In honor of International Women’s Day, Fintech Futures profiles several women in Fintech, including Enveil CEO Ellison Anne Williams.
Excerpt: Doctor of Mathematics with a master’s in computer science, Ellison Anne Williams went on to become a senior researcher at America’s National Security Agency. Some 12 years later, she decided to create and head up her own company, Enveil.
The Maryland-founded start-up, which allows banks to search and analyse data between jurisdictions, is backed by Mastercard, Capital One Ventures and Bloomberg. It works closely with regulators, as well as a host of European banks including HSBC, Barclays, and ING.
“Women pursuing [leadership] roles in our industry unfortunately still face a challenging path, particularly if that woman happens to be a mother,” explains Williams.
“When I first founded Enveil in 2016, I intentionally avoided talking about my family and the fact I have five children to remove the investor bias of ‘how can she possibly run a business and be a mum at the same time?’”
In a competitive fundraising environment, Williams didn’t want to risk anything that might impede potential backers’ opinions of her abilities as a technologist and entrepreneur.
“Does my role as a mother undermine my ability to be a successful founder? Absolutely not. Arguably it enhances it, but as most women who work in this space can attest, that is not always the reality of the situation.”
In Williams’ opinion, it’s been strange to come to terms with the fact her personal labels – in the eyes of some – take away from the list of substantive accomplishments which proceeds them.
“I’ve never aspired to be a successful woman in tech. I aspire to be a successful founder and CEO – all other labels excluded.”
Read the full piece at Fintech Futures.
