
Andy Navarrete
Executive Vice President
Capital One
Capital One
Executive Vice President
I manage Capital One's External Affairs team, which engages with our outside stakeholders.
Our company loves meetings, so interacting with my team and my colleagues across the enterprise is a big part of my day. We meet to discuss the most significant opportunities and challenges facing our company, and its relationships with the external constituencies that influence what we do. That includes government officials, the media, community leaders and, of course, our customers. Given the scope of our role, we tend to be involved in just about everything going on at the company.
Here's the first step for professionals
You have to be open to new or different opportunities. I began my career in a very specialized area of the law, but soon learned that the substance of what I was working on had the potential to be much more impactful on the company. I did bank regulation, and banks are very highly regulated. That meant educating people across the company about the strategic importance of regulation, and how it impacts their work. I was able to build relationships and credibility that set me up for new roles.
"I was told it was crazy to quit a paying job for an internship. I was told English majors were unemployable. I was told government jobs were a dead end, and that regulatory work was boring. I was told that the secret to success is following the herd."