MY CAREER IN SIX SPOTLIGHT

NINA MAPARA

Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel

 Mastercard

Sharing her career journey by answering the six questions below.

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

My mother is my biggest inspiration. She was a positive and practical woman, who was very focused on both education and financial autonomy for women. She is the reason I became a lawyer. 

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

Both. At various points, I’ve had some good luck, particularly with timing on career moves. I have also worked very hard in all of my roles so that I could take new skill sets and subject matter expertise to the next role. 

What is the driving force behind your career aspirations?

My family moved to Canada so that my brother and I could have better opportunities. We know that there are many places in the world where women live in very challenging circumstances with limited options – that is what drives me. I don’t want to squander the opportunities that I have in Canada to live my life the way I want to live it.

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

What was your most favourite job/role and why?

My current role with Mastercard. It has the perfect trifecta of excellent colleagues, highly stimulating work, and a company that is doing well by doing good – to quote our former fearless leader, Ajay Banga.

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

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison. I like this quote because it reflects that we can often turn a negative into a positive. Over the years, I’ve learned as much from jobs, or parts of jobs, that I didn’t enjoy as I learned from jobs that I loved. I try to focus on the new skills or expertise I was developing so that I could always take away something positive from the experience.

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