Rewriting the Rules: How XYB’s CPO Is Building the Future of Fintech Product Leadership

Featured in the Women in FinTech issue of FinTech BoostUP

At XYB, product leadership isn’t just about building features, it’s about building futures. In this exclusive interview originally published by FinTech BoostUp under their Women in FinTech series, our Chief Product Officer, Melissa Donohue, shares her insights on innovation, infrastructure, inclusion, and what it takes to lead in a fast-evolving fintech landscape.

On Leading with Conviction in Tech

You’ve led product innovation across high-growth companies like Klarna, Miro, and now XYB. How has your perspective as a woman in tech shaped the way you build and lead product teams?

MD: Here’s what I know: innovation doesn’t happen in echo chambers. It happens when you give smart, driven people the space to speak up. Even when their voice shakes. Especially then.

My experience has sharpened my instincts. With building anything now, I don’t just look for credentials, I look for courage. For conviction. For the kind of energy that says: I’m here to build, and I’m not waiting for permission.

And here’s the truth: when you build teams where people actually feel like they belong, not like they lucked into a seat, the product gets better. Every time. Because diverse teams question harder, think wider, and don’t just build for the default user.

So yeah, being a woman in tech and a leader who’s had to prove herself a thousand times over has made me ruthless about culture. I don’t do whisper networks. I don’t reward lone wolves. And I definitely don’t believe in shrinking to make other people comfortable.

On Adaptive Financial Infrastructure: Why the Old Stack Won’t Survive

At XYB, you’re focused on building adaptive financial infrastructure. Can you share what that entails — and what makes it a game-changer for the fintech ecosystem?

MD: Financial institutions are facing a convergence of technological, regulatory, and market pressures which are moving faster and hitting harder than ever before. These aren't isolated trends; they're compounding forces that expose a hard truth: the architecture of today's financial infrastructure is fundamentally incompatible with the future of financial services.

AI is compounding the pressure. Everyone sees the upside: automation, intelligent service, risk modeling, fraud prevention - a potential 15% boost in operating profits. But here's the catch: AI needs unified, high-quality inputs. It needs real-time triggers. It needs infrastructure that responds, not just reports. Two-thirds of banking leaders now believe generative AI will fundamentally change their operating model - but the elephant in the room is that change will likely fail with their existing financial infrastructure.

We aren’t solving for one function, we’re solving for the full adaptive lifecycle of financial services: orchestration, configuration, intelligence, compliance, and control. Our architecture doesn’t just support change. It expects it.

These aren't modules stitched together. They're financial infrastructure layers engineered to work as one adaptive, decoupled system capable of evolving function by function, flow by flow, segment by segment. Where others constrain, we compose. Where others delay, we deploy. Where others abstract complexity, we make it manageable. That’s what adaptive financial infrastructure is about.

On Collaboration: Outcome Over Ego

The intersection of product, engineering, and go-to-market strategy can be complex. What have you found most effective in driving collaboration and trust across these diverse teams?

The real friction between product, engineering, and GTM isn’t disagreement - it’s misalignment on incentives, timelines, and what “done” looks like. I’ve found the fix isn’t more meetings. It’s making sure the right people are solving the same problem, with the same inputs and the same stakes.

That means tightening the feedback loop, naming tradeoffs out loud, and showing teams how their work fits into the whole. Collaboration gets easier when people stop defending functions and start owning outcomes. Trust follows results.

On Representation, Barriers, and Rewriting the Game

Fintech still has a gender gap, especially in technical leadership. What barriers have you encountered, and how have you worked to overcome them — both personally and for the women coming up behind you?

Some barriers you can name. Others you feel before you can articulate them.

Early on, I learned that being the most prepared in the room wasn’t always enough. I’ve been called “intense” for being thorough and “not a team player” for holding the line on product quality. Meanwhile, less-technical counterparts were praised for “vision”.

But I chose to keep building - products, systems, teams.

I found power in complexity. I leaned into roles that demanded structure and survivability, where clarity mattered more than charisma. And I’ve worked to create the kind of leadership culture I didn’t always see: one that values precision, resilience, and dissent.

For the women coming up behind me, I don’t offer vague mentorship. I offer access, signal, and sponsorship. I say the hard things early. I push for structural change - not just in hiring, but in how we define excellence, how we run rooms, and how we assign credit.

Representation matters. But re-architecture matters more.We don't need to play the game better. We need to rewrite it.

On Growing Into Leadership: Don’t Wait to Be Ready

What advice would you give to women in product or engineering roles who aspire to move into CPO or other executive positions within fintech?

Start learning from day one. Don’t wait until you’re ‘senior’ to figure out how decisions really get made—watch who’s in the room, who gets listened to, and why. Be humble enough to ask the dumb questions, but don’t water down your point of view just to keep the peace.

Get broad early - fintech’s messy, and you need to understand product, tech, risk, compliance, all of it. Know what you're great at and what you're not, and build a team that balances that out. And don’t just find mentors - find the people who’ll actually go to bat for you. That’s what moves the needle.

On Building Cultures That Actually Move the Needle

How can fintech companies build cultures that better support gender diversity in leadership — especially in technical and product-driven teams?

Start by asking yourself: if you say you value diversity, why isn’t your leadership already balanced? The talent exists. So if it’s not showing up at the top, something in your system is filtering it out.

Fintech loves to blame the pipeline, but more often it’s about who gets the real opportunities—high-stakes projects, visibility with execs, room to make mistakes. And what kind of leadership gets rewarded. If you only value one style - loud, fast, always certain - you’ll filter out a lot of great leaders before they get a shot.

Fix the defaults. Redesign how you run meetings, who gets sponsored, how you measure leadership.

On Inspiration, Orbit, and Doing Before You’re Ready

Lastly, who are the women in tech or fintech who’ve inspired you most, and what’s one piece of advice or mindset that’s kept you moving forward through challenges?

I’ve been lucky to work with and learn from some incredible women: Malin Eriksson, Leah Farmer, and Hannah Bravo are at the top of that list. Each leads in their own way, but with the same clarity and conviction I deeply respect. They’ve built, rebuilt, advised, coached, and operated - always with impact and zero performative nonsense. Being in their orbit has raised my bar, and honestly, my sense of self-worth. I’ll always be grateful for that.

As for advice that’s kept me going? Don’t wait to feel ready. Most of the things I’m proudest of happened before I had the title, the backing, or the roadmap. You figure it out by doing. Not knowing is fine. Waiting around for certainty isn’t.

Want to learn more about our product philosophy? Get in touch with our team.