How
did
you
get
started
in
the
payments
industry?
What
led
you
to
that
career
choice?
Nancy
Zayed:
My
background
is
in
operating
systems
and
video
engineering.
It
doesn’t
explain
how
I
winded
up
in
the
payments
industry,
but
it
does
explain
the
approach
I
took
to
designing
a
security
technology
in
the
payments
industry:
I
came
at
it
from
a
very
different
angle
and
my
team
just
made
it
even
better.
MagicCube
was
founded
to
solve
for
security
of
payments
by
creating
the
concept
of
Software
Defined
Trust
(SDT)
rather
than
religiously
rely
on
hardware
or
accept
that
the
current
methods
for
payment
security
are
immutable
rules.
Who
has
been
your
biggest
role
model
in
shaping
your
career
path?
Nancy
Zayed:
I
may
be
repeating
something
I
shared
publicly
before,
but
I
think
very
highly
of
Angela
Merkel,
the
ex-German
Chancellor,
who
is
actually
a
quantum
chemist.
The
fact
that
she
is
tough
as
nails,
passionate
of
vision,
true
to
her
core
values
of
realism
and
human
dignity
and
just
fearless
made
her,
to
me,
a
model
and
an
inspiration.
But
before
Angela
Merkel,
the
foundation
for
any
career
path
was
laid
by
my
father
and
my
school
principal
(K-12):
They
both
instilled
in
me
to
never
be
afraid
of
hard
work
and
the
importance
of
pride
of
craftsmanship.
When
I
was
at
Apple,
it
was
then
that
the
sense
of
“pride
of
craftsmanship”
was
taken
to
a
whole
new
level
just
by
following
and
observing
the
leadership
of
Steve
Jobs
and
how
he
brought
Apple
from
the
brink
of
near-bankruptcy
back
to
its
role
as
a
beacon
for
technology
and
a
company
that
raised
the
bar
for
a
whole
industry.
What
is
your
proudest
accomplishment
in
your
career
to
date?
Nancy
Zayed:
MagicCube
is,
by
far,
the
proudest
accomplishment
in
my
career,
to
date.
I
couldn’t
have
been
more
proud
of
what
my
team
and
I
accomplished,
the
day
EMVCo
recognized
MagicCube’s
virtual
TEE
as
the
first
(to
my
knowledge
the
only
so
far)
software
based
trusted
execution
environment.
Having
said
that,
I
am
also
proud
to
have
helped
secure
Apple’s
second
Emmy
presented
by
the
Academy
of
Television
Arts
and
Sciences
on
the
Primetime
Engineering
Award
category
for
the
company’s
efforts
and
impact
on
the
television
industry.
Do
you
notice
a
lack
of
women
in
technology?
If
so,
why
do
you
think
that
is
the
case?
Nancy
Zayed:
Sadly,
I
do!
I
can
tell
you
that
it’s
widely
recognized
through
some
studies
from
organizations
and
foundations
such
as
AAUW,
Microsoft,
and
the
National
Science
Foundation
that
there
is
a
significant
underrepresentation
of
women
in
Science,
Technology,
Engineering,
and
Math
(STEM),
especially
in
certain
technical
roles
and
leadership
positions.
There
are
many
factors
that
contribute
to
this
imbalance.
There
is
the
unspoken
reality
that
the
current
professional
models
and
molds
were
designed
by
men
for
men
–
not
out
of
intentional
gender
discrimination,
but
rather
by
virtue
of
the
fact
that
until
the
mid-20th
century,
the
workforce
was
largely
men.
As
more
and
more
women
joined
the
workforce
in
all
industries,
we
focused
on
making
advances
along
the
obvious
roads
to
equality
but
lost
sight
of
the
less
obvious.
There
are
also
the
unconscious
biases,
lack
of
role
models
and
mentors,
and
a
“bro”
culture
that
is
never
inclusive
or
supportive
of
women
or
their
needs.
