Maria Saykova for Women Who Grow

Bio: Maria Saykova is Vice President of Product Support at Paysafe, where she leads strategic partner management, product distribution, and commercial support across key customer segments. Her role centers on driving growth through strong partner ecosystems, operational discipline, and data-driven decision-making.

With more than a decade at Paysafe, Maria has worked at the intersection of product, regulation, and commercial execution — aligning strategy with measurable outcomes in a complex, evolving market. What 15 Years in One Company Teach You About Growth, Change and Resilience

You’ve spent more than a decade in one company - something that’s becoming

increasingly rare today. What initially attracted you to Paysafe, and what made

you stay?

- I was referred to Paysafe by a friend of mine who worked in engineering at the time. It was 2009 and I was still a student, looking for flexible working hours, a dynamic environment and smart people to learn from. What kept me here was Paysafe's evolution and the opportunities our company offers for internal career development. Our environment keeps changing - new markets, new leadership, new priorities, new challenges. I’ve never had the same job twice, even when the title looked similar.

What role did internal mobility and new challenges play in keeping you

motivated?

- Internal mobility isn’t about changing job titles; it’s about exposure, stepping outside of your comfort zone, and pushing your own boundaries. I’ve moved across customer service, product, UX, and process, and recently taken on a slightly different role in product support and partner management. Change has always motivated me and I am happy that Paysafe creates an environment that encourages internal moves.

Can you share a moment when you felt you were truly stepping outside your

comfort zone – and what you learned from it?

- When I led consumer duty embeddedness (a UK regulation that focuses on good customer outcomes and fairness), I took responsibility for areas where I couldn’t control everything, and the domain required extensive regulatory knowledge. In regulated environments, such as fintech, you quickly realise you’re accountable for outcomes that depend on teams you don’t directly manage, such as legal, compliance, marketing, and operations. The lesson: sometimes growth comes when you drive change with collaboration and influence.

How important is company culture when it comes to long-term commitment?

What aspects of Paysafe’s culture have made a real difference for you over the

years?

- Culture determines whether you grow or stagnate. For me, it comes down to two

aspects that feel unique at Paysafe.

First, the opportunity to learn from others. Whether through formal mentorship programs or simply working alongside experienced colleagues across functions and markets, there’s a strong culture of sharing knowledge. Continuous learning has been essential to my growth.

Second, collaboration and team spirit, particularly when facing market and regulatory headwinds, complex customer challenges, or high-pressure incidents. When things are difficult, people step in and help each other. I have experienced this in the early days of my journey at Paysafe, when the scale of the company was much smaller and I still experience it today, even as Paysafe has grown to more than 3,000 employees across 12+ countries.

Looking ahead, what still excites you about the road forward?

- What excites me is helping people step out of their comfort zones — moving from reacting to change to shaping it. That means strengthening individual creativity and decision-making, while using AI to fuel speed and productivity. The next phase of growth will be defined by how well we strike the right balance between human insight, critical thinking, data, and smart technology.