Woodforest Acceptance Solutions Appoints Natalia Leonardis as Chief Revenue Officer

16-year payments industry veteran to drive revenue strategy as WAS scales its acquiring platform

Woodforest Acceptance Solutions (WAS), a leading payments technology company focused on modernizing the acquiring ecosystem through its innovative Switch-to-Issuer model and ISV platform, today announced the appointment of Natalia Leonardis as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).

Leonardis joins WAS with more than 16 years of experience in payments, merchant acquisition, SaaS enterprise sales, and go-to-market strategy. She will lead the company’s revenue organization and growth initiatives as WAS continues to expand its footprint across the payments ecosystem.

A recognized leader in fintech and payments, Leonardis built her foundation through leadership roles at Nationwide Payment Solutions and Merchant Services Inc. before joining CardFlight in 2013 as the company’s first sales hire. During her tenure, she helped scale the company from an emerging startup into an industry-recognized payments technology provider, ultimately serving as Senior Vice President of Business Development. In that role, she developed and expanded CardFlight’s partner ecosystem while establishing relationships with ten of the world’s top twenty acquirers.

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Beyond her executive leadership experience, Leonardis has been an active contributor to the payments industry. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Mobile Payments Committee for the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) and previously served as a Rising Star Advisor and Co-Chair of NYC LINC for the Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet), where she championed mentorship and professional development initiatives for women in fintech.

Her contributions have earned significant industry recognition, including ETA’s Forty Under 40 Award in 2019 and Wnet’s Emerging Trendsetter Award in 2014.
“Natalia’s combination of payments expertise, strategic vision, and proven ability to build high-performing commercial organizations makes her an ideal addition to our leadership team,” said Todd Linden, Chief Executive Officer of Woodforest Acceptance Solutions. “As we continue transforming the acquiring landscape through our Switch-to-Issuer model and intelligent payments infrastructure, Natalia’s leadership will help accelerate our growth, deepen our partner relationships, and further establish WAS as a category-defining force in modern payments.”

Leonardis said she was drawn to WAS because of its differentiated approach to solving long-standing challenges within the acquiring industry.
“The acquiring industry is overdue for modernization. Legacy infrastructure is holding back innovation,” said Leonardis. “Woodforest Acceptance Solutions is solving that with a Switch-to-Issuer model and ISV platform that gives it a distinct competitive edge. I’m excited to join an exceptional team and help build the commercial engine around a product with real, structural differentiation.”

The appointment reflects WAS’s continued investment in leadership, innovation, and growth as the company expands its intelligent payments platform designed to deliver greater flexibility, efficiency, and value for partners, merchants, and software providers.

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