This month’s WIA woman of the month is Processing Partners’s Lane Farinacci, who is the Head of Risk & Compliance and specializes in the online payment industry and has done so since 2002.
How did you get into the business?
Women have an ability to tap into their innate nature as a nurturer to encourage, teach and build-up those around them. Hence women often prove to make great team leaders.
After returning to the U.S. from living abroad, a dear friend with a long history in the adult industry had just launched his processing company and offered me the opportunity to run the operations and risk department. The timing was ideal, and I was more than ready to jump at the challenge.
What in your background prepared you for what you are doing now?
My background covers 18 years of operations, risk management, recruiting and sales in a variety of sectors within the financial industry on both the corporate and entrepreneurial level. The developed experience over the years working in finance as well as running my own business allowed for an easy transition to wear the many hats required in this business.
How do you answer the question of whether women lead different than men?
Some in the industry have discovered I am staunch proponent for women empowering other women. History has shown women often held back from success and leadership by men, other women and even most often themselves when in edifying groups have proven to become transformational. Women have an ability to tap into their innate nature as a nurturer to encourage, teach and build up those around them. Hence women often prove to make great team leaders. Additionally, women possess a special intuition that may allow for smart decision making, a sixth sense if you will to avoid potential pitfalls along with fostering a certain creativity not often seen by men. Men and women may drive the same results albeit by varying approaches.
Who inspires you in this industry?
As this is a WIA article, I’ll assume you mean inspirational “women.” I’ve been fortunate to have met many dynamic, talented and downright fabulous women since entering this industry. However, Ines Peterson and Kristen Kaye stand out for me.
What’s a typical work day like for you?
My days are nothing but typical and vary dramatically. Let’s say my day typically begins 7 a.m. with a short yoga session and coffee, after which I’m immediately at my desk sorting through emails prioritizing the day and determining what’s most pressing. It’s crucial in our business to keep files moving within our pipeline and considering I touch an average 20-30 merchants in any given day, dealing between with a multitude of banks globally a strong attention to time zones must be given. This requires incredible time management and organization.
My days consist of varying tasks, keeping up on industry news, reviewing business plans, guiding start-ups, gathering and reviewing, sorting and gathering due diligence, analyzing risk results, compliance checks. An enormous amount of communication between banks and merchants, conference calls, outside appointments staff training, delegation, maintaining and managing existing merchant’s performance, and I haven’t even touched on the tradeshows and the work that goes into that, before, during and after. The days tend to be long at times, however I balance this with enjoying the benefits of living in a place where I may conveniently take a swim, get some sun, enjoy a beach sundown yoga session after which you’ll usually find me at my desk until it comes time to commute my 30 seconds to bed. Needless to say there’s never a dull moment and the job keeps challenges me daily, which I thoroughly enjoy.
When you’re not thinking about business what do you like to do?
In my job, one could work around the clock and when I’m not at my desk, that’s when I choose to catch up on my social media staying connected to the others in our industry. However, I’ve learned that shutting down is often necessary for a healthy balance. There’s no shortage of fun here on Miami Beach and I’m a big fan of music. If you don’t find me rollerblading famous Ocean Drive, riding my bike or boating, you’ll usually find me dancing and enjoying time with my amazing friends at some of the best parties in town.
Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
