For McNamara, shopping is both a passion and a career. At Citi Retail Services, she provides retail companies with private label and co-brand credit cards. McNamara is often on the customer end of those transactions. She loves to shop, even at places that don’t accept credit cards.
“Flea markets, yard sales, wherever items are for sale, I’m interested,” McNamara says. “My husband says I’m a magpie and attracted to anything shiny, like jewelry, but I love apparel, housewares and everything else.”
That love of retail got McNamara through challenging times, namely the 2008 recession and subsequent regulations on the banking industry. “The hardest part was working with our retail partners to make sure they understood the moves as we went through those changes,” McNamara remembers.
“But the goals, objectives and metrics were very simple. The true north was clear about what mutual success would look like.” That remains true. “The complexity of regulation and compliance make the topography of our industry challenging to navigate,” McNamara concedes. She’s not asking for sympathy. On the contrary, “The success of our retail partners and customers remains our top priority. And anyway, there’s no crying in banking.”
