Behind every major milestone and thriving culture at Flywire are the passionate Flymates who make it all happen! Our Annual Recognition Awards celebrate those exceptional team members who go above and beyond to embody our values, lift up their colleagues, and shape the future of our company.
To kick off this year's award season, we reconnected with our 2025 winners for a quick mini-interview to dive into their accomplishments, reflections, and key takeaways:
FlyBetter Star - Reka Sujanszky
What drove your best work or biggest milestone over the past year?
Collaborating with a great team and the opportunity to learn something new. Having supportive colleagues and clear communication made it easy to push through challenges and do my best work. The challenge of stepping outside my comfort zone pushed me to work harder and ultimately reach that milestone.
What advice would you give to colleagues aiming to make a big impact this year?
Start with small steps. You do not need a huge project to make a difference; improving small things that benefit the wider work community can have a lasting impact. Stay curious, act on what you notice, and keep improving a little at a time.
How has winning this award influenced your work or personal growth over the past year?
It was simply nice to have my work recognized, and it motivated me to continue. It reminded me that even small, consistent contributions matter and encouraged me to keep looking for ways to support my colleagues and improve our community.
How did you identify the opportunity or project that helped elevate the team's standards this past year?
I noticed a few things in our day-to-day work that I felt could be improved, and instead of waiting, I acted on them. I focused on practical changes that would make collaboration easier and help the team work better together.
What does "flying better" mean to you in your day-to-day role?
To me, "flying better" means continuous improvement: noticing what could be a little better, taking action, and helping create a workplace where colleagues feel supported, included, and happy to work together.
Culture Ambassador - Vlad Morar
What drove your best work or biggest milestone over the past year?
Knowing how easy it is for connection to fade when everyone is focused on daily deliverables, my biggest drive was creating natural spaces (and breaks) where people actually want to connect. Winning Culture Ambassador last year reinforced the idea that culture isn't just an HR initiative, it’s a core value flymates share and built by the energy we bring to the office. Setting up events that brought genuine smiles was one of the most rewarding part of my year.
What advice would you give to colleagues aiming to make a big impact this year?
Don't wait for a formal invitation or a huge budget to start bringing people together. Start small: organize a quick coffee catch-up, celebrate a colleague's quiet win, gather round for world cup viewing. Culture is contagious, and when you consistently show up with enthusiasm, people notice and, more importantly, they join in and lend a hand.
How has winning this award influenced your work or personal growth over the past year?
Winning the award was a huge honor and brought great recognition to my efforts, but the real impact was how it expanded the perspective of everyone in the office.. It pushed me to step out of my immediate team bubble, build relationships across the entire organization (shoutout to Ilona) , and hone my impromptu event-planning skills. It proved to me that driving morale and community is just as vital to company success as any technical metric. Success can be achieved alone. So cross-team and cross-timezone collaboration is stronger than ever.
Culture is built in small daily moments. How do you actively cultivate a positive environment for those around you?
I make a conscious effort to bring high energy into the room. And historically, few things bring people together better than food. I love cooking for the team, whether that’s bringing in homemade treats or whipping up something warm for lunch. Sharing a good meal naturally brings people around the table and gives everyone a well-deserved moment to pause, chat, collaborate and recharge together. Isn't that what culture is all about?
What is your favorite team tradition or cultural ritual at the company?
We used to have a Global Food Exchange Series that was amazing because it promoted diversity and inclusion of different cultures, while building culture within the company. I'd love to have those back.
Values Champion - Juan Carlos Garcia
What drove your best work or biggest milestone over the past year?"
For me, the biggest motivation has always been knowing that what I'm doing can make a real difference, not just for my team, but for Flywire as a whole.
I strongly believe that our greatest achievements come from working together, across teams, areas, and regions. I've always tried to approach my work with that mindset: if something is important to another Flymate, it deserves my attention too, even if it's outside my direct responsibilities.
What drives me isn't just delivering something because it's part of my job. It's knowing that what we're building, improving, or solving together is creating meaningful impact.
What advice would you give to colleagues aiming to make a big impact this year?
Collaborate. Seriously, collaborate!
