Synchrony started making
huge tech investments,
including in cloud data
centers, machine learning,
predictive analytics, and
robotics process automa-
tion to help drive speed and
personalization. Synchrony
has hired more than 170
data scientists, and its
tech teams are among the
fastest-growing groups
within the firm, now
numbering approximately
1,000 people. “The big
investment we’ve made in
technology has definitely
paid off,” says Keane.
In the end, she notes,
you can’t be complacent in
any partnership. The word
she likes to use for such
long-term unions? They
are, she says, “marriages.”
—Polina Marinova
employees who worked
across Synchrony’s tech-
nology groups to create
“vignettes,” or potential
scenarios (think: a ski
trip with friends splitting
costs), that best describe
how the Venmo credit card
experience should feel.
The credit card would
have an in-app experi-
ence, a personalized touch,
and a mechanism for
rewards. Synchrony won
the deal and, in 2020, will
roll out the new offering
to Venmo’s 40 million
customers.
Keane’s fast-twitch sales
muscles are part of what
has powered Synchrony’s
stellar results. Its stock
delivered a total return to
shareholders of 62% year
to date, and it is outpac-
ing rivals handily when it
comes to both return on
capital and return on equity.
Keane admits she isn’t
sure Synchrony would
have won the Venmo deal
prior to 2014. That’s when
Q3 2016 Q3 2019
5
6
7
8
9
10
11%
SYNCHRONY
FINANCIAL
RETURN ON
CAPITAL
DISCOVER
FINANCIAL
10.4%
81
FORTUNE.COM // DECEMBER 2019
BJØR N
GULDEN
CEO PUMA
CHALLENGE
REDISCOVERING YOUR ROOTS
Meek Mill is thumping in the background
at Puma’s new Manhattan flagship store on
Fifth Avenue. Shoppers, many hailing from
well out of town, browse the latest shoes,
workout gear, and street fashions designed by
Puma’s celebrity style gurus: Rihanna, Jay-Z,
and, yes, the rapper, Meek Mill.
“Cool” is how one Belgian shopper sums up
the vibe. Yet just a few years ago, “cool” and
SYNCHRONICITY
A good partnership,
says Keane, is really
like a “marriage.”
FIELD OF VISION
Gulden, a former
professional foot-
baller, has brought
Puma credibility
among athletes.
Synchrony’s Results
Are on the Money
DI
RK
BR
UN
IEC
KI