In
general,
women
in
technology
are
in
every
way
as
productive
and
innovative
as
men.
They
just
work
differently
as
women,
especially
working
moms,
having
to
be
“master
jugglers”
to
take
care
of
their
homes,
their
families,
and
their
work.
Many
women
in
the
tech
industry
have
felt
that
their
gender
has
affected
the
way
that
they
are
perceived
or
treated.
Is
‘unconscious
bias’
holding
women
back
in
the
workplace
and,
if
so,
what
can
women
do
about
it?
Nancy
Zayed:
I
would
like
to
tell
women
in
the
software
industry,
generally,
that
nobody
will
give
you
anything
if
you
don’t
ask
and
even
fight
for
it.
You
have
to
be
vocal.
You’ve
got
to
show
your
ambition
and
not
apologize
for
it.
The
only
intimidation
we
must
conquer
is
the
one
that
we
impose
on
ourselves.
“Bias”
withers
away
when
we
stare
it
down.
It’s
also
important
to
acknowledge
and
recognize
the
many
facets
of
your
true
nature.
For
example,
even
if
you
identify
as
a
nurturing
person,
you
can
still
be
the
ambitious
STEM
professional
in
your
place
of
employment,
but
also
involved
in
your
community
to
satisfy
the
nurturer
in
you.
What
do
you
see
as
the
future
for
women
in
technology
roles/payments
industry?
Nancy
Zayed:
We
need
to
keep
reminding
ourselves
that
women
have
always
affected
this
industry
and
lead
innovation.
The
examples
are
many.
Look
up
the
Ada
programming
language
and
you
will
learn
about
Ada
Lovelace
who
is
credited
with
the
first
computer
program
almost
a
century
before
the
German
engineer
and
computer
pioneer
Konrad
Zuse.
Grace
Brewster
Hopper
was
an
American
computer
scientist,
mathematician,
and
United
States
Navy
rear
admiral
who
invented
one
of
the
first
linkers.
Knowing
women’s
role
in
the
history
of
technology
will
propel
our
future.
I
believe
and
hope
that
more
and
more
women
will
play
more
roles
in
the
payments
industry
as
I
am
starting
to
see
some
increase
in
women
getting
interested
in
software
engineering.
After
all,
it’s
women
that
are
the
key
driver
for
consumer
spending,
which
keeps
the
economy
going.
Were
you
given
any
advice
during
your
career
that
has
stuck
with
you?
As
a
result,
do
you
have
a
personal
mantra
or
a
famous
quote
that
you
live
by?
Nancy
Zayed:
“Don’t
let
the
noise
of
others’
opinions
drown
out
your
own
inner
voice.”
–
Steve
Jobs
What
advice
would
you
impart
to
other
women
about
how
to
succeed
in
the
payment
industry
or
in
a
technology-based
field
in
general?
What
advice
would
you
give
to
your
younger
self?
Nancy
Zayed:
Be
assertive
and
confident.
Just
because
you
don’t
know
something,
it
doesn’t
mean
you’re
less.
I
guarantee
you
that
there
is
at
least
one
other
man
in
that
same
meeting
who
also
doesn’t
know.
Raise
flags
if
something
is
not
adding
up
for
you.
Chances
are
something
is
wrong.
If
there
is
nothing
wrong,
then
you
will
have
learned
something
(i.e.,
your
value
just
increased!).
Please
remember
that
life
comes
in
chapters.
It
is
never
too
late.
It
is
a
lie
that
you
can
either
be
a
mom
or
a
STEM
professional.
It’s
just
not
true.
As
for
my
younger
self,
I’d
tell
her
all
the
above
and
ask
her
to
be
more
vocal.
I’d
emphasize
to
her
the
importance
of
developing
her
support
network
for
personal
and
for
professional
needs.
Finally,
I
want
all
women
to
remember
to
extend
equal
opportunity
to
good
women
candidates
and
to
NOT
forget
to
support
the
men
who
support
the
women.
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