Sr. Legal & Compliance Analyst

#TeamAlegeus would love to get to know you better. Tell us a little about yourself, your role, and what you enjoy most about being part of the team.

I am a Sr. Legal and Compliance Analyst. I support a wide range of compliance, governance, and risk management initiatives, which vary from leading audit-related projects to partnering with business teams to improve processes, implement controls, and manage risk. I also support the legal team from an operational perspective, including corporate governance activities that support our global business operations. Outside of my day-to-day role, I also co-lead our Early Career ERG.

One of the things I enjoy most about Alegeus is probably not an original answer, but it is an honest one. It’s the people. Between my day-to-day and my involvement with the Early Career ERG, I’ve had the chance to build relationships with colleagues across different teams and at all stages of their career. Through that, I’ve gotten to connect employees interested in other areas of the business with people who could give them a firsthand look at those paths, and in some cases watched that contribute to their next move at Alegeus. Seeing those connections turn into collaboration, partnerships, mentorships, and professional growth for both myself and others has been one of the more rewarding parts of my time at Alegeus.

Your career journey at Alegeus has been impressive, progressing from Office Assistant to Sr. Legal & Compliance Analyst over the past five years. What inspired you to pursue opportunities outside your original role, and what helped you navigate that growth?

I came into the Office Assistant role excited to discover different areas of the business, but with no corporate experience and no direct path in front of me. I knew I had certain strengths, but I wasn’t sure where I wanted to apply them just yet. I’m always ready for a challenge, so whenever an opportunity came up to take on something new, I viewed it as a chance to grow and an opportunity to figure out what was right for me rather than stay within the boundaries of my role at the time. Every position I’ve held at Alegeus so far has gotten me closer to that goal, and I continue to pursue my next step (currently working toward a Project Management certificate, which will hopefully get me to that next step!)

During my time as an Office Assistant and an Administrative Assistant, I had the opportunity to support four different executives. That gave me a unique perspective into how different departments operate, what roles exist and what characteristics thrive in those roles, all while developing my skills and knowledge of the organization.

I’ve also been incredibly fortunate to have leaders who invested in my growth. They each gave me opportunities to learn, challenged me to grow, and supported me as I transitioned beyond their teams into Compliance. Leaders on my current team have continued that support by trusting me to lead projects, take ownership, and continue developing professionally. My career at Alegeus is in part a reflection of the people who encouraged me and opened doors along the way.

Legal and compliance touches nearly every area of the business. What’s one aspect of your work that colleagues may not fully realize, but has a significant impact behind the scenes?

A lot of our work happens behind the scenes and enables the business to operate more efficiently while managing risk. We develop processes, respond to client questions, support audits, implement controls to reduce risk areas, and much more. When those things are working well (which is the goal!) they’re often invisible, but they’re critical to protecting the company and our partners.

People may not realize how much investigation and coordination can sit behind what appears to be a simple response to a partner or business question. Answering these questions can often mean tracking down information from Ops, Product, InfoSec, and other teams to make sure that our answer is thorough, thoughtful, and an accurate representation of Alegeus as a whole. This is also one of the best parts of the compliance function — we love that teams across the business are coming to us with their compliance and regulatory related questions. It shows that we are trusted thought partners and SMEs, and that the business truly cares about doing the right thing, which we on the compliance team love to see!

Looking back on your time here, what’s a challenge, project, or accomplishment that made you realize how much you’ve grown professionally?

One project that stands out to me was owning the development of our ACH exposure limit monitoring program. As part of an external regulatory requirement, our team was tasked with establishing, implementing, and monitoring exposure limits for each of our partners’ daily transaction volumes. It required coordinating across multiple departments, analyzing years of transaction data, developing a new process, and presenting recommendations to executive leadership. As a result, we have a better understanding of our partners’ spend patterns, when something changes, and why. And as a cherry on top, as a result of this work, we are compliant with our external requirements!

This project was one of the first where I was driving the work rather than just contributing to it. Looking back, it showed me how much I’d grown in my analysis skills, project management, and confidence in taking on a complex initiative. It also played a significant role in my promotion from Analyst to Sr. Analyst; I got to demonstrate that I could take full ownership of a project, from strategy and analysis all the way to documentation, implementation, and communication.

What keeps you engaged at Alegeus, and how has the #PeopleFirst culture supported your career development along the way?

For me, #PeopleFirst is the reason I’ve been able to build the career I have at Alegeus. From the beginning, I’ve been surrounded by leaders who encouraged me to explore new opportunities, trusted me with responsibilities beyond my job description, and invested in and advocated for my development.

Just a few months into working at Alegeus, I was encouraged to step in as an interim Executive Assistant. Later, I was trusted with planning G&A offsite meetings even though I had not done anything at that scale before. When I began working more closely with the compliance team, I coordinated our vendor implementations, learning the context of the role as I learned through projects. Each of those opportunities stretched my skills in a different way and helped me figure out what I was capable of and where I wanted to go next.

That same sentiment is what made me interested in giving back through the Early Career ERG. I’ve benefited from people who were willing to invest in me before I necessarily had all the experience on paper, and I want to help create those same opportunities for others to build connections, develop their careers, and find confidence to take on bigger things.

You love to travel and are always planning your next adventure. What’s the most memorable trip you’ve taken, and what destination is currently at the top of your travel bucket list?

I firmly believe that travel is one of the best investments you can make (this is why I’m not on the treasury or finance teams 😉 ). Experiencing new places, cultures, and perspectives has taught me so much, and it is something I will always find time for.

My most memorable trip was to the National Parks in Kenya. Seeing wildlife in their natural habitat, as intended, is a massive perspective-changer. I felt a sense of calmness there that I haven’t felt elsewhere in the world. Recently, Australia and New Zealand shot up to the top of my travel bucket list. I’m hoping to make this happen in the next two years so that I will have visited all 7 continents before I start my next decade of life!