MY CAREER IN SIX SPOTLIGHT

KATE WALTON

 Managing Director, Chief Commercial Officer – Merchant Services

  J.P. Morgan 

Sharing her career journey by answering the six questions below.

Who or what has been your biggest source of inspiration throughout your career?

Throughout my career, my biggest sources of inspiration have been watching and learning great leaders navigate challenging situations. I’ve had the opportunity to work at several great companies, where great leaders took me under their wing, both challenging and mentoring me. Watching them operate has been inspirational.

Would you say your success is primarily due to luck or hard work?

Mainly hard luck, but a bit of being in the right place at the right time and saying yes as opportunities came along. Admittedly, I didn’t enter the workforce with a clear plan. I knew I wanted to get a flavor for financial services but couldn’t at that time have predicted where the journey would extend to. I threw myself into every job I was given at the earliest point in my career, looking to “learn the ropes”, and this focus allowed me not only to really understand the work at hand, but look up to see where it could connect to the next opportunity.

What is the driving force behind your career aspirations?

To be surrounded by a talented group, solve interesting problems, and be continuously challenged. The hope is that the combination of these three things allows me to do good in the world and make a positive impact on others.

If given the chance to do one thing differently in your career, what would it be and why?

I’ve always lived and worked in NYC. And I’v been lucky to travel the world for work. But, if I could do it over, I’d live in a different market for a few years. There is great value in spending time in different regions, and this is something I wish I had had the chance to do.

What was your most favourite job/role and why?

I’ve been really luck to have many “favorite roles”, but one that stands out is a job that I had early in my career. This one has truly had a lasting impact. About five years in, I had the opportunity to be in a Chief of Staff type role at American Express for our head of corporate payments. There, early in my career, I got to see management from the highest levels—how strategies are established, talent decisions made, and how business is run. It gave me amazing, accelerated perspective around leadership and management that I keep with me to this day.

Do you have a favourite motto or quote that guides your professional life?

There are two that stick with me: Approach everything with a glass half full midset – there is always a grain of good, even in the most challenging situations, and “it takes a village”—especially at a company like JPMC, it is impossible to make an impact doing it solo.