It was Jasma Ghai’s father who decided she must leave Mumbai and attend graduate school in the U.S., despite the gifted young woman’s deep attachment to her extended family— and lack of any connections in America.
The family kept the plan secret but the night before Ghai left, 50 relatives filled her home to say goodbye.
“I was so overwhelmed, I asked if I could delay my departure by a day, but my father simply smiled and drove me to the airport,” Ghai recalls.
Facing the unknown wasn’t easy, but necessity forced Ghai to quickly adapt to her new environment.
“I learned to be open-minded, to welcome all schools of thought and respect the power of my own convictions,” said Ghai, Discover's vice president of global payments product and delivery, and one of PaymentsSource's Most Influential Women in Payments for 2021.
Part of that power came from her father. “He placed his confidence in me that I didn’t even know I had.”
After two post-graduate programs in statistics, Ghai landed at Discover Financial Services in marketing analytics, and quickly began a career that’s progressed for more than 20 years through digital and product marketing to e-commerce and consumer banking. In her current rule she leads emerging payments innovation.
Each career move presented fresh challenges. One that resonated was her promotion to become a director several years ago.
“Suddenly, I felt that all eyes were on me, and that what I said and how I said it mattered a great deal. People were watching and listening," she said. "And there were not many women of Indian origin who had made the ranks of a director at the time, adding pressure for me to make my community proud.”
Under the stress, Ghai felt herself grow from manager to a true leader, which she says is a journey that continuously progresses.
“I learned to establish myself, to voice my opinion, to build my credibility. I learned to ask the right questions and empower my team while still holding them accountable,” she said.
The pandemic has had deep repercussions for Discover. Just before the coronavirus struck, Discover had begun issuing contactless cards, and as demand for more sanitary ways to pay surged, Discover accelerated its rollout of NFC-enabled cards. The move required intensive coordination as employees suddenly were forced to work from home.
But even under that stress, Discover’s well-honed organizational structure rose to the challenge, Ghai said.
As a member of Discover’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion task force, Ghai works to increase the diversity of leaders, making systems more equitable and strengthening inclusiveness, and those priorities proved important to meeting the challenges of 2020.
The company extended flexible working hours and created forums for employees to share best practices, and various departments hosted online awards for the best quarantine workspaces. Over the holidays colleagues shared their artistic, musical and magic skills.
“The lines between work and life have blurred completely during this pandemic. It’s taught me to slow down, pause and appreciate everyone and everything around me,” Ghai said, noting that the unexpected cessation of business travel also gave her more time to focus on her children and family and her own health.
The joy of helping others access opportunities extends to Ghai’s personal life.
Ghai is a co-founder of the Chicago Chapter of Circle of Hope, American India Foundation, a mother-daughter nonprofit whose mission is to give back to the women and young girls in India with a focus on women’s health and wellness and education for young girls.
“My girls are 10 and 12 and our participation is a great way for me to bond with them and they can learn more about their Indian origin,” Ghai said.
And the program gets results. A recent global storytelling program the organization spearheaded raised $7,500 that will go toward online education resources for 1,500 girls in India.
