From Code to Collaboration: Celebrating Women Leading the Next Wave of Financial Tech

Celebrating Milestones, Inspiring Innovation

Women continue to be underrepresented in both the tech and financial services industries. At Allied Solutions we provide technology-based insurance, lending, and risk management solutions to financial institutions – and we get a front-row seat to watch the women in our industry trailblaze bold innovation, solve complex problems, and foster meaningful collaboration.

Women Leading at Allied Solutions

At Allied Solutions, female tech leaders span the business to:

• Write roadmaps for better UX

• Empower more proficient implementation processes for clients

• Craft first-to-market lending technology

• Build software bridging gaps between business intelligence and product development

More than one-third of Allied’s Enterprise Technology Group (ETG) workforce identify as women. These women are solving challenges in a complicated, compliance-heavy industry. They aren’t just building tools that allow other humans to do their best work – they are engineering a brighter future for women in tech.

Voices of Allied’s Women Leaders

Melissa Updike, Manager, UX Research & Strategy

“I’ve always been fascinated by broken things. As a kid, I would take things apart just to understand how they fit together. That curiosity grew into a passion for solving problems, especially human-centered ones. Technology nurtures my creativity because it gives us the power to build almost anything. We’re only limited by our imaginations, and I love exploring what’s possible.

Melissa adds her thoughts on weaving ingenuity with relationships, “My days are centered on meaningful collaboration and directly supporting UX researchers as they explore complex problems and uncover solutions that help both users and Allied achieve their goals. I love supporting people so they can achieve their goals; whether that’s helping someone grow in their role, supporting a team through ambiguity, or making sure users can accomplish what they set out to do. Seeing progress, momentum, and confidence build in both the people and the products we shape is the most rewarding part of what I do.”

Kayley Dobbs, Senior UX Designer

“Most people don’t see the value [of accessibility] until they’re hit with a disability themselves (whether a temporary disability or permanent). When we design for the outliers, we ultimately improve the outcome for all. For example, sidewalk ramps were designed with wheelchair users in mind, but this benefits anyone (bikers, strollers, people using a cane, small children learning to walk).”

Erin Irick, Director, Business Platforms

“I manage a team of unbelievably talented and amazing platform owners. I help with the

strategy and road maps for our purchased technology and contribute to Allied’s intranet

sites. I focus a lot on getting the return on investment from our purchased

technology/SaaS applications.”

Regarding what Erin would tell someone who aspires to work on her team, she adds, “Working on my team is the best and I mean that. We are all inclusive, kind and thoughtful, and we all work hard every day. I love how much we laugh and how innovative and supportive the whole team is. It breathes fresh air into "the grind" every day.”

Inspiring the Next Generation of Women in Tech

These women are lifelong learners, transforming knowledge into real tools, smart systems, and first-of-their-kind SaaS systems for financial institutions and their users. Their blend of technical skill and human understanding is invaluable to the entrepreneurial spirit of Allied Solutions.

Together, we are empowering the next generation of women leaders by staying human-centered – building smarter, more intuitive business tools and processes.

Here’s to the bridge-builders, the problem-solvers, the brilliantly talented women who are trailblazing a path for smarter technology. May we be them, inspire them, and celebrate them.

About Allied Solutions

Allied Solutions is one of the largest providers of insurance, lending, risk management, and data-driven solutions to financial institutions in North America. Allied Solutions uses technology- based solutions customized to meet the needs of over 6,000 banks, credit unions, finance companies, mortgage servicers, and auto dealers, along with a portfolio of innovative products and services from a wide variety of providers. Allied Solutions is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana and maintains several offices strategically located across the country. Allied Solutions is a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Securian Financial Group. To learn more about Allied, visit alliedsolutions.net.