Jo Jagadish's professional career started over 15 years ago, first as a software engineer at Accenture after which she pivoted to financial services. "To date, I have worked at some of the largest FIs in the world including HSBC, Citi, JPMorgan and now TD. My career in payments kicked off in 2012 with the launch of the first few U.S. mobile payments solutions at Citi. Keep in mind, this was only a few years after Apple and Android released their first smartphones, a pivotal time in digital payments and the industry at large, " Jo shares.
Throughout Jo's career in payments, she has built, launched, and commercialized several innovative payment capabilities from Apple Pay to a Healthcare digital wallet (Money2forHealth) to solutions for Small and Medium-sized Businesses, such as Cashflow360. "These projects, and the passion I have for building great products, led me to my current role as Head of Corporate Products & Services and Innovation at TD."
As Head of Commercial Bank Products and Innovation for TD Bank, Jo Jagadish leads a team of talented product, service and operational experts with the aim to transform TD's solutions for businesses—ranging from micro to institutional clients. "More specifically, I’m responsible for leading the commercial products (Cash Management, Trade Finance, Deposits and Digital), Servicing and implementations/onboarding teams. My goal is to accelerate TD's Commercial Bank innovation strategy in order to build the next generation of payment products and platforms that will define our digital future. "
"TD has a very strong, people-driven approach to culture", Jo says: " because we believe hiring and nurturing the right talent is a business imperative. We are particularly proud of our talent development, leadership, and mentoring programs, which can be found at all levels of the bank."
As a firm believer that diverse perspectives and representation matter, Jo is personally involved in 1-1 coaching for emerging women leaders in the company. "I also spend a fair bit of my time with women in tech who want to pursue roles in the business or product domain but lack the confidence or are hesitant to make the switch. We also promote growth at the bank by developing programs for product managers, hiring women who have been out of the workforce for a period of time through our Career RELAUNCH initiative, and providing networking opportunities specifically tailored for communities of color. These programs help keep the humanity in banking", says Jo.
Jo is proud to be impacting fintech through her work at TD. "TD is always looking for ways to innovate to remain agile in the evolving payments landscape and to deliver better solutions for our clients. Within the last year alone, we’ve announced a number of new offerings stemming from strategic collaborations with fintechs like DailyPay and FISPAN. We are significantly investing in and accelerating the development of digital platforms, B2B and B2C payment capabilities, and ecosystem partnerships through embedded banking to ensure our Small Business and Commercial clients can enjoy an easier, more sophisticated banking experience. "
Outside of her role at TD, Jo has volunteered for several years with the Financial Solutions Lab and the Center for Financial Services Innovation, mentoring early-stage fintech companies that are solving pain points for overlooked segments—including people of color, people with disabilities, and low-income women. "Within this mentorship role, I’ve been able to help companies with a diverse array of solutions, from drafting a business plan to making connections across the industry to providing feedback on go-to-market strategies, and more."
More on Jo
Where you currently live: Central New Jersey
Family at home: Husband and 2 boys, 8 & 4
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Favorite hobby: Traveling, reading
Favorite part of your day: Putting my boys to bed
Favorite show to binge: Ted Lasso
Daily Diary
5:30 am: Wake up and spend 5-10 min stretching
6:30 am: Leave for the office, typically reading The Economist on my way
7:30 – 9 am: There's nothing more I enjoy than a quiet productive morning with a good cup of coffee.
9 am – 6 pm: Team meetings, Steering committees, view sprint demo for latest platform, operational issue/customer escalation, connecting with a FinTech and determining if there is applicability to pursue further, connect with an industry peer.
8 pm: Dinner with the family and spend some down time with the kids before going to bed.
9:30 – 10:30 pm – Catch up on any urgent emails. Otherwise, time to call it a day!