Cilantro Hater. Lady and the Tramp Fan. Product Owner.

Name: Mark R.
Job Title: Business Leadership Program Product Owner, Strategic Partnerships

Easy decision
My journey at Discover started at a Career Fair at Indiana University, Bloomington. As a new Discover cardholder myself, I had just experienced firsthand the exemplary service Discover provides all card members. After learning about the internship opportunities, applying and interviewing, accepting an offer was an easy decision.

Can’t stay away
My first summer at Discover, I worked in e-business supporting our single sign on initiative, which allows users to see their credit and deposit products using a single login. The following summer, I came back to intern in consumer insights. I analyzed pre-test data for upcoming TV ads, generated usability insights based on consumer feedback, and supported modernization efforts for our brand health tracker. When I graduated school, I joined the Business Leadership Program full time. In this rotational program, I’ll learn about the business from multiple roles across different departments.

Driving growth
I’m currently working in Strategic Partnerships, where I’m able to learn from extremely knowledgeable team members and am trusted to lead initiatives that have a real impact on business growth. Our team is responsible for managing Discover’s relationship with key partners. For each partner, we look at opportunities to increase sales and customer engagement through campaigns or new products. My sub-team supports one of our account linking products.

Account linking collabs
As customers increasingly shift their purchases from brick and mortar to online, many customers choose to use digital wallets. Therefore at Discover, we aren’t simply meeting customers at checkout, rather, we’re proactively building products that reduce friction and delight our card members. The account linking products not only quickly link your Discover Card to other accounts, but also allow card members to easily apply their Cashback Bonus® at checkout. We spend our time developing new features for our account linking partnership that will drive more growth for the business.

Making a difference at every level
To me, being a great Discover employee means driving business value in the work I do, uplifting my coworkers and giving back to the community. From a business perspective, my team works hard to drive growth for our strategic partners by building products that are timely, relevant, and easy to use. I make a difference for my team members by recognizing their hard work and celebrating their wins. We, as a team, show genuine care and concern for each other and recognize all that makes up a coworker outside of just work. And, I give back. Right now I serve as a mentor at a local High School and I mentor a student intern at Discover. I take an interest in their hopes and dreams and help them realize the future they envision.

Preaching vs. practice
During my internship I took a trip with Discover employees to support a camp day for a local Chicago nonprofit. I was shocked at how many employees made it out for the volunteering day. And, it wasn’t just interns! Several levels of leadership took time out of their day to support our volunteering efforts. I knew then that Discover doesn’t just preach volunteering, it’s practiced as well.

Bringing my authentic self
There’s a couple key facts to know about me. 1. Cilantro tastes like soap to me, am I the only one? 2. When I was a child, I asked my family to name my future brother “Lightbulb”. His name is Matthew, so I guess I was overruled. 3. When I was little I hated TV, with the exception of a particular Disney movie, which I watched once per day. My parents bought a backup VHS tape in case the first one broke. Any Lady and the Tramp fans?

Ambitious goals
Considering working at Discover? I say, come join! We’ve got ambitious goals and we’re looking for new team members to share this journey with us.