When a company is drowning in data, it takes a leader with clarity, vision, and grit to steer the ship through. Marc Rind, the Chief Technology Officer of Data at Fiserv, is that man. In the fast-paced world of fintech, where every transaction leaves a digital footprint and every piece of information holds potential insight, Marc has taken Fiserv’s mountain of data and turned it into one of the company’s greatest assets.
This is the story of a leader who understands that data isn’t just numbers—it’s the foundation of financial innovation.
From the Dot-Com Boom to Data Leadership
Marc’s journey into the world of technology didn’t start in the finance world. Like many tech leaders of his generation, his career kicked off during the internet boom of the 1990s. Fresh out of Emerson College with a Master’s degree in Business Communications, Marc found himself fascinated not just by what the internet could do for marketing or public relations, but by the way data and technology were beginning to transform industries.
He didn’t start out in fintech. Marc spent the early part of his career working with DotCom startups—at a time when everyone was figuring out how to turn the web into a business platform. Here, Marc learned the nuts and bolts of data-driven innovation. He discovered that the companies who won were the ones who knew how to use their data, not just collect it.
It wasn’t long before Marc moved to Automatic Data Processing (ADP), one of the largest providers of human resources and payroll solutions. This was where Marc’s talents came into their own.
The ADP Years: Building a Data Powerhouse
At ADP, Marc spent 16 years developing one of the company’s most valuable assets: the ADP Data Cloud. The goal wasn’t simply to amass data, but to make it work for ADP’s 600,000 clients. HR and payroll systems generate immense amounts of data, and Marc’s challenge was to unify it into something coherent and actionable.
He didn’t stop at building a platform. Marc’s vision extended to how the data could be used to generate insights, driving new products and services like ADP’s National Employment Report. Under his leadership, the ADP Data Cloud became a tool that not only benefited the company’s clients but also set a new standard in the HR industry.
Marc wasn’t just thinking about technology. He was thinking about how to use that technology to solve real business problems. This is a hallmark of Marc’s approach to leadership—technology is never the end goal; it’s the means to a bigger, better solution.
The Move to Fiserv: Tackling the Data Giant
In 2020, Marc made a bold move to Fiserv, one of the largest financial services technology companies in the world. Why would a leader at the top of his game in one of the most influential HR firms switch industries? The answer is simple: the challenge at Fiserv was even bigger.
Fiserv’s business spans across more than 1,800 financial institutions, providing everything from core processing systems to payment solutions. The company is an undisputed giant in the world of fintech, but its real value lies in the data it collects.
For Marc, this was a gold mine. Fiserv’s data was spread across various business units—siloed and underutilized. The opportunity to create a unified data ecosystem was immense.
The Challenge: Unifying Fiserv’s Data
Fiserv had all the data it needed to drive innovation, but it wasn’t connected. Different business units handled their own data, making it hard to leverage the information for insights that could benefit the company as a whole. Marc saw this fragmentation as an opportunity.
When he joined Fiserv, the first question he was asked was, “What technology stack should we be using for data going forward?” It wasn’t just about picking the right tools. Marc knew that the real challenge lay in uniting Fiserv’s data into a common platform while maintaining the integrity and ownership of that data within the various business units.
Marc wasn’t going to tear down systems that were working for each unit. Instead, he created a strategy that allowed these units to keep control of their data while contributing to a larger cloud-based ecosystem. This federated approach let Fiserv leverage its data across the entire organization without disrupting what was already working at the individual unit level.
Cloud Migration: Building Fiserv’s Data Future
Moving a company like Fiserv to the cloud is no small feat. The sheer scale of the operation is daunting, and with data being one of the company’s most critical assets, the risks are high. But Marc thrives on complexity. He understood that Fiserv’s future rested on its ability to manage data efficiently, and the cloud was the key.
Fiserv’s data needs fluctuate dramatically, particularly when it comes to compute resources. Marc saw that by moving to the cloud, Fiserv could not only scale its operations to handle these spikes in demand but also manage costs more effectively. The elastic nature of the cloud would allow Fiserv to scale up when needed and dial back when demand subsided.
But Marc wasn’t just thinking about the technical side. He knew that a successful migration would require buy-in from across the company. Different teams had different needs, and Marc’s job was to ensure that everyone understood the benefits of the shift without feeling like they were losing control of their data.
The result? A cloud infrastructure that allows Fiserv to harness its data like never before. The company is now able to pull insights from across its business units, driving new innovations and giving its clients access to a level of data-driven insight that’s unmatched in the industry.
The Achievements: Real Results for Fiserv
Under Marc’s leadership, Fiserv has transformed its approach to data. The cloud migration is well underway, and the benefits are already becoming clear. Fiserv’s unified data platform is giving the company new capabilities, allowing it to create products and services that simply weren’t possible before.
The integration of data across Fiserv’s various business units is delivering insights that are driving both innovation and efficiency. Clients now have access to insights they wouldn’t get anywhere else, and Fiserv is able to respond to market changes faster than ever.
But perhaps the most significant achievement is the cultural shift that Marc has helped to foster within the company. By focusing on collaboration and keeping data owners involved in the process, Marc has built a system that not only works but is embraced by the teams that use it.
The Road Ahead: Marc Rind’s Vision for Fiserv
Marc isn’t finished. The cloud migration may be underway, but he’s already looking ahead. For Marc, data is the foundation of everything Fiserv does, and he’s constantly pushing to find new ways to leverage it. His vision is one where Fiserv isn’t just a leader in fintech, but the leader in how financial institutions use data to drive business success.
Marc’s approach to leadership is simple. He doesn’t believe in technology for its own sake. Every decision he makes is grounded in the needs of the business and its clients. It’s this focus on practical solutions, combined with his deep technical expertise, that makes him one of the most influential figures in fintech today.
Conclusion: The Man Behind the Data
Marc Rind isn’t just a CTO—he’s a problem solver. His ability to take complex data systems and turn them into actionable insights has transformed both ADP and Fiserv. As the fintech world continues to evolve, Marc’s leadership will be critical in shaping how companies use data to drive innovation.
Fiserv’s future is bright, and with Marc Rind at the helm of its data strategy, the company is poised to lead the next wave of financial technology. Marc’s story is a testament to what’s possible when a leader combines vision, expertise, and a relentless focus on results.
Also Read: The Top 10 Next-Gen Pioneers Leaders in Fintech, 2024
