Todd Kennedy With Capital One

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio brought to you by onpay Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor on pay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the Atlanta Business Radio, we have Todd Kennedy with Capital One. Welcome, Todd.

Todd Kennedy: [00:00:42] Thank you, Lee. Glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] Well, I am excited to hear your story. Capital One is coming into Atlanta, guns blazing. So talk about that a little bit, if you will. Thanks.

Todd Kennedy: [00:00:55] Of course. Yeah. We are excited to be opening up an innovative new workspace at the Pond City Market with the goal to hire hundreds of engineers and product managers in and around the Atlanta area. We actually currently have over 100 associates in the greater Orlando area, including our Capital One Cafe in Atlanta proper, and some associates based in both Alpharetta and Roswell. But this will be another big increase in our presence, and we’re really excited to continue to build out our footprint in the Atlanta community.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:29] So what attracted Capital One to Atlanta to really kind of double down and and really invest in immerse yourself in the community.

Todd Kennedy: [00:01:38] Yeah. For us, it all starts with finding amazing talent. I’ve been with the company well over 21, 20 years, and that’s really what makes Capital One special and why I’ve spent my whole career here. Atlanta is really attractive because it has so much diverse and increasingly fintech talent. And it’s really been it’s really become a hub for tech and product talent. So that’s really one of the main things that attracted us. We also love the proximity to so many great universities. We hire a lot of people right out of school, including folks like myself. And so we love the amazing universities you have in the Atlanta area, as well as a number of amazing historically black colleges and universities in the region. So that’s probably the number one reason is the access to talent. We also love the fact that it gives us easy access with flights to a lot of our other locations. And personally, I’d say one of the things I love about Atlanta is the great food scene. So that’s a big attraction to me.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:36] Now, Capital One invests a lot in underserved communities and trying to reach them and educate them. Did that come into play as well? Because there are so like you mentioned, the diversity is part of the secret sauce to Atlanta. But there are so many entrepreneurs, you know, from these underserved markets that really could use some help from an entity like Capital One.

Todd Kennedy: [00:02:59] Absolutely. And I think that can take a few different forms. It obviously can take the form of us hiring these amazing, diverse and entrepreneurial talent that we have in the Atlanta area. And I think that’s going to be a major focus for us. But it also, I think, manifests itself in ways where we invest back in the local community. We’re already heavily involved in the Atlanta area, and I think with this increased presence, we’ll only see that continue to grow. We support a number of local nonprofits and community partners in the region, including the Black Economic Alliance and Center for Black Entrepreneurship, the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, Braven and Spelman College Dress for Success and a number of others. So we’re excited to build on those already existing relationships and grow, grow them and probably grow with others as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:48] Now, as part of the culture of Capital One, that seems like you’re pretty innovative, like you do these cafes now you’re doing this new workspace upon city market. Talk about that a little bit about the culture of innovation and really trying to meet your clients where they are.

Todd Kennedy: [00:04:06] Absolutely. So I think people are often surprised when they learn more about Capital One. Obviously, a lot of people know about our commercials and the amazing work that folks like Jennifer Garner and Charles Barkley are doing right now in the middle of March Madness. But I think in addition to amazing people, I think what makes Capital One unique is we’re really this interesting blend of we do provide traditional financial services which are at the core of people’s lives. Right. Probably after health. It’s the most important thing in people’s lives. And we’re like uniquely positioned because we’ve also invested heavily to become one of the kind of leading technology companies in the world. We’re one of the first banks to move fully to the cloud, and we’ve really invested heavily in our technology and our technology talent. And so we’re really excited to build unique and innovative products that really help our customers and improve their lives. And we’re excited to do that in Atlanta.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:07] And then you mentioned the importance of technology, and you mentioned the, you know, so much talent that is available here in Atlanta. Are you working with the universities here to, you know, create internships and job opportunities and things like that with the students up and coming? Or is this something that after they graduate, then there will be obviously opportunity with Capital One?

Todd Kennedy: [00:05:31] Yeah, I think predominantly will be focused on full time hires. Every everything from entry level hires for folks right out of school, all the way up through leadership positions, very tenured associates. But we have a strong college recruiting program that spans really the country. And this will allow us to double down in the Atlanta area, and that would certainly include internships as well. So we already have existing relationships with a number of colleges in the Atlanta area. And I would just see this as an opportunity to expand and deepen those relationships because we’ll be able to provide opportunities a bit closer to home for folks that want to stay in the area.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:12] So what do you need more of right now from the folks in Atlanta? Is it talent? Is the is kind of the priority right now or is it just kind of keeping Capital One as top of mind and getting the word out about how committed you are to the city?

