Reeta Roy
President and CEO, Mastercard Foundation
“The principle of leading by listening is critical. It's an acknowledgement that many of these issues are complex. They're challenging. We could never fully appreciate the nature of some barriers facing young people and facing women in the market quite like they do, unless we listen and really try to do our best to stand in their shoes and be prepared to be influenced and be prepared to change our minds.”
Summary
This week on Leadership Matters, Alan was joined by an inspiring leader at the helm of one of the world’s largest charitable organizations. Reeta Roy is the president and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, a transformative private foundation with over $40 billion in assets – and a mission to reduce gender and economic inequality, expand access to education, and increase opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work.
Since joining the Mastercard Foundation as its inaugural president and CEO in 2008, Reeta has directed the donation of over $12 billion to deeply impactful programs focused on financial inclusion, education, and youth livelihood. She’s led the charge for the Mastercard Foundation to greatly expand its focus on Africa – and has based a majority of the Foundation’s operations, staff, and leadership directly on the continent it serves. Reeta, who is based in Kigali, Rwanda, has led that mission by example.
Over the course of their insightful hour together, Alan and Reeta dive into her powerful career journey, tenure at the Mastercard Foundation, and the many lessons in leadership she’s learned along the way.
Mentions & Resources in this Episode
Guest Bio
Reeta Roy is President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation—one of the largest private foundations in the world, with over $40 billion in assets. Its vision is a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper.
A thoughtful leader who is deeply committed to equity and inclusion, Reeta has worked tirelessly to build a foundation that is collaborative and known for bold action and transformative impact.
Under Reeta’s leadership, the Foundation has focused its work on Africa since 2009; committed to a goal of ensuring 75% of its partners are African organizations; and based the majority of the Foundation’s operations, staff, and leadership, including Reeta herself, in Africa. To date, as of April 30, 2024, the Foundation has committed/deployed more than US$12 billion through financial inclusion, education, and youth livelihood programs—and as part of their pandemic response. This includes a $1.3 billion[1] investment under the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, which is enabling nearly 40,000 talented but economically disadvantaged young leaders to pursue and complete their secondary and/or higher education. It also includes the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative—a historic $1.5 billion partnership with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to roll out vaccination across Africa and safeguard the continent’s long-term health security, which has inspired others to redouble their efforts to bridge inequities in vaccine access for Africa.
Today, the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, which was launched in 2018, has set a goal of enabling 30 million young people, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.
A strong believer in listening, Reeta can often be found working directly with those the Foundation’s programs serve—young people and future leaders.
Reeta’s childhood growing up in Malaysia helped her to develop her capacity to listen and the empathy with which she approaches the Foundation’s work. Reeta was a beneficiary of scholarships that allowed her to complete her education and mentors continue to support her growth as a leader.
Reeta is a member of the African Transformation Leadership Panel and is regularly called upon by the United Nations, regional bodies in Africa such as the African Center for Economic Transformation, and global funders to advocate for solutions for youth employment. Reeta has represented these ideas on numerous stages, including at the African Transformation Forum, the Council of Foreign Relations, the United Nations, and the World Bank.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Reeta was the Divisional Vice President of Global Citizenship and Policy at Abbott and was Vice President of the Abbott Fund, its corporate foundation. She led Abbott’s public-private initiatives related to HIV/AIDS in Africa and a range of global health programs. Before Abbott, Reeta held a number of leadership positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb, working on global health policy issues. Prior to joining the private sector, she worked at the United Nations.
Reeta received a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts from St. Andrews Presbyterian College. She holds seven Honorary Doctorate degrees and has received several awards and recognitions.
Episode Transcript
Alan Fleischmann
I’m joined today by an inspiring leader at the helm of one of the world’s largest charitable organizations. Reeta Roy is the president and CEO of the MasterCard Foundation, a transformative private foundation with over $40 billion in assets and a mission to reduce gender and economic inequality, expand access to education, and increase opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work. Since joining the MasterCard Foundation as its inaugural president and CEO in 2008, Reeta has directed the donation of over $12 billion to deeply impactful programs focused on financial inclusion, education, and youth livelihoods. She’s led the charge for the MasterCard Foundation to greatly expand its focus across Africa, basing a majority of the foundation’s operations, staff, and leadership directly on the continent it serves.
Reeta, who is based in Kigali, Rwanda, has led that mission by example, balancing the foundation’s headquarters in Toronto, Canada, with her extensive global travel. Reeta has a powerful personal story that closely connects her with the communities she serves. As a beneficiary of scholarships herself, she completed her education and was instilled with the importance of listening and leading with humility. I have long wanted Reeta to be on the show, and I’m so pleased to have her with us today. She’s a dear friend, leading such important work in Africa, Canada, and around the world. Her efforts are more important than ever, and I’m thrilled for us to dive into her life, career, and the many lessons in leadership she’s learned along the way.
Alan Fleischmann
Reeta, welcome to Leadership Matters. It is such a joy, personally, in every way, to have you on today.
Reeta Roy
Oh my goodness, Alan, thank you so much for having me on this show. I’m thrilled to be with you. You’ve been such a wonderful friend and such a strong supporter, and a good adviser in my early days at the foundation. I will always be grateful for that. Thank you.
Alan Fleischmann
I’m so thrilled by all that you do. It’s awe-inspiring. As I mentioned, you’re truly a humble leader. You lead with confidence, you build teams, but there’s such genuine humility and deep curiosity in the way you lead, which I want to make sure we get into. Let’s start with your early life. You were born and raised in Malaysia, where your father was an Indian doctor and your mother a Chinese nurse from Thailand. Tell us a little about life around the house. Did you have any brothers and sisters? I know the answer, by the way, but share a little about life around the house, your folks, and of course, your sibling.
Reeta Roy
Thank you so much. Well, my parents certainly shaped my outlook on life. Both of them were immigrants to Malaya before independence, so they were part of that cadre of young people who came to a new land, which soon became independent. They were part of nation-building. Both my parents were in health service—my father in public health, and my mother, for a time before meeting my dad, was a full-time nurse.
My brother and I, who’s a little older than me, had a very interesting upbringing. