A Conversation with Mike Dubyak

WEX Chairman Mike Dubyak has a unique perspective on what makes our company tick. He joined the organization just three years after our 1983 launch and rose through the ranks to eventually serve as CEO for 15 years. During those 30+ years of business growth, innovation and change, Dubyak has identified a quality that he believes is a driving force behind our success – something he calls WEXcellence.

“In today’s wired world, you have to both outperform and outbehave the competition to win, and this approach is at the heart of WEXcellence,” says Dubyak. “Outperforming is the ‘what’ of the equation, with people recognizing when you supply a great product or service, internally or externally. Just as important is the ‘how’ – the behavior that supports the delivery and servicing of that superior product or service and how the behavior reinforces WEX’s values. At WEX, both of these elements have been nurtured and eventually formally recognized to create our partnering culture and approach to business.”

A Culture of Excellence

Dubyak cites our business-to-business (B2B) model focused on building strategic partnerships as a key factor in the genesis of WEXcellence. In his first years before the company reached profitability, he recalls that partners’ belief in our integrity and our word was central to building win-win relationships. Those qualities became part of our DNA, according to Dubyak, as we’ve grown into a leading international provider of corporate payments solutions.

“We’re behind the scenes in a lot of our relationships and represent many of our partners and their brands in the marketplace,” observes Dubyak. “Our partners work very hard and spend a lot of money to enhance their brands, and they don’t want a third-party partner to do anything to erode their brand value. That means they really have to trust us as we represent them in everything from private label fuel cards and health savings accounts to our virtual payments capabilities.”

A prime example of the trust and integrity that personifies WEXcellence can be seen in many of the long-term relationships that the company has developed with our strategic partners. Dubyak recalls an early engagement with a major oil company where we were part of a three-party relationship to provide a private label fleet card program. Over time, we became the sole provider of the program, eventually expanding the relationship to include international locations with long-term contractual commitments. “Our strong product offering, combined with the cultural aspects of how we work with partners and their customers, helped drive and cement a very strong bond with this partner and paved the way for expanded opportunities down the road,” says Dubyak.

This WEX approach to business makes the most sense for companies who are in it for the long term, as opposed to those seeking to flip a business and cash out, he observes. Why? Creating a strong culture that can deliver both the “what” and the “how” of WEXcellence requires both time and commitment from a company. In his experience, this means a long-term plan on how to drive company culture and reinforce the behaviors that can help build an enduring business model.

The People Who Power WEXcellence

Integrity in both our business model and our culture go hand-in-hand according to Dubyak, and it starts with creating a culture that excites people to do more for partners and customers. He notes that you can’t just ask people to do more, you have to demonstrate to them that they have value and play an important role in the grander vision. That’s one reason why we’re investing in creating a world-class workplace for WEXers, one that last year was certified as a Great Place to Work.

In his new book, The Road to WEXcellence: Leadership with Integrity, Dubyak also points to the authenticity and integrity of the people of Maine, where WEX was founded and is headquartered, as a key contributor to the foundation of our company culture. In a recent Mainebiz interview, Dubyak shared, “Our employees and the people of Maine never let me down. That depth of character allowed us to build a culture that really gives us differentiation — a strategic differentiation in the marketplace.” As we’ve expanded, he notes that the company has looked for ways to respect cultures in our new locations and to nurture that same basic depth of character that creates integrity and trust so that partners want to do business with WEX no matter where we are in the world.

Dubyak also points to our Annual President’s Club and Quarterly WEXcellence award nominees and winners as two very tangible representations of WEXcellence in action. In place for almost 30 years, both programs recognize WEXers from all levels of the organization who go above and beyond in their job, combining strong achievement with outstanding behavior that is reflective of the values that drive our culture. Looking forward, he feels that WEX is well poised to continue delivering WEXcellence, just on a bigger platform and geography as the company expands its offerings and reach. WEX’s culture is a real and powerful asset.