Western Union at 167: Cross-Functional Team Informs the World about its Payments Platform

摘要

Not all our readers' companies are as old and well known as Western Union. Having an iconic brand can be a double-edged sword, though. Some people assume that a brand nearing its 200 birthday must be conservative and reluctant to change. In some cases, they're right. This is not so with Western Union, its new chief corporate affairs and communications officer Nicole Vogrin tells us. First, the 10-year veteran refers to the company as being "167 years young." As for its reluctance to change, she reminds us morphing is nothing new at Western Union. "We began delivering telegrams, remember." It stopped doing that in 2006. Seriously, Vogrin says, "Innovation and transformation are in our DNA." WU now is in the payments-delivery business. Considering the scope of global commerce—most of us think nothing of buying goods from overseas vendors, via Amazon or another commerce site—it's a very good business. Behind Amazon and other global companies' transaction is Western Union's platform. "We think we're the most well-run and versatile payment engine on the globe," Vogrin says.