Finding success as a business analyst

Growing up in Richmond, Virginia, Sarah Ann Gayner would think of Capital One as the bank that supports small businesses. Sarah Ann’s mom, who led a small real estate management company, used Capital One’s Spark card for her business.

Already feeling a connection to Capital One, Sarah Ann joined the company through the Analyst Development Program (ADP) in 2012. She spent the next decade working with increasing levels of responsibility as a business analyst, a job that helps guide Capital One in improving processes, products and tech through analysis and consulting. In one of her roles, she even helped small businesses—like her mom’s—increase their lines of credit.

Now, as a managing vice president of business analysis, Sarah Ann creates products and experiences that help customers with lower FICO scores gain access to and build credit.

“I feel lucky to be part of Capital One,” Sarah Ann said. “You’re supported here by super kind and sharp people who care about your personal and professional journey.”

Exploring analyst roles in the ADP

After two internships in investment banking and corporate finance, Sarah Ann wanted to try something new after earning her finance degree at the University of Virginia. A Capital One recruiter told her about the ADP and how she would get to work as a full-time business analyst to make improvements across tech, strategy, product, marketing and credit teams.

Sarah Ann joined the ADP in 2012. As part of her first-year rotation, she assisted a risk management team handling the merger with HSBC. Much of her work involved meeting with Customer Care agents to help customers as they switched from HSBC to Capital One accounts.

For her second-year rotation, Sarah Ann worked directly with a vice president as part of an initiative to increase credit lines for small businesses. She helped analyze data, perform market research and underwrite.

“I was solving these really cool and complex problems,” Sarah Ann said. “I loved how much responsibility I had right out of college.”

It was through the ADP that Sarah Ann learned the importance of taking ownership, a tip she frequently passes on to business analysts she mentors and leads. She recalls early in her career when she made a calculation error with a report and went to tell her manager about it. 

“His response was, ‘It’s not an issue. You owning your error and being so apologetic showed me how much you care,’” Sarah Ann said. “I always counsel people that self-responsibility is just as important as the analyst skills.”

Becoming an analyst leader

After her time with the ADP ended, Sarah Ann spent the next four years working as a manager and senior manager of business analysis for Small Business Card. She then worked as a chief of staff and senior business director for the executive vice president of Upmarket, Capital One’s team that creates products for customers with high credit scores.

With the support and encouragement from the vice presidents she worked with, Sarah Ann accepted her current role in 2020. She manages the full lifecycle of bringing in new customers to Capital One and equipping them with products that help them succeed. Her work includes managing behavioral models, creating new credit policies and building marketing strategies. 

One project she’s particularly proud of is helping develop a revamped pre-approval process for customers so they see what cards they are eligible for without it affecting their credit scores. 

“I’m grateful that every business analyst job I’ve had at Capital One has resulted in improving the lives of our customers,” Sarah Ann said.

Sarah Ann is just as focused on improving the lives of those within Capital One, mentoring business analysts in the ADP and those much further into their careers. Her one piece of advice: Pursue the opportunities that intimidate you. 

“Everyone wants you to do well here, so if someone is telling you to do something important, then know they have faith in you,” Sarah Ann said. “I hope I can be that same champion for business analysts.”