Don't be afraid to reach out to someone from another team, area, or region. Don't think you're disturbing them or that your question isn't important enough. One of the greatest things about Flywire is that we're surrounded by incredibly talented people who are willing to help.
And equally important, be that person for others. When someone comes to you asking for help, try to see their challenge as something that matters to you too.
We sometimes think making a big impact means leading a huge initiative or delivering something extraordinary. But I believe impact also comes from helping others succeed, connecting people, sharing knowledge, and removing obstacles.
Flywire is what it is today because of its people. We make Flywire great together.
How has winning this award influenced your work or personal growth over the past year?
Receiving the Values Champion award was especially meaningful because it came from the recognition of my fellow Flymates.
It reinforced something I've always believed: how we work with people matters just as much as what we deliver.
It also gave me an even stronger sense of responsibility to keep leading by example. Not because of the award itself, but because I want the people around me to feel that same openness, trust, and willingness to collaborate that I've experienced throughout my journey at Flywire.
Which company core value resonates with you the most, and how do you bring it to life in your work?
Without a doubt, Global Collaboration, closely followed by Authenticity.Flywire has grown enormously since I joined, and I genuinely believe that growth wouldn't have been possible without our ability to collaborate across countries, cultures, teams, and areas.
For me, Global Collaboration means that organizational boundaries shouldn't become barriers to helping each other. It doesn't matter whether someone belongs to my team or works on something completely different. If I can contribute, I'll do my best to help.
Authenticity is equally important to me because I want to bring genuine passion and purpose to what I do. I don't want to build things just for the sake of building them. I want to challenge how we do things, look for better solutions, and make sure our work creates real value.
How do you navigate tough decisions while keeping our company values front and center?
I try to remind myself that we're all working toward the same goal, even when we have different priorities or perspectives.
It's easy to make decisions based only on what's best for your own team or area, especially when things get complicated. But I believe the right decision should consider the broader impact on Flywire and the people involved.
That means listening, being transparent, asking for different perspectives, and sometimes accepting that the best solution for Flywire might not be the easiest one for my own team.
For me, our values shouldn't just guide us when things are going well. They're especially important when decisions are difficult.
And ultimately, I always come back to the same principle: we succeed together, and the people around us are what make that possible.
Operational Excellence - Mahul Bhasin
What drove your best work or biggest milestone over the past year?
For me, it’s been the culture of continuous growth and recognition at Flywire. Having the room to share ideas freely, learning through training sessions—especially diving deep into AI tools—and feeling genuinely acknowledged by my leaders gave me the confidence to push boundaries. Being trusted to represent Flywire on big speaking stages and large forums really drove me to bring my absolute best work every single day.
What advice would you give to colleagues aiming to make a big impact this year?
Never stop learning and don't hesitate to speak up. Take full advantage of internal training and modern tools like AI to sharpen your skill set, and don't hold back on sharing your ideas. Flywire gives us the platform to be heard; when you combine active learning with the courage to voice your thoughts, big impact naturally follows.
How has winning this award influenced your work or personal growth over the past year?
Winning the Operational Excellence award validated that my thoughts and contributions truly matter here. It gave me the extra boost of confidence needed to step up on bigger platforms, present Flywire at major events, and continuously advocate for smarter, tech-enabled ways of working.
What was the most challenging process or project you streamlined, and what made it successful?
Launching the transaction flows for the NBFC Credila journey was a major challenge, but the trust from my leadership gave me the confidence to drive it forward. Today, the process is running smoothly. Its success came down to hands-on collaboration with ground and operations teams, using open feedback to build a workflow that was both faster and easier for everyone.
What’s your secret productivity tip or mindset for maintaining high-quality execution under pressure?
Automate the tactical so you can focus on the strategic. Using AI and smart processes keeps my workflow efficient, letting me stay calm and composed even during high-pressure crunch periods.
Leadership Impact - Cassie Woolley
What drove your best work or biggest milestone over the past year?
It has been an exceptionally challenging but also an unusually exciting year in engineering. Adapting our workflow and our mindset to incorporate AI has been the single biggest change I've navigated in more than 2 decades in the industry. I believe as a team we've survived AND thrived by choosing to see the challenges as opportunities and as a result we've achieved major improvements in both product functionality and performance, which will lay the foundations for cost reductions and future growth.
