Title: Counsel for corporate procurement
Home base: Cleveland
Mentor:
Tenure at KeyCorp: Three years
What she does: Hosein counsels Key’s business units on regulatory requirements, compliance and emerging legal issues related to evolving technology. She also negotiates third-party agreements, primarily in the areas of cloud and enterprise technology.
View from regulatory side: Before joining KeyCorp, Jasmine Hosein had been working with a law firm representing the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The assignment: litigation against financial institutions tied to the mortgage crisis. This gave her crucial insight into how to work with regulators that is proving helpful now. “What are they really looking for? You can read regulations and they are intended to give you guidance. But when you sit down with a regulator, it is a bit of a different experience,” she said.
Eye on risk: Hosein’s role is an important one given the intense scrutiny around data security. “I sit through more cybersecurity conferences than I do legal conferences. My division falls under Key technology and operations, so you have to be able to talk the talk,” she said.
Easy to put in the extra effort: Only three years in at Key, Hosein is already making an impact beyond her actual job duties. She launched KeyNect Over Lunch, a networking group for employees in the Key technology and operations division. It uses the company’s internal phone book and allows employees to opt in or out of chances to connect with co-workers over breakfast or lunch. “It’s great to go to work at a place that says, ‘If you try hard, if you are interested and engaged, Key will give you the runway to go with it.’ Just the fact that I can, and they encourage that, makes me want to do it,” Hosein said.
Power boost: Hosein is proud to work at Key, which is led by one of the few female CEOs in the industry, Beth Mooney. Hosein also works with Amy Brady, one of the few female CIOs. “I think that makes me want to deliver more, so they can deliver more,” she said.
You do you: Mooney encourages employees to bring their authentic selves to work. “Our work environment is incredibly inclusive,” Hosein said. “Who you are at home is who you should be at the office.”
No fear: Hosein was “very difficult not to notice,” Brady said. They met when Hosein approached Brady during a break at a leadership conference and asked her to sponsor a networking idea she had. The next day, Brady called Hosein out in front of everyone and asked her to share the idea — which would later become KeyNect Over Lunch.
Recalling that experience, Brady told Hosein, “The fact that you were so poised and able to stand up in front of 200, 300 people and pitch your idea, which not only benefited you but benefited the entire group — it really inspired me and made a lasting impression.”
