Payment Expert’s ID Check: Payments Professionals offers insight from industry leaders and experts on how they got their start in the financial industry, from their early years in education, to how they have been able to climb the corporate ladder.
This week, Thomas Gillan, CEO of BR-DGE, details how he learned one key component of the payments industry was specialisation, crafting a unique lane for himself in a diverse industry that centred around orchestration, which came with opportunities and challenges.
Where did you go to university, what did you study, and what impact did this have on your current journey?
I went to university in Edinburgh and studied accountancy and economics. I quickly realised that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life, but it did have a big impact. Edinburgh has always had a rich financial services background, so growing up around that environment influenced my career path.
After university, I went into investment, which also had a financial and scaling aspect to it. During that time, I learned a lot about going through different gears in trying to deliver growth. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do at BR-DGE, and that experience has helped me in my current role, where we’re focused on growth and bridging gaps in the payments industry.
Were you part of any sports clubs or societies at university, and has this influenced your educational and professional development?
I’ve always been involved in team sports, playing football and golf at a decent enough level, and it’s definitely influenced my leadership style. I was never the best player in the teams I was part of, but I always put in maximum effort, and worked hard to bring the team together.
I was fortunate to have captained various teams, and that experience taught me how to work best with a group of people to achieve a shared goal. It’s exactly the same in business – it’s about playing to everyone’s strengths and building a cohesive team with the desire to win more than anyone else.
What was your first job in the industry, and are there any lessons from it that you still draw on today?
The truth is that BR-DGE is my first official job in the payment industry! Prior to this, my first C-suite role was with a scale-up that was essentially an independent software vendor (ISV) servicing the travel vertical.
Alongside booking platforms, payments formed a big part of our operations as we handled over £3bn of processing annually with lots of challenges along the way – this was my first glimpse into the opportunity to optimise the payment journey.
The lesson I took from that experience is the importance of specialisation.
Who is your biggest role model inside or outside of the industry, and who continues to inspire you in your career?
One person who stands out is Nick Kuenssberg. He was a chair at one of my previous companies and was a phenomenal generalist. He could turn his hand to anything and was great with people.
An anecdote he shared with me was the challenge of turning around a business in Peru – a market he didn’t know well – and led its transformation. He jumped in, navigated the complexities, and successfully steered the company forward. It was a testament to his leadership and ability to connect with people – it made me realise the power of effective communication.
Outside of business? I admire people who show resilience, like Tiger Woods. Despite all the adversity he’s faced, he’s come back and achieved incredible things. I also admire our majority shareholder, Dame Ann Gloag, who’s 82 and still deeply involved in the business. Her determination is inspiring.
When was your first big break in the industry, and why was it significant for you?
My first big break in payments was meeting Brian Coburn, the founder of BR-DGE. It was a fortuitous meeting – I was at my last company and started exploring orchestration solutions, and we were speaking to one of our competitors and then learned someone in Edinburgh was building exactly what I needed. That person was Brian, and it turned out he was looking to bring someone else into the business to help to scale up.
Everything clicked into place, it was perfect timing, and that’s how I got involved with BR-DGE. It wasn’t a planned move into payments, but it turned out to be the right decision and I’m hugely grateful to lead such a motivated and passionate team.
Was there a moment in the industry that really challenged you, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge was the early hype around orchestration. It became a buzzword and so much money went into it at an early stage. But some companies overpromised and underdelivered, and enterprise merchants don’t have the patience for that. That led to a lot of negative perceptions around orchestration.
We worked hard to overcome that by focusing on being the best at what we do and specialising in niche verticals where we can solve real problems and deliver great value. It’s been a challenge to differentiate ourselves in a crowded market, but we’ve stayed true to our strengths.
What skills do you think are essential for starting in the payments industry, and how have yours developed over the years?
Payments are incredibly complex, so patience and a willingness to learn are essential. It takes time to understand all the different touchpoints and actors in the payments ecosystem. It can still be a challenge for our business. When we recruit people – the BR-DGE Builders – we’re trying to get their knowledge base to a place where they can call themselves experts, and that takes time and patience.
In payments, understanding data is key so my background in finance has been helpful because it’s a numbers and data-driven industry.
I’ve also learned the importance of the end-customer experience. Consumers may have a really good browsing experience to the basket, but as soon as you get into the checkout, you have to type in your card details, address and so on, and as a customer it’s massively frustrating. Payments are a critical part of the customer journey; making it personalised and frictionless is no longer a nice to have.
Lastly, what advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in the payments industry?
Learn as much as you can as quickly as you can! Immerse yourself in learning, because payments are complex, and understanding the different models and processes is key to success.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and learn from others. The more you know, the better equipped you’ll be to navigate the challenges and opportunities in this space. Keep in mind that cards only began mass adoption in the 1970s – a blink of an eye compared to the centuries long dominance of cash.
The opportunity for innovation in payments is still in its early days.
