Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 34
34
( 2026)
SPONSOR CONTENT
For Capital One Canada, innovation starts with people
M
aria Hristova
loves solving
technical
problems. That
was one of the
reasons her new position as a
director of software development
at Capital One Canada looked
so attractive when she joined the
company less than a year ago.
What sealed the deal was Capital
One’s commitment to its stated
mission: to “change banking for
good by helping Canadians
succeed with credit.”
We invest in continuous
learning for our people,
whether it’s learning
job-specific skills, new
technology, or even
developing great critical thinking skills so we
can drive innovation for
our customers.
— Susan Zettergren
Chief People Officer
“There are so many
opportunities in the tech field here
in Toronto,” says Hristova. “This
is a vibrant market. So having a
mission that I could connect with
easily really makes a company
stand out. Canada is a welcoming
place with people coming in from
all over. Helping them succeed
with credit, empowering them to
achieve their financial goals feels
pretty good.”
There was one more puzzle
piece for Hristova — Capital One’s
Capital One Canada offers tuition reimbursements for employees looking to further their education through
certification, diploma, or degree programs.
strong focus on learning and
employee advancement. “I spent
the last 20 years working with
both large and small companies,”
she says, “and I would say
the culture of learning and
development here at Capital One
Canada is unique.”
"We believe in investing in
talent,” says Susan Zettergren,
chief people officer. “By that I
mean we prioritize continuous
learning for our people, whether
it’s brushing up on job-specific
skills, new technology, or even
developing strong critical thinking
skills so we can drive innovation
for our customers.”
That investment includes a sixmonth mentorship program that
is available to everyone at every
level in the company. An online
portal called OneLearn has access
to hundreds of different courses
for various job descriptions across
the organization on everything
from coding to credit and business
analytics.
Employees can also access
coaching sessions through a thirdparty company, while another
program allows employees to
rotate through various parts of
the organization to experience
new aspects of working for the
company. And the Capital One
Leads program is a nine-month
development program that focuses
on both tactical leadership skills
and emotional intelligence.
“We offer reimbursement for
employees looking to further their
education through certificates,
diplomas, undergraduate
and graduate programs,” says
Zettergren. The allowance can
cover tuition, books and other
eligible fees.
Hristova says innovation is one
of the main tools Capital One
Canada uses to help employees
navigate the challenges brought
on by rapidly evolving workplace
environments. With AI poised to
