College to C-suite: My 27-year career path

Oz Parvaiz serves as Chief Procurement Officer at Capital One, where he leads a team responsible for the company’s global supply chain. Oz joined Capital One in 1999 and has worked in multiple roles across the company including marketing, product and operations. In his personal time, Oz enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis and basketball and going for walks with the family favorite–their goldendoodle.

One way to change someone’s life is to offer them a free meal. That’s how I ended up at a Capital One recruiting event in 1999 instead of doing what I should have been doing—completing my Law School applications. A few minutes into the event, I was in awe of this “startup” that planned to change banking. 

In the fall of 1999, I joined Capital One as an eager William & Mary grad. Now, 27 years later, I’m serving as Capital One’s Chief Procurement Officer. 

Today, I realize that your career doesn't have to be perfectly mapped. Between the culture of internal mobility and the incredible resources at Capital One, I’ve pivoted and built a career aligned with my aspirations. 

Here, I’m sharing what I’ve learned along the way in the hopes it offers a helpful perspective for those just starting their own careers.

How to find an ideal first role: Keep an open mind.

Before the lure of a free meal led me to a Capital One recruiting event, I’d planned on becoming a lawyer. However, Capital One’s start-up energy and its incredible culture convinced me to take a chance and apply. Now, Capital One is the only company I’ve ever called a full-time employer. Nearly 30 years later, I remind myself to hold on to the open-mindedness that comes so naturally to us when we’re younger. 

I knew early on in my career that I didn’t have a deep knowledge of the business world, so I chose to switch roles at Capital One every few years to learn more about strategy, marketing and operations. Over the years, I’ve experienced how internal mobility can be instrumental in defining your career roadmap. 

I’ve also become aware of the type of work that fuels me. I enjoy roles that are in need of transformation, and with that clarity, I’ve searched for and been empowered to step into such spaces.

How to take ownership of your growth: Be the architect of your career.

One of my first managers once asked me, “Who cares the most about your career?” At the time, I assumed the answer was my manager. He gently corrected me: “It’s you, Oz. You are the person who is most invested in your career.”

Today, I consistently remind myself to think about all the skills I need to learn that will help me grow as a business leader. It’s why I’ve made it a point to have open conversations with all of my managers to ensure they’re aware of my learning plan. Having regular conversations about my aspirations means that I am top of mind when opportunities emerge that are aligned with my goals. 

At times, the decision about whether to take on a new opportunity has felt like a crossroads. A few years into my career, I left Capital One to attend business school so that I could learn more about strategy, marketing, finance and operations. I did this during a time when I was up for a promotion, and walking away from such a milestone was difficult. Yet, after leaving to focus on my MBA, I was able to return to Capital One in a more senior role, ready to apply new perspectives to new challenges. 

Around this time, I decided that my ultimate career goal was to be the Chief Operations Officer at a Fortune 500 company. I made sure to surface my interest in operations to my manager and leadership team during development check-ins and performance reviews. I also made it clear that my family and I were willing to relocate for the right opportunity. My focus on developing the skills needed to run a global business eventually paved the way for my role as President of International Servicing Operations in the Philippines. Moving to Southeast Asia in 2021 during the pandemic was a profound experience—both professionally and personally—that challenged me to grow in ways I never expected. 

As President, I found myself accountable for Capital One’s largest operation of almost 5,000 associates during a global pandemic. My teams and I found ways to ensure the wellbeing of our people and get them set up to work from home during that time. I also learned about the nuances that come with managing a business in a different country and the intricacies of a supply chain in another part of the world.  

How to know when it’s time to take a new risk: Stay true to your values and choose people.

After a few years in the Philippines, it was time for my family and I to return to the United States to be closer to family. As I prepared to move home, I was given the space to decide my next stop within Capital One. 

There were a few roles available that aligned with my values and goals, and ultimately, I accepted a role within the Enterprise Supplier Management (ESM) organization, reporting to the Chief Procurement Officer. It was an ideal role—a strategic intersection of product management, complex operations and regulatory engagement that allowed me to use my full range of experience. Perhaps even more importantly, I found the people in ESM to be forward-leaning, open-minded and kind.

After several years on the ESM leadership team, the Chief Procurement Officer role became available late last year, and I was invited to take on the challenge. 

If you’d told me in 1999 that I would eventually hold a C-level seat at a company like Capital One—one so deeply aligned with my own values—it would’ve been impossible to envision the journey that led me to this role. 

How to balance meaningful work with a full life: The meaning of life is life itself.

I grew up in Pakistan, moved to the United States, attended college in Virginia and accepted my first job there. I fell in love with my wife and built a family. And, I’ve done all of it while celebrating the wins and soaking in the losses that life hands each of us. One phrase I think about often is, “the meaning of life is life itself.” 

While I’m alive and present, I have the opportunity to make a positive impact in the world, in a personal and a professional capacity. I do my best to be a kind person, practice gratitude meditation, and when I’m faced with challenging decisions, I remind myself to control what I can. I also ask myself, “Would 8-year-old Oz be proud of this decision or this action I’ve taken? Would 80-year-old Oz be proud?” Then, I move forward and make decisions with those answers in mind.

My son recently asked me when I felt like I had finally “arrived.” My answer was simple: I haven’t. In my view, life is more about the journey we’re on than “a moment of arrival.” On this journey, we all have room for growth, and I encourage myself and everyone around me to soak it all in.

In a very real sense, I've grown up at Capital One. This culture didn’t just give me a job. It gave me the autonomy to claim my own path and the unwavering support to see it through. 

As you explore your own opportunities here, I encourage you to be both bold and humble in your aspirations. Ask for what you want and then work really hard to get it, and when you get it, work harder. And make sure to have fun along the way. At Capital One, your career isn't something that happens to you—it’s something you have the power to build.

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