a long-promised mother-daughter trip.
The timeline was tight. The market was volatile. “But I told my team, I’m not missing this moment with my daughter,” she said.
She calls this balance “feeding the human.” It’s not about work-life equilibrium—it’s about presence–showing up for what matters on any given day, whether that’s a $24 billion deal or your kid’s spring break.
“You just have to chop wood and keep moving,” Ferris said. “And sometimes, that means doing both.”
That mindset has served her through multiple major transitions at FIS—from splitting businesses to reshaping investor strategy. And she’s not done yet.
Big Fintech Meets Small Innovators
The Worldpay sale sets the stage for a new era in fintech—one where big companies aren’t trying to do everything, but instead doing a few things extraordinarily well. Ferris is clear about her playbook: focus on high-growth verticals like payments, digital, and lending.
“This is our big payments play,” she said. “I hope people aren’t surprised by what we’re doing—because we’re staying aligned to our strategy.”
That discipline is matched by decisiveness.
“The worst thing in business is not making a decision,” Ferris said. “Try to make a decision quickly and with conviction. They’re not all going to be right, and you can fix it the next day if it’s wrong.”
She’s also bullish on partnership.
“I love that fintech has both legacy players and tons of small innovators,” she said. “The small players keep the big ones from getting complacent.”
That big-meets-small dynamic shapes how she leads FIS. “If I can’t build it fast enough and someone else can, I’ll partner with them or buy them and bring them into the FIS family,” she said.
In fintech, it’s not big versus small. It’s innovation versus stagnation. And Ferris is making sure FIS is on the right side of that equation.
Looking Ahead: AI, Collaboration, and Lessons for Fintech Leaders
Ferris is deeply interested in what’s next. And for her, that’s Gen AI and Agentic AI.
“It’s the internet of our generation,” she said. “The tech changes we’ll see in the next year are going to be amazing.”
FIS is helping teams and clients adopt AI to improve infrastructure and customer experience. But the core approach remains: Buy. Build. Partner.
“I want to see exponential innovation—driven not just by next-gen players, but by legacy and emerging firms working together,” she said.
Whether it’s enabling the next wave of digital currency or tackling fraud and identity challenges as money moves faster across digital rails, collaboration is key.
For Ferris, staying sharp means staying informed. She’s a voracious reader—three cups of coffee deep before the sun is fully up and a lineup of Bloomberg, The Economist, and the Wall Street Journal in hand.
“For me to serve my clients and be a good leader for 50,000 people around the world, I have to understand people’s perspectives on everything,” she said.
It’s a lesson in curiosity, empathy, and readiness—one that resonates far beyond FIS headquarters.
As the fintech industry recalibrates—shifting from growth-at-all-costs to sustainable, focused models—leaders like Ferris are proving that clarity beats chaos, and conviction beats hesitation.
“You don’t have to make perfect decisions,” she said. “You just have to make the right ones for right now—and be willing to fix it if you’re wrong.”
With $24 billion on the table and the fintech world watching, Ferris is redefining what bold, strategic leadership looks like in an uncertain market—and proving that the women at the top aren’t just holding the line. They’re moving it forward.
In a market starved for clarity, her strategy is refreshingly direct: chop wood, carry water, make bold moves.
And when the moment comes?
She leaps.
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