International Women's Day 2026: A Conversation with Sonya Cléroux

In honour of International Women’s Day, we’re shining a spotlight on the incredible women of Interpolitan. Through this special interview series, we’re proud to share the stories and insights of the brilliant minds driving our success

Crossing the Atlantic, we find ourselves in Toronto, speaking with Sonya Cléroux, Head of Country for Canada.

Having joined Interpolitan Money following an extensive career in financial services, Sonya has spearheaded our expansion into Canada, leading from the front with invaluable knowledge and experience, whilst building a team of the best local minds.

In our conversation, Sonya shares her experience as a female leader in a male-dominated industry and how transparency, accountability and giving to gain empowers people to grow personally and professionally. 

How do you balance delivering performance while also nurturing people, culture, and long-term well-being?  

I don't see these as opposing forces; when you build a team where people feel seen, trusted, and challenged in the right ways, performance follows, not the other way around.

In practice, that means I hold very high standards for output while being equally intentional about how we get there. We have clear KPIs and accountability structures, but we also have real conversations about capacity, growth, and what each person needs to do their best work. I've found that people will reach further and take smarter risks when they feel like they're building something alongside you, not just executing for you or the company.

The truth is, in a fast-moving industry like cross-border payments, where compliance, client trust, and market conditions can shift quickly, a team that is psychologically grounded outperforms every time. That's not soft leadership - it's strategy, and with the proper execution of that strategy, the balance comes organically.

What does "Give to Gain" mean to you in a practical sense within your role and leadership?

For me, "Give to Gain" is about investing before there's a guaranteed return, and being genuinely okay with that. I give access. I give context. I give the kind of candid feedback that helps someone see around corners before they hit a wall.

“Knowledge is power” is a term deeply embedded in the financial services industry, and in many working environments, information and access are still considered protected currencies. That’s why I’ve made a conscious choice to lead against the grain through transparency and collaboration.

What I've gained in return is compounded: I've built a team that operates with ownership and initiative. I've formed relationships built on mutual respect rather than hierarchy. And I can now build something that doesn't depend entirely on me being in the room, which is ultimately what sustainable leadership looks like.

Giving, in my experience, is also how you earn the right to lead. Not a title. Not a business registration - the actual right.

Can you share an opportunity someone gave you earlier in your career that helped shape your path and how that experience influenced the way you support and lead others today?

Earlier in my career, there was a moment where someone extended me a level of trust that, to others, I probably hadn't fully earned yet. They put me in a room where no one else looked like me and kept me in that room when others might have suggested I wasn't quite ready. They didn't make a big gesture of it. They just included me, briefed me, and held me to the same standard as everyone else; that normalcy was the gift.

It taught me that belonging isn't something that needs to be performed or justified, and how a single decision by someone in a position of influence can alter the entire trajectory of someone else's career.

That experience lives with me every day and has strongly influenced the way I lead. When I see potential in someone, whether their background fits a conventional mould or not, I don't wait for them to check every box before I invest in them. I create the room and then hold them accountable for it.

That's how I try to pay it forward.

What are you doing today to help create a more positive, inclusive, and empowering world of work for the next generation? 

I think about this a lot, because most of the environments that shaped me weren't always designed with people like me in mind. Rather than just navigate that quietly, I've made a deliberate choice to build differently from the ground up.

Practically, that means our hiring process is built around capability and curiosity, not pedigree. It means I actively create development pathways for everyone on my team. Not just the ones who remind me of who has traditionally succeeded in this industry. It means I narrate my own decision-making process openly, so the people around me can learn and understand the thinking, not just witness the outcome.

It also means showing up visibly in spaces where I know my presence shifts something for someone watching. I don't think every woman in a leadership role has an obligation to mentor or represent, but, those of us who've been entrusted a seat at the table have a responsibility to think carefully about who else needs one, what we're actually doing about it, and the quiet reality that others are watching and making life decisions based on what they see around them.

Legacy in leadership isn't what you built. It's who you built it through.