Inclusion and impact: Masseh Haidary

Despite Australia’s efforts to promote equal opportunities and combat discrimination, there is still a glaring lack of diversity among businesses. Senior leaders are predominantly white and male while women continue to be paid less than their male counterparts. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and people who identify as LGBTIQA+, face disproportionately higher rates of harassment and discrimination.

While progress is being made in these areas, there is more work to be done, and it’s an issue that Masseh Haidary, Oceania CEO of Global Payments, is determined to address.

"We’ve got a broad group of committee members from areas of the organization, which makes me proud in terms of the cross-section of people involved and how passionate we are to deliver change."

"The most important thing for me is being inclusive," Haidary says. "Over my career, from when I was a team leader in a contact center, through to becoming a CEO, my passion has been to provide guidance, support and create networks to help fix the discrimination and inequities faced by different groups and minority communities."

Haidary attributes much of this drive to the values instilled by influential women in his life, including his mother and his wife. Plus, early in his career while working at marketing services powerhouse Salmat, he was mentored by the company’s two inspirational founders, Phil Salter and Peter Mattick.

"They demonstrated what diversity and inclusion can deliver from a business context and return to shareholders," Haidary recalls.

"But this went beyond commercial outcomes, such as giving back to the community in a meaningful way. This translated into an inclusive corporate culture and solid leadership style that focused on delivering prosperity to all the communities we served."

The competitive differentiator

Now in his role at Global Payments, an omnichannel payments solution provider, Haidary continues to apply these early lessons in the workplace. This includes making gender equity and reconciliation two key focus areas for improvement, which is being addressed through the creation of multifunction action groups creating initiatives to address inequity.

"As the Chair of one of the key committees, we’re talking about how do we build that strategy, that approach and governance around delivering true value rather than window-dressing," he says.

"We’ve got a broad group of committee members from areas of the organization, which makes me proud in terms of the cross-section of people involved and how passionate we are to deliver change."

Some actions already taken include changing hiring policies, increasing diversity in senior leadership and mentoring.

"I’m really passionate about driving a leadership culture of coaching so we’re breaking barriers and lifting diverse talent through mentoring," Haidary reveals.

"It’s a daunting task for some, so it’s really important to help them understand why they might need one and what value can they get. As I learned from my mentors, this results in continuing to keep our staff engaged and really championing women in our organization."

"I’m really passionate about driving a leadership culture of coaching so we’re breaking barriers and lifting diverse talent through mentoring."

This all contributes to what Haidary considers his company’s ‘competitive differentiator’.

"It’s a bit of a cliche answer, but what sets us apart is our people and the culture we operate within," he says. "It’s about how we come together to serve our community and our clients to deliver value."

Combining over 25 years of local expertise with the worldwide scale of a Fortune 500 company, in late 2023 Global Payments Oceania launched a real-time solution allowing clients to accept payments through any channel and device.

Called Global Payments (GP) Omnichannel, the solution provides a single customer experience combining all payment channels including ecommerce, in-person and real-time.

GP Omnichannel is powered by new technology that generates a complete set of data, providing merchants with a unified view of their customers’ buying habits and preferences.

"Since launch, we’ve proven this easy-to-use capability across multiple partner and merchant user cases," Haidary explains. "The scalability of GP Omnichannel offers benefits for enterprise partners in industries such as pharma and medical, utilities, insurance, child care, education, fitness and hair."

Serving school communities

Global Payments Oceania is also transforming school management and payment infrastructure through its established software brand Sentral, Australia’s leading cloud-based school management platform. It provides a single comprehensive interface for management, tracking, reporting of data, online learning and student management.

"We want to make sure that we take the administrative burden away from educators and deliver a capability that will ensure the smooth running of a school, allowing them to focus on what’s most important, the education of children," Haidary says.

"The scalability of GP Omnichannel benefits multi-merchant industries such as pharma and medical, utilities, insurance, childcare and education."

Sentral has recently expanded its offering with StudentPayPlus, a simple self-service online ordering system, which allows parents to order school canteen meals and uniforms for their kids from anywhere.

"As a parent myself, I know the frustration of engaging with schools, and likewise, it’s a challenge for schools to keep all the parents happy when it comes to processing payments," Haidary says.

"StudentPayPlus makes engagement and payment processing seamless for schools and parents, making their lives easier."

As Global Payments Oceania diversifies to serve new clients, having diverse teams and leaders that nurture innovative thinking is essential.

"As technology continues to evolve, it’s essential to have a leadership direction that can bring together people of all backgrounds, new technologies and processes," he explains.

"There’s a direct correlation between diverse teams and successful commercial outcomes. Asking yourself what voices are missing in the room and correcting that will always lead to great outcomes and that's my focus with Global Payments Oceania."