That's a lot of words to say that I continue to learn (sometimes the hard way) that mindset is a powerful force in both my personal and professional life, and choosing to believe I CAN get through/learn/achieve something is a huge step towards doing it.
What advice would you give to colleagues aiming to make a big impact this year?
One way to make a big impact is through a series of consistent small actions that each may appear to have a relatively small impact, but their effects accumulate. A long term vision is vital but so are the daily steps taken that ease the load for a team-mate, save time for a client, improve the quality of our products or reduce friction in a vital process.
What might seem to be a small change for me could have a significant impact on someone else, for better or worse. Fostering communication and understanding of how my colleagues and clients experience working with me can help me to see where I could make adjustments to make that experience better.
How has winning this award influenced your work or personal growth over the past year?
It was a surprise to be named and I felt so honoured that my colleagues saw me that way. It came right before the above-mentioned challenging year, and particularly at the beginning of the year I couldn't help but feel lifted up knowing that I'd been able to have a positive impact for people in my team. It makes me realise how important it is that every member of our team (and our organisation) understand the power they have to impact others and that they are recognized for their efforts.
Leadership isn’t always about titles. How do you approach empowering and supporting the people around you?
I love that we have been able to foster a culture where if something goes wrong, we seek to learn rather than blame. When I speak to counterparts in other high pressure industries, this is not always the case. I’ve learned that people need to feel trusted - both to make decisions, and to speak up when something has gone wrong. A culture of blame leads to things being swept under the proverbial rug and then falling out at inconvenient times. By focusing instead on “what can we learn” and “how can we fix the process” we can lift everyone together.
What is one key lesson about leadership or mentorship you’ve learned during your time here?
When I took on this role I said to someone that I didn’t think it would be that different, that I was really just doing a bit more traffic control. I could not have been more wrong. I’ve realised that just by existing in my role I have power to impact the culture of our team, the tone of our interactions, and the relationship that team members have with work.
I’ve learned that I need to lead by example to promote a well-balanced mindset. I try to model a healthy relationship with work life balance. This means taking the Digital Disconnect Days. Taking leave. Staying out of Slack and email when I’m on leave. Taking lunch breaks, even when it’s busy. It means acknowledging that life happens and we are all humans with responsibilities outside of work that can impact how we show up here. I also try to model a productive approach to when things go wrong, like speaking up when I make a mistake, or asking for help even when it feels like my question is something I should know.
I’ve learned it’s my responsibility to set the tone when it comes to interacting with other teams and with clients, or in crisis or high impact situations.
I don’t get to do all of this because I’m the best at it, I’m still learning. But it comes with the job and I get to decide if I approach it with intention and awareness of the impact of my choices.
Fly-Fluencer - Ilona Mojila
What drove your best work or biggest milestone over the past year?"
What drove me most was seeing how powerful genuine connection is across our global offices. Whether we were spotlighting cultural celebrations like Fallas, organizing global wellbeing challenges, or launching ERG initiatives, my biggest motivation was creating spaces where every FlyMate feels seen, included, and proud to be part of Flywire. Knowing that sharing these stories builds real community—both internally and externally—made every effort completely worth it.
What advice would you give to colleagues aiming to make a big impact this year?
Don't wait for a huge milestone to start sharing or getting involved—impact happens in the daily moments! Find the initiatives, ERGs, or culture projects in your office or location you're genuinely passionate about and lend your voice to them. Authenticity is contagious; when you share what you truly care about, others naturally want to join in, collaborate, and amplify that energy across the company.
How has winning this award influenced your work or personal growth over the past year?
Winning the Fly-Fluencer award was a huge honor and a powerful reminder that our voices matter and are seen. It gave me even more confidence to take creative risks, pitch new cross-office collaborations, and continuously advocate for our culture. It made me realize that being a brand advocate isn't just about sharing news—it's about building bridges across teams and timezones.
How do you approach sharing our company story, news, or team wins with the wider community?
