Today we’d like to introduce you to Winston Wilson.
Winston , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Jamaica and raised in New York, and my life has always been a blend of high-stakes business and soulful storytelling. After earning my degrees from St. John’s University and Kennesaw State University (New York and Georgia), I built a career in the payments industry that spans nearly thirty years. Today, I serve as Vice President of Merchant Services at Comerica Bank, where I lead a billion-dollar program.
While I thrive in the boardroom, my heart is often on the stage. As a playwright, I write works like LYRICS and Super Loser to explore the complexities of the human experience and bring them to life through full stage productions. I believe that creativity and effective leadership are two sides of the same coin. That is why I founded Sauti Global, where I use my experience as a writer and executive to help organizations develop their leaders and find their rhythm. My mission is simple: I want to help your voice rise.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My journey has not been without its challenges. In October 2020, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which introduced a new set of obstacles into my daily life. I manage significant fatigue and weakness on my left side while staying committed to my treatment and my goals. This experience has deepened my perspective on resilience and taught me the true meaning of effectiveness under pressure.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While I thrive in the boardroom, my heart is often on the stage. As a playwright, I write works like LYRICS to explore the complexities of the human experience and bring them to life through full stage productions. I believe that creativity and effective leadership are two sides of the same coin. That is why I founded Sauti Global, where I use my experience as a writer and executive to help organizations develop their leaders and find their rhythm. My mission is simple: I want to help your voice rise.
I have come to realize that creativity and effective leadership are two sides of the same coin. In my thirty years in the payments industry, I have led billion-dollar programs and negotiated complex contracts with card networks, but the most important thing I ever learned was that people do not just follow a plan; they follow a story. They want to be part of something that resonates. Leadership is essentially the act of directing a narrative where every team member knows their lines and feels the weight of their role.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
In my three decades leading sales teams and managing high-stakes programs, I have seen that the greatest challenge in leadership is the tension between being authoritative and being authentic. Many leaders believe they have to be bulletproof, but I’ve learned that true effectiveness comes from navigating the messiness of the human condition. In the corporate world, we often get stuck in the mechanics of the process while ignoring the people behind it. We focus so much on the “how” that we lose sight of the “who.”
I see leadership as a performance that requires constant rehearsal and adjustment. The same obstacles I face when directing a play—miscommunication, ego, and the fear of failure—are the exact same hurdles I encounter when leading billion-dollar programs in the payments industry. I have incorporated these challenges into my life by treating every setback as a script revision. I don’t see an obstacle as a stop sign; I see it as a prompt to find a more creative way forward.
By embracing my own vulnerability and my physical limitations, I’ve become a more effective guide for others. I’ve integrated the discipline of the boardroom with the empathy of the theater to create a leadership philosophy that is grounded in reality. I don’t just teach people how to manage; I show them how to remain human while they lead
Contact Info:
- Website: https://winstonawilson.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/winstonawilson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winston.a.wilson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WinstonAWilson
