Capital One’s mission is to use humanity, ingenuity, and simplicity to change banking for good. And it’s people like Indu Jain, the company’s Chief Technology Officer for Capital One Auto Refinance, who make the mission possible.
Jain joined Capital One in 2003 and became completely immersed in the company’s values, culture, and talent. A learner by nature, she worked with various teams that allowed her to work on Capital One’s cloud technology before taking on her current role as Chief Technology Officer for Auto Refinance in 2019. Under Jain’s leadership, the REFI tech team grew from 13 associates to more than 75. The team also built several innovative products that propelled the business to more loan originations and significant cost efficiency.
Jain champions a spirit of innovation alongside a strong advocacy for women in technology and diversity. Discover how she’s built a thriving, inclusive team for nearly two decades at Capital One—and why she continues to choose Capital One every day.
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Indu Jain
Chief Technology Officer for Capital One Auto Refinance and 19 years of service at Capital One
Her top three must-haves at work:
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Equal Opportunities for Women and Men
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Learning Opportunities
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The People You Work With
Tell us about your career journey and how you became Chief Technology Officer of Capital One Auto Refinance?
Our business is all about saving customers money when they refinance their existing car loans, and we take a lot of pride in providing our customers an amazing experience. My teams are responsible for building products like the auto refinance website, call center tools, and marketing capabilities. We partner closely with product, design, and data science teams to build various machine learning-based solutions. Innovation is in our DNA. We strongly believe in experimentation and innovation.
I joined Capital One as a software engineer, but I have gotten to learn about our Credit Card and Auto Refinance Businesses. Through those functions, I have learned how we can help people live the lives they deserve. With our Auto Refinance Business, we enable customers to refinance their cars and save money—money that can be used to live a better life. Customers can also use our credit cards to get exclusive benefits to create those special moments in life.
You’ve worked at Capital One for almost 20 years. What about this company has made you want to build a career here?
Capital One is a great place to work for several reasons, and I can share my top three:
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Capital One promotes associate growth. It is in our culture to experiment and try new things in a safe environment. We share our experiences with others, and vice versa, so we’re always learning from one another.
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I love Capital One’s values, especially “Do the Right Thing.” We respect our colleagues, customers, and communities. It makes me feel that I am working for a company that truly cares and provides equal opportunities for everyone.
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Capital One has a great focus on diversity, inclusion, and belonging. I am so proud of the work that we all do in various business resource groups, especially Women In Tech.
In addition to your role, you’ve also been a fierce advocate for women in tech and diversity at the company. Why is this so important to you? How do you contribute your voice and your mentorship to the organization and others within the company?
Diversity, inclusion and belonging are very important to me. As a woman in tech for 25-plus years, I have had the benefit of what leaders before me had done for promoting diversity. I truly believe that now it is my turn to pay it forward. It warms my heart when I see that new women in tech do not have to go through the same barriers that I did and that they have a better support system now.
Currently, I lead the Plano, Texas, chapter of Women in Tech, Capital One’s Business Resource Group (BRG) for women technologists and allies. We focus on recruiting more women to join the BRG, supporting them within Capital One, and helping them with their career goals. Our programs, which focus on aspects like mentorship, training, and health, support women both personally and professionally. We connect with our community through monthly newsletters, Slack channels, and a mix of in-person and virtual meet-ups. We are so fortunate to have a community where everyone elevates one another and strives to create a better world. It truly is very special, and I am very proud of what we have created here.
Capital One is committed to changing banking for good. One of InHerSight’s Best Companies to Work For, the company stays true to diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in-house and in their communities, too. Through their Impact Initiative, Capital One prioritizes putting money and time into advocating for an inclusive society, building thriving communities, and creating financial tools that enrich lives. Explore more about Capital One’s culture and benefits at the link below.
What does success look like to you?
I am energized by the best customer and associate experiences. Success is when a customer refinances their car loan with us, saves money, and tells their friends and family about it because they are absolutely wowed by the experience. Overall, success looks very simple—I am only successful when all of our associates have the best experience of their professional lives with us: learning new things, innovating, experimenting, having fun, and elevating one another.
Lastly, innovation is a pillar within Capital One's culture, how does innovation drive you and your team's work?
As I mentioned previously, innovation is in our DNA. I strongly believe that we must continuously experiment and innovate. We have regular hackathons where folks from various job families come together and play around with various technologies or ideas. In addition, we allow anyone on our team to present an idea and pitch for the budget to make their concept a reality.
Capital One also provides support to all associates for patenting ideas and credits them for their innovation. For example, last year, we saved hundreds of thousands of dollars as teams continuously innovated and produced several ideas, leading to more cost efficiency and a better customer experience.
