Wespay Welcomes Menekse Gencer as President and CEO
Washington, D.C. (December 4, 2024) – Western Payments Alliance (Wespay) is pleased to announce Menekse Gencer as its next President and CEO, effective January 1, 2025. She succeeds William J. Schoch, who will be retiring after serving in the role since 2008.
Gencer brings more than two decades of experience as a payments innovation and financial services executive to Wespay. She joins the organization from mPay Advisory, where she served as Managing Partner and CEO. Her previous roles include Senior Vice President of Digital Transformation, Customer Experience, and Employee Experience at Wells Fargo, as well as Head of Payments in PwC’s FinTech Practice. She has also held key positions at USAA Bank and PayPal.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Gencer is a thought leader within the field. She has been a speaker and moderator at numerous conferences, universities, and events, and her insights have been published by industry-leading publications. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation).
About Wespay
Wespay is an innovative payments association, dedicated to guiding members through the ever-evolving payments industry with education, information, advisory and advocacy services. Our team partners with financial institutions, third-party payment providers and organizations that supply payment services related to operations and compliance, risk management and fraud, and payments strategies.
For more information, please visit www.mywespay.org.
About Sterling Martin Associates
Sterling Martin Associates (SMA) is a leading specialty national search firm conducting chief executive-level searches for associations and nonprofit organizations. SMA has built an outstanding reputation by providing impeccable service to its clients and by placing exceptional talent in associations and nonprofits. Based primarily in Washington, DC, SMA has offices in New York, Chicago, and Orange County, CA.
Since founding the firm in 2006 with a mission to combine his search expertise with nonprofit board experience, David Martin now leads a highly experienced and diverse team, combining in-depth client analysis with the latest search technologies to create effective, personalized searches. Since the day he founded the firm, David has personally taken a leadership role with every search, for every client.
