27 May, 2024
#51 Portrait of a woman in finance: Dominque Bonte
- Can you shortly present your role as today in the organisation (in 1 sentence)?
I am Vice President, Deal Management APEMEA, and we provide oversight to regional teams for deal modelling and reporting, KPI monitoring, global deals structuring, and deal policy adherence. I lead a team of 12 people located in Gurgaon, India, organized in different streams to support regions with regards to deal management for any type of customers: fintech’s, issuers, acquirers, merchants, and digital partners.
- What brought you to finance ?
I have a university degree in business administration. I started my career at PWC in audit, which is more accounting focused. It was not per se a finance job, yet I always interacted with finance teams to audit financial statements and had many interesting opportunities across a wide range of industries. However, after 7 years, I wanted to be engaged in a team and build something rather than staying a consultant. Coincidentally, I was contacted by a head-hunter and joined Mastercard as an assistant controller 15 years ago. Hence, I came to finance by conscious choice. Since I had been exposed to finance departments in my prior experience, I knew it was the backbone of a company: everyone needs finance at some point, and I definitely wanted to be part of that corner stone.
- What did you learn recently regarding gender equality?
I see the world and our company evolving in the right direction in this respect. The key learning for me is that gender equality matters for all of us, it is not a woman battle to fight, this is the right path to improved performance, and I am happy to see more and more male allies over time. I have also made my part in convincing male colleagues in my team that they should claim, take, and enjoy the paternity leave. I feel there is a mutual or reciprocal aspect in gender equality and more people get to see the win-win picture. At Mastercard, we do welcome men in the Women leadership network, which is another tangible evidence of mentality evolution.
- What was one of the decisions that had the most impact on you/your career?
The decision to move abroad with my husband and our 2 children. In 2015, I pursued a job opportunity in Dubai for 2 years with MasterCard (never been there before that). What it brought me, is invaluable: from that point in time, I realized I was capable of much more that what I thought. It changed completely my mindset and made me gain a lot of professional confidence which pushed me to get out of my comfort zone many times after that. This experience was a game changer which allowed me to really accelerate my learning curve and career growth afterwards.
- What would you tell your younger self?
I will say something simple: do not let self-limiting beliefs hold you back. Go try whatever you have in mind. Fear should never be a reason to give up on your plans. Overcome your fears and see what happens.
- Any message to share with female students interested in finance, or with young women starting their career?
My advice would be the same for both females and males: sky is the limit. Seize every single opportunity to learn and unlock your potential to ensure continued progress. Do not take the shortest route to success or money. It is not about the destination; it is about the journey.
