MasterCard

Chris Gabello

Angelo LaRoche

Analyst for Cardholder Solutions

As a freshman at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, Angelo La Roche knew that he wanted to work for a large, global company someday. Being just 30 miles north of New York City, he was surrounded by the headquarters of many well-known corporations, but set his sights on payments and technology company, MasterCard. Two summer internships later, he’s now a full-time analyst. Angelo says he appreciates that MasterCard supports its employees’ individuality: He plays basketball with the MasterCard team and has had opportunities to put his dance choreography skills to use by organizing a company flash mob.

Has the job met your expectations?
Yes, it’s exceeded them. I received a job offer a few months before graduation, and I realize in this job market, that’s not possible for everyone. What has really impressed me is how much MasterCard celebrates bright, innovative thinkers and empowers its employees. I am part of one of our business resource groups called YoPros, which is a networking group for young professionals working at MasterCard. YoPros has about 500 members now and we are often asked to be an internal sounding board to provide feedback and ideas to MasterCard’s product development teams. It’s great to feel like you’re contributing to major, new product innovations such as Google Wallet or the latest in mobile payments.

What are you most proud about in your work?
I work within the compliance function where I assist in tracking some of our most innovative card programs with our issuer customers. After college, I was trained on how to create, build, modify, and maintain dashboards using state-of-the-art business intelligence tools capability called Qlikview. I am most proud of my ability to learn how to apply that business intelligence tool to help our department effectively manage business performance. If you told me a few years ago I’d be building performance dashboards, I would have told you you’re crazy. It’s been great to be able to continue learning new skills even after college.

Why is diversity important at your company?
Everyone has their own thing that makes them who they are, and it’s important to let people express themselves at work. For instance, I played college basketball and thought my basketball career would end once I left school. But it didn’t—now I play on the MasterCard team, alongside people from different departments and even some executive management. Since I have a dance and theater background, I also had the opportunity to organize a flash mob to help raise awareness for Stand Up to Cancer, an organization that MasterCard supports. I think MasterCard invests in its employees, and I’ve always been able to bring my whole self to work.