Introducing Sertifi’s New Enterprise Payments Manager: Dave Jenkins!

Sertifi is home to many great individuals, all from various walks of life. I sat down with one of our newest team members, enterprise payments manager, Dave Jenkins, to learn about his journey that ultimately led him to join our payments team.

Mimi McNulty: Welcome Dave! Let’s start at the very beginning. Where did you go to school and what did you study?

Dave Jenkins: I went to the College of Charleston and majored in history, specializing in military history.

MM: Wow! That’s a very different focus than what you do now. How did you pivot from military history to hospitality and payment security?

DJ: Well, I was working in hospitality when I was finishing my degree. I was actually a licensed tour guide and carriage driver in Charleston. But I ended up in payment security by mistake. After graduation, I moved to DC and started looking for employment. I saw a job posting in the newspaper for a general entry-level position at a company that I thought was the POS provider for a retail chain I had worked at previously. So, I applied. It turns out, I filled out an application for “Merchant Link” the credit card gateway, not “Merchant DASH Link” the POS provider. I applied to the wrong company.

MM: And you still got hired?!

DJ: Yep!

MM: And you went with it?

DJ: Yeah! I needed food to live so I didn’t question it.

MM: Fair enough. So you start at Merchant Link. What was that like?

DJ: It was my first corporate job, so it was different from working in the barn, I can tell you that. I was learning on the job. I started on the financial resolutions team, doing funds research, handling missing batches, and recreating transactions for customers. I started creating and designing a bunch of tools to help out our team, which caught the eye of our product department who offered me a role as a systems analyst. In that position, I handled tier 0 projects for companies like Best Buy and eventually, Marriott. I started working with the development team, too, which allowed me to work on everything from product enhancements to brand mandates. Then a spot opened up on the product side, and I became product manager for our web reporting tool - while still doing system analyst work. Then I became a project manager and the CEO put me in charge of the gateway for certifications and compliance. After that I became a technical account manager; I was basically a sales engineer handling Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton accounts. Then we were acquired by Shift4, and I became a strategic account manager and eventually a product operations engineer in development handling escalation triage and release management.

MM: Wow, what a journey.

DJ: I’m used to wearing many hats.

MM: And Shift4 is where you met Sertifi’s director of enterprise payments, Mike Ryan, right?

DJ: Yes, Mike would sell to Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton and I would support them by making sure that their stuff worked.

MM: You climbed the ladder at Merchant Link turned Shift4. Where did you find the passion to do so?

DJ: I don’t know if I would call it passion. I had someone who believed in me and helped me move forward. In one instance, she was trying to move me up into a position, and I asked her, “Why do you want me?” and she said, “Because I know you will get stuff done.” And I kind of became that guy. I thrive when there is a bunch of work to be done.

MM: You sound like a natural!

DJ: Tomato. Tomato.

MM: Seriously! You’ve got a great work ethic.

DJ: Well, thank you. Before I started at Merchant Link, all of my jobs were knuckle-dragging jobs that gave me a particular ethos for hard work. I literally drove 2,000 pounds of mules through a city and did logging and rodeo events. And I’ve tried to apply my ethos to every position I have ever had. It’s focused around finding the most efficient way to get the customer resolved, fostering customer relationships, and working with my team and company to do those things in the most effective way possible.

MM: What makes it worthwhile?

DJ: I like building relationships. It’s nice to know what is going on in other people’s lives and to stay in touch. Like when you ask someone about their family, and you see them have a proud papa moment – it’s that type of stuff that keeps me going. I really enjoy the aspect of my job that ties into knowing and caring for the customer.

MM: I think we found your passion!

DJ: Perhaps we have.

MM: So, you’ve climbed the ladder, worn many, many hats, and drove 2,000 pounds of mules across a city. Why is Sertifi your next move?

DJ: Well, at Merchant Link/Shift4, I had some mutual customers with Sertifi and their reviews were never short of five stars. So, when Mike reached out to me asking for help and offered me a job, I jumped at the chance. It’s nice to work for a company whose customers sing its praises.

MM: Completely agree!

DJ: I also really like that Sertifi is unique to its segment of the industry. The company has a really strong customer focus, and yes, we are in business to make money like the rest of the businesses out there, but we aren’t bleeding anyone dry or fleecing our merchants. We offer an affordable product that is designed to save our customers money, you know? Instead of upping our fees, we change our processing so both the company and the customer can save. Instead of increasing the margin, we are continuously figuring out how to better service the customer. That’s unique.

MM: Well said. It’s all about the journey for us. Is there anything else you want our audience to know about you?

DJ: I’m a South Carolinian stuck in Maryland – the land of lack of sweet tea.

MM: I’ll make sure they get the message. Thank you for joining me today, Dave. We are so glad to have you on team Sertifi.

DJ: It’s my pleasure.

Be sure to keep an eye out for Dave’s insights into payment security on all Sertifi channels. His knowledge is our gain.