Juatise Gathings
Regional Operations Director
Discover Financial Services
Chicago, IL USA
“We get better as a company when we bring diverse personalities and perspectives to the table.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationJuatise Gathings
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I grew up in the Roseland neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois.
When I was in the middle of high school, my family moved to Arizona.
Even though I had gone to a college prep school in Chicago, I saw that even the worst schools in Arizona were better than our best schools in Chicago because of better community investment.
I graduated from Ottawa University with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA).
I started with Discover Financial Services as an administrative assistant and moved up to lead analyst after a year.
I stayed with Discover and kept working my way up—I worked as a department manager in New Albany, Ohio, followed by a role as senior operations manager in Salt Lake City, Utah.
I eventually moved back to Chicago, where I currently work as the regional operations manager for Discover.
In addition to my work with Discover, I’m passionate about advocating for community investment, particularly starting with investment in our youth.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Regional Operations Director
I lead the day-to-day operations at a financial services company.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Numbers
Working with Others
Day to Day
I spend a lot of time interacting with people. I ensure my leadership team has the right tools to make sure employees can realize their full potential at work. I spend time understanding customer experience, including problem-solving for any blockers. I also work on budgeting to make sure our expenses aren’t growing faster than the profit or value they’re driving for the company. I also spend time in the community. For example, I coach local nonprofits to help enhance their financial structures.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for professionals
If you want to work as an operations director, it's important to seek out diverse opportunities throughout a company. People are so focused on upward mobility, which is still important, but it's also important not to underestimate the value of lateral and cross-functional movement. For example, if you're in compliance but you want to gain experience managing a project, then don't be afraid to move over and take a project management position. These experiences help create a well-rounded leader.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"I can't fully be myself here. I need to temper who I am in order to fit in."
