At 28, Ryan Beaudry has the kind of intentional professional trajectory in mind that eludes most people their entire working lives: “Coming into the workforce, I mapped out a career plan and said, ‘Okay, what skills do I need to advance?’” he explains. In the five years since being recruited by newly public MasterCard Worldwide while still earning his bachelor’s at Manhattanville College (from which he graduated with honors), Beaudry has rapidly ascended from working on emerging e-commerce technologies to positions in product development, project management, and global strategy.
In his current role, Beaudry supports quarterly earnings preparation and events geared toward investors; monitors shareholder positions and external analyst models; and updates the investor relations part of the mega-organization’s external website, “an important link with Wall Street,” according to Group Executive, Investor Relations Barbara Gasper, who also notes his “frequent, direct contact with our CFO.” Of his atypical access to higher-ups, Beaudry reasons, “You always have to have your hand raised—to take on new projects, to share your experiences or perspective.”
He’s also helped his peers around the world share their perspectives (“Being technology-native is what differentiates millennials in the workplace,” he says) through YoPro, a global MasterCard initiative he founded in response to the company’s “rapid cultural transformation”—wherein millennials represented four percent of its employees four years ago, to nearly 30 percent today. “We now have six YoPro chapters, from Singapore to Purchase, connecting young professionals across geographies on business initiatives,” he says.
Next on Beaudry’s list? An MBA. But while he may be focused, he hasn’t carved his future—or that career plan—out in stone. “I always knew I wanted to make an impact,” he says. “That could take so many different angles.”
