Head of strategic accounts
Meredith Altenhofen had to know what she was getting into when Marqeta hired her in 2017. Her bosses made it quite clear.
The company gave her the lofty goal of "Make Marqeta the issuing infrastructure for tech giants." And she started that mission with an essentially blank piece of paper, but the full understanding that she was basically in charge of developing partnerships and moving Marqeta and its digital card-issuing capabilities forward.
In helping Marqeta strengthen partnerships with multiple card networks, Altenhofen also landed a key public tech global partnership with Uber, thus powering card-issuing use cases across Uber's business and key constituents. The benefit for Marqeta was quick and obvious — with new customer relationships, increased revenue, strong brand recognition and a new approach to managing complex global partnerships.
"We focus on building a consultative relationship first and deeply understanding what motivates the partner and their customers," said Altenhofen, an honoree in PaymentsSource's Most Influential Women in Payments: NEXT, which highlights those making an impact early in their careers.
"We also focus on telling a story of how our two companies can come together to accomplish their business goals and create incredible experiences for their customers," said Altenhofen, who moved into her role as head of strategic accounts this year.
It's a vital process for Marqeta, as it has gained a strong footing in the digital banking world, whether with traditional banks or the growing challenger and digital-only banks as clients.
As the first hire on the company's partnerships team, Altenhofen developed a strategy for partnerships across global networks and product providers, as well as for referral partners. Her work helped Marqeta expand by addressing small businesses and growing verticals, while making a mark on the company's direct sales efforts.
Meredith stands out as a phenomenal leader who has the unique ability to be both strategic and visionary, while still grounded and execution-oriented.
"My team focuses on a set of named accounts, both prospects and customers," Altenhofen said. "These companies represent the largest global financial institutions and technology firms. Our north star is overall partnership value and revenue."
Marqeta strives for a certain number of new partnerships each year, but it's more about "quality over quantity," Altenhofen noted. "Once the deal is done, the real fun begins. How each partner shows up each day will determine the success and value of the partnership for each partner and most importantly, the end cardholders."
Altenhofen has followed the lead of her boss, Salman Syed, the senior vice president for North America at Marqeta.
"I have learned so much from him during this time," she said. "He's taught me how to manage a dynamic, diverse and driven team by focusing on what matters most to each individual."
The past year put a dent in her traveling, which Altenhofen says took up close to 70% of her time on the job.
"I loved the busy lifestyle, but when the pandemic hit, it suddenly stopped and I was faced with a new set of challenges," she said. "I needed to make sure I had the time allotted to unplug and spend time with my family. Now, I set aside two hours every night to spend time with my 15-month-old son and husband."
She's also kept her weekends "sacred," in limiting work to only urgent matters. "I was given great advice that it's not about some prescriptive rule on work/life balance, but rather what do you need to do to ensure you feel balanced right now — and I've carried that with me throughout the last year," she explained.
In the coming years, she'd like to see diversity in the workplace shift from a "hiring target" to something that is an explicit goal. "I'd like to see companies and teams go out of their way to actively change the makeup of their workforce," she said. "Hiring managers should have financial goals tied to establishing and growing a diverse workforce."
Altenhofen also is a proponent of establishing a sabbatical program for parental leave.
"Mothers typically take significantly longer parental leave than their male colleagues, and it's challenging for them to return to work afterward," she said. "Fathers should be encouraged to take the same amount of time. By making it more mainstream to take a few months away from work to focus on something personal, it'll be easier for women to step back into the workplace after parental leave."
Nominating executive:
Renata Caine, senior vice president, international, strategy and planning
What she says:
"Meredith stands out as a phenomenal leader who has the unique ability to be both strategic and visionary, while still grounded and execution-oriented, leading the strategy for establishing some of Marqeta's most impactful partnerships."
