16 February, 2024
#48 Portrait from a woman in finance: Eimear Creaven
Can you shortly present your role as today in the organisation (in 1 sentence)?
I am the president of Western Europe, I have the privilege of running 7 markets: Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
In this capacity, I am responsible for leading the company’s strategy and operations, driving transformational change across digital payments with our partners in Financial Institutions, Retail, Government and Companies. We also lead the industry in cyber services, data insights and loyalty, looking at opportunities to effect financial and social inclusion, as well as diversifying into new areas including real-time payments and open banking.
What brought you to finance?
When I started my career, I was 20 years old and the question I had on my mind was: where could I find a strong path for personal development and growth? At that moment in Ireland, the banks were very strong institutions to develop people, they had strong graduate programs and offered a rich career with opportunities to diversify into different areas of the business as well as different geographies.
That is how I started my career in Finance and in fact, I have been privileged with three major career paths:
1. The first, in corporate banking at AIB Capital Markets, an Irish bank. There I moved through different roles in corporate banking and treasury and worked for them for 7 years: two in Dublin and five in New York;
2. In 2007, I wanted to step away from finance and revisit learning. I left New York and did my masters with INSEAD in France. After the MBA I entered my second career, in consulting. I worked for a boutique consultancy firm, Alvarez & Marsal, that supports companies in financial stress. I worked in the FI team with large, distressed banks, including Lehman Bros. Chapter 11 in London and Kaupthing Bank in Reykjavik. I was jumping all around Europe supporting many banks that were going through challenging times;
3. My third career is at Mastercard. It was very appealing to me to work in a company that works with banking partners. I joined in 2012 and have had multiple roles working closely with financial institutions and digital partners.
What did you learn recently regarding gender equality?
I am very proud and pleased to see that there has been so much focus across the financial industry on gender equality. There has been a shift, you can see it in the institutions’ pipeline and in the institutions support in the growth of female talent.
And even though we see it improving, we still need to work on it, we need to continue prioritizing this work to get a balance in profiles. I had been very focused on developing our female talent, mentoring and supporting many excellent female colleagues in our organisation. There is still lots more to do.
What was one of the decisions that had the most impact on you/your career?
One of the strong drivers to join Mastercard was to work closely with a woman I had worked with in consulting: Ann Cairns, she was the head of International and became both a friend, mentor and sponsor of mine.
When you have individuals who support your career, it is important to keep these relationships, even if you move companies or industries: stay close to your old boss, to the people who look out for you and sponsor your career. These individuals know you well, how you operate in good and stressful moments. These relationships will prove a strong support as you grow develop in your career.
What would you tell your younger self?
I would offer three pieces of advice:
1. Take risks particularly early in your career. Take on different roles, work in new geographies and cultures, and don’t stay in a one situation too long because you can develop yourself by bringing an active change in your career and life;
2. Make sure that your boss is a strong sponsor of the work that you do. Because of how much time we spend at work, our bosses are the most important individuals for your daily happiness and for career growth. If your boss blocks you, then change your boss;
3. We spend tremendous amounts of hours at work, so make sure you enjoy it, come every day with positive energy. People have to want to work with you.
Any message to share with female students interested in finance, or with young women starting their career?
This message goes beyond only finance: be passionate about learning and developing yourself and putting yourself into different situations, constantly challenging yourself to learn and grow. You will be a better person for it.
