Business Leader - Business Leader Mastercard Employee Review

2.0
Oct 30, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice HQ facilities and amenities. Located in beautiful Purchase, NY. Great pay and benefits. Interesting people to work with and diversity is prevalent.

Cons

Only the selected few are successful at MC. Org. structure has too many layers of middle management (SBLs and Group Heads) who are out of touch with the needs and issues of the company. Processes and systems are very backward, and it takes forever to get anything done. Too much politics and favoritism - it appears a core group of people are recycled or moved around and giving opportunities to advance their career. The culture is one of fear and retaliation resulting in a complacent attitude and fear of making changes or improvements. The company is constantly laying off and reorganizing without any future goal in mind. This creates a culture of chaos and constant upheaval not to mention the low moral it creates among the employees. Fire drill demands and unrealistic workloads are an everyday occurrence. Oh I can go on... but I'll stop here.

Explore other reviews about Mastercard

5.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Technically strong and work culture is good

Cons

interview process is long , no issues

4.0
May 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Mastercard does a great job fostering an inclusive and supportive environment. There are genuinely good people throughout the organization, and leadership often invests in employee engagement through events, recognition, and culture-building initiatives. I enjoyed many of the relationships I built while working there, and there are teams that truly care about collaboration and supporting one another.

Cons

Compensation at the director level did not feel competitive compared to the level of responsibility expected. Career advancement can also be extremely challenging due to how top-heavy the organization is with senior leadership roles. There are a large number of Senior Vice Presidents, sometimes without clear scope or experience aligned to the title, which creates limited room for high-performing employees to grow. At times, it felt like senior leaders were being hired primarily to manage or communicate with other senior leaders, rather than drive meaningful operational impact. In product and go-to-market roles especially, priorities are often heavily driven by funding decisions. It can be frustrating when projects suddenly shift in importance or remain underfunded for long periods of time while awaiting senior leadership review. This sometimes leaves highly talented employees in limbo, unable to move initiatives forward despite strong momentum or market opportunity. The organization can also be very comfortable with the status quo, which creates a slower pace that many employees seem accustomed to. For people who are highly motivated and eager to drive change, it can feel difficult to navigate the number of roadblocks and layers of approval required to move initiatives forward.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All