I always approach it through a 'people-first' lens. I love focusing on the human story—the energy in the room during an office event, the collaboration behind an ERG, or just a coffee sip with a FlyMate in the workspace. When you share real stories with genuine enthusiasm, it resonates deeply with both our internal community and external networks.
What inspires you to be an active voice and advocate for our brand?
I’m inspired by the sheer diversity, creativity, and dedication of our global team. Flywire has such a unique culture where people truly care about supporting one another, celebrating different backgrounds, and striving for excellence together. Being an active voice feels natural because I truly believe in the culture we're building here—it’s easy to advocate for a community that inspires you every day!
ERG Fellow - Patricia Romero
What drove your best work or biggest milestone over the past year?
My greatest motivation is the feeling that we can make a difference through small actions. I am driven by the desire to excel in what I do and to always go the extra mile whenever possible.
Also, because I respect and enjoy working for Flywire, a company that values and appreciates its employees, offers good opportunities for growth, and, above all, provides a level of flexibility that other companies don’t have.
What advice would you give to colleagues aiming to make a big impact this year?
My best piece of advice is to always focus on being intentional with your actions. My favorite word is “intention,” and I believe that in this way, we can shift everything around us and achieve any goal we set for ourselves.
How has winning this award influenced your work or personal growth over the past year?
This award influenced my growth since I felt I was recognized for a task that I hadn’t initially viewed as something that would be awarded. For me, working with my LatinERG team is highly rewarding, and I approach it with enthusiasm. However, this recognition allowed me to stand out within the company, ensuring my name became known to other teams and departments. Furthermore, being able to share this externally on my social networks filled me with pride. It’s wonderful to be able to say that I work at “Flywire”!
What initiatives or conversations within your ERG were you most proud to champion last year?
We really connected with a dynamic activity we held with the occasion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. We had great participation, largely because the Latin ERG is so passionate about soccer.
We also held a session with an outstanding leader, our Director of Learning & Growth, Philip Andersson. Philip has an innate talent for coaching, which really resonates with the audience.
Why is active participation in ERGs vital for our company community and growth?
I believe that ERGs are linked to identity! In the case of LatinERG, any activity we organize or launch truly reflects our capacity to come together, to feel that, while we may be a small group, we are also a strong one. It’s a way of saying, “We are here, and we support one another in any initiative”, that’s why I believe it is important to strengthen Flywire's sense of community.
Wellbeing Advocate - Joice Shoba
What drove your best work or biggest milestone over the past year?
What motivated me most was simply putting myself in others’ shoes and thinking about the kind of support, understanding, and encouragement I would appreciate if I were in their place. I believe that, in many ways, we all want to feel heard, valued, and supported.
What advice would you give to colleagues aiming to make a big impact this year?
Always remember that we are one team, and our success comes from working together, supporting one another, and collaborating toward a common goal. Ultimately, what matters most is doing the right thing, in the right way, with honesty and integrity.
How do you prioritize your own wellbeing and work-life balance while keeping high momentum at work?
I believe that maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential to being consistent and effective at work. I try to be mindful of my own wellbeing, manage my priorities, and make time to recharge so I can bring my best self to both my personal and professional life.
Equally important has been the understanding and support of the management team. They have been considerate of my circumstances, understood my situation, and supported me whenever I needed it. Their flexibility and encouragement have made a real difference in helping me balance my personal responsibilities with my professional commitments.
I truly believe that wellbeing is a shared responsibility, and having a supportive work environment makes it easier for us to give our best while taking care of ourselves. This experience has reinforced my belief that when we lead with empathy, understanding, and trust, we can achieve sustainable success together as a team.
What is one small habit or wellness practice that made a big difference in your daily routine?
I would say the key word here is balance. Finding the right balance between personal and professional life is essential for long-term success and overall wellbeing. Taking care of our health and making small, consistent lifestyle changes can also make a significant difference.
One major change I made to my lifestyle more than a year ago was finishing dinner before 6 p.m., and I’ve been consistent with this habit ever since. It has helped me feel more active and mindful of my health. I believe that small, conscious changes in our daily routines can go a long way in improving our overall wellbeing.