Mastercard's Ellen Jackowski sees opportunity in sustainability

Ellen Jackowski always thought she would work in government.

She grew up outside of Washington, D.C. She interned for her U.S. senator. She spent part of her junior year of college in Brussels with the NATO. But while in Belgium, Jackowski found herself at an inflection point. She began asking herself where she saw herself making the biggest impact and how she could drive change with her voice and capabilities.

“That’s when I shifted to the private sector,” she told Newsweek .

After graduation, she took a job as a management consultant. That position led her to a 15-year career at HP, where she grew her sustainability experience within the global supply chain and eventually became the executive director of the company’s nonprofit. In 2022, Jackowski made the decision to join Mastercar