Todd Kennedy: [00:06:28] Yeah. I mean, I think both our commitment to the city and the fact that there are some going to be some really amazing opportunities to join what I believe is a truly special company. And we’ll be looking to hire engineers, product managers, a number of other functions over time to come in and really and really make a huge impact in people’s lives. And so I’m not sure that Capital One is really thought of as a predominant or a major employer in the Atlanta space. And we’re looking to really change that.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:00] Now, you mentioned earlier this new workspace at Ponseti Market. Can you talk a little bit about what that’s going to be, what’s going to look like? You know, just kind of how it’s going to be different.

Todd Kennedy: [00:07:12] Of course, I think if you look at about any of our Capital One spaces, people are often surprised how much they resemble the best of what places like Silicon Valley or other kind of tech forward companies offer. They really don’t look like a place that looks like a traditional bank and maybe with the exception of slides in the office. But we invest a lot to find the best talent and we want to create a place for them to succeed, and we want to ensure our space supports that goal. Our new space at Pond City is about 15,000 square feet. It’s going to occupy a full floor. There’s a lot of natural light. The space will be designed to support our associates with really adaptable space, right? Really space that encourages innovation and collaboration. We also love what Ponds City Market offers in general, lots of great amenities for our associates. There’s obviously a ton of restaurants, shopping gyms, lots of outdoor space and even a cool housing opportunity right there for those who want a really short commute. So I think it’s going to be a really incredible space to come to work. And we also like that we’re going to be among a number of tech companies that are calling upon city market home.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:26] So it’s important for you to kind of really differentiate yourself from these other kind of institutions being like kind of a tech first organization.

Todd Kennedy: [00:08:36] Absolutely. Our CEO, Rich Fairbank, is famous for saying in many ways we’re a technology company that happens to be in banking. And I think we live and breathe that every day. Obviously, our mission is also a really important thing that guides us where we we want to improve the lives of our customers. And financial well-being is such a central part of that. And so I think by leveraging the power of technology to improve customers lives is really what makes Capital One a really unique place to work.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:09] Now, for the folks that aren’t as familiar with Capital One as other institutions, can you kind of in a nutshell describe how Capital One would be different and some of the services you offer to folks like if they’ve only heard of the credit card, maybe they don’t understand all the other services you offer in terms of, you know, traditional banking capabilities.

Todd Kennedy: [00:09:31] Yeah, we’re involved in in most facets of consumer banking. We have a large what we would call a consumer bank that offers checking and savings products. I think what’s unique about us is they are very digital first basically oriented around not a large branch network, but as you mentioned, the sort of really unique and special cafes where increasingly customers don’t need to go in in person, but if they need to, it’s there for them. But more and more of our products and offerings are offered through digital experiences, which I think is where where the world is going and COVID is only accelerated. We also have a large auto finance business, so we’re one of the top auto lenders if you’re looking to purchase a new or used car. So we’re a pretty, pretty full spectrum bank. And I think what we really look to do is put our customers first and really think about where the world is going and build products and experiences that work backwards from where the world is going as opposed to where the world’s been.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:37] And that and it is full service. Like if I have a small business, I can go there for a loan, I can set up a business banking account. You know, there’s commercial banking solutions, there’s, you know, consumer checking solutions. This is full service. It’s not just like as people may think of just a credit card. This is a full service banking operation here.

Todd Kennedy: [00:11:00] Absolutely. We have we have like you said, we have checking and savings accounts and all the other traditional banking services for consumers. We do have a small business banking division. We also have a commercial banking division. Those those divisions aren’t as large and probably don’t get as much prominence as, say, our consumer credit card business. But they’re a huge part of what makes Capital One special as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:23] Right. And I want people to understand that this is it isn’t just a credit. This is something that it’s kind of trying to, like you said, kind of look at banking through the lens of today rather than yesterday.

Todd Kennedy: [00:11:38] Absolutely. Our our our mission is to change banking for good. And there’s sort of a in many ways double meaning there. Right. We we want to put our customers first, but we also see that banking is being transformed. And you just have to look around at all the fintech innovations that are happening. And we think we’re uniquely positioned because we have the experience and the scale and and the knowhow that comes from being in banking for 20 plus years. But also that for Ilene to really transform ourselves and transform what we offer to customers, and that’s why we think we’re sort of uniquely positioned in the market.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:15] Well, if somebody wants to learn more about, you know, even just opening a business account or something like that happen, or they want to pursue one of these jobs that are kind of opening up. Can you share the website for them to get more information?

Todd Kennedy: [00:12:30] Yeah, the easiest way to do that is at WW Capital One. It’s a pretty straightforward that’s both where you can see all of the products that we have to offer. If you’re looking to be a customer of Capital One as well, as you can see at the bottom of the page in terms of career opportunities, we’ll also be doing some more specific outreach in the Atlanta area in the coming months. But if you’re interested, that’s the best place to start.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:57] And that’s Cap, Italo and Ecom. Todd Kennedy, thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Todd Kennedy: [00:13:05] Thank you much. Thank you very much, Lee. I appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:08] You got it. All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.