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terminal troubleshooting and working with the marketing
The ve team on results-driven direct mail projects.
The very point of salery point of sale
When offered a chance to learn sales, Huo chose instead to
focus on operations, a choice she has never regretted. She
supplemented her on-the-job training with online courses
in accounting and finance. She also received guidance from
a skilled COO mentor, who took a personal interest in her
professional development. Huo became a UP shareholder
in 2015 and was promoted to vice president of operations
the following year.
Corporate responsibility
Celebrating a next-gen Huo took the CPP exam and first applied to the YPP

payments leader program in 2018. She credits these programs with helping
her build professional skills and an industry knowledge
base. She pointed out that the ETA wants to encourage
and cultivate next-generation leaders and said she feels
By Dale S. Laszig fortunate to have been chosen for YPP and honored as a 40
Under Forty.
hen asked why his company has so many
female leaders, Saint Hung, owner of "Even when you're promoted, there is so much to learn,"
Universal Processing, said it wasn't by Huo said. "Technology changes every day; it's important to
W design. "The most loyal, capable employees, stay up to date. Each year, the ETA chooses 10 people under
who execute day in and day out, happen to be women," he 35 years old for YPP and sponsors them to attend business
said. "And Nana Huo was our first member to become a shows and assigns mentors. "
Young Payments Professional."
Huo encourages new employees to attend payments
Hung described Huo's exemplary record in the payments industry events to broaden their knowledge and
industry, which includes her earning a Certified Payments professional networks. She attends five to six payments
Professional (CPP) credential from the Electronic industry events every year. "I realize it's a huge industry
Transactions Association, being inducted into ETA's 2020 with many different facets," Huo said. "There are issuers,
class of Young Payments Professionals (YPPs) and being acquirers, software companies and banks – so many
recognized by the ETA as a Forty under 40 honoree. He companies to learn from and grow. And as I learned and
praised the ETA for developing programs designed to worked and attended ETA, in April 2019, I became CFO at
cultivate young professionals and help them become Universal Processing."
payments industry leaders.
Today, Huo's supervises the company's accounting,
Huo agreed that education has been a crucial component of financial reporting and modeling for day-to-day, monthly
her industry training and career. "I came to the U.S. in 2011 and quarterly cash and expense management and merger
and attended New York University," she recalled. "After and acquisition activities. In addition to managing the
undergraduate engineering studies, I majored in Manager financial budget and preparing reports for shareholders
of Information Systems (MIS), where I studied business, and partners, Huo assesses risks and opportunities and
marketing, accounting and finance. In these two years of works with the executive team to guide operations.
graduate studies, I also learned the American language
and culture." Huo attributes learning from mentors and continuous
education as central to her success. She sees a similar
Diverse experience thirst for knowledge among her colleagues at UP, whom
Huo is grateful to the NYU career center for placing her she described as passionate people with an "energetic vibe"
in her first job after she graduated: an entry-level position who want to be part of the evolving payments industry.
in Universal Processing's customer service department. How we rise
"When I joined the company, there were around 10 people
in the entire company, including the boss," she said. "There Responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Huo and fellow
were three to four operations specialists and five to six team members began working from home on March 23,
salespeople." 2020. The company wanted to be socially responsible, she
stated, and because its target market is primarily small and
Because UP was small, everyone in the company had the midsize businesses, UP saw a precipitous drop in revenue,
opportunity to learn many facets of the organization, Huo as customers and partners faced temporary and permanent
noted. Their diversified training included sales, marketing, closure.
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