I’M CHANGING WHAT’S POSSIBLE BY…

Influencing others and bringing out their best.

MARLENA BRUN

VP, Program Manager – Strategic Initiatives

REMOTE – SOUTH CAROLINA

Snapshot:
Location: Remote – South Carolina

Education: B.S Political Science & Economics, M.S. Risk Management, MBA Fraud Management & Economic Crimes. Certified Project Management Professional and Certified SAFe Agile Professional Consultant.

Interests: Personal interests include jewelry making, listening to music and spending time with my rambunctious son and family. When time allows, I also enjoy hot yoga, four-wheeling and participating in Spartan Races across the country.

A Bit About Me:

I was born in VA but raised primarily in OH. I am one of three children in a very close-knit family. Growing up as the daughter of an educator, I have always placed a great deal of time and effort on my personal and professional development. The efforts have paid off, allowing me to develop into the Strategic Innovative leader that I am today. I am known for building trusted relationships, pioneering new ideas and championing change to deliver unprecedented growth & results enterprise-wide. Flexibility and adaptability are my core strengths that allow me not to be paralyzed by ambiguous situations, but to thrive during a crisis and emerge triumphant. My positive energy is contagious, which allows me to influence others and bring out their best.

Critical Experiences:
I have had several critical experiences over my career as mentioned above, but I am truly appreciative of my Diversity Network Affiliations. After being heavily involved in Kettering site’s AAN+ and WN+ activities for over 10 years, I became a remote employee. To continue to stay visible and engaged, I volunteered to become the co-leader of the Women’s Network+ Remote Hub. I’m proud to say my co-leader and I have truly created a forum that meets the unique needs of our remote population and connects them to each other and to the business. We were most recently recognized for our leadership with the 2018 Global Diversity Network Symposium Award.

Career Development:
The most valuable contributors to my career development have been my sponsors, mentors and mentees both at Synchrony and outside of the company. My career thus far has brought many rewards as well as challenges, I could not have navigated without my personal and professional Board of Directors to be my advocates, sounding boards and champions. These individuals each have a very specific role in my development and have pushed me to not to settle for what’s “safe”. The best advice I have received is… “Be comfortable with being uncomfortable, that is the time you will flourish”. These relationships are truly valuable, and I pride myself on giving back as much as I receive.

Role/Function:
As the Strategic Management Office Leader on Synchrony Prism, I am afforded the opportunity to work with several cross functional teams (Credit, IT, Enterprise Customer Engagement, Enterprise Operations and Marketing) in delivering one of the most important initiatives across Synchrony. Everyday brings a new adventure, as we bring a better financing experience, more sales and lower losses to our Customers, Partners and Shareholders.

Synchrony Value:
Driven – never settle for the status quo, always strive to exceed expectations and deliver on your commitments.

You may also be interested in

Kaysona’s Story

Life at synchrony|

Employee Stories: KAYSONA JONES, CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

Building relationships and pursuing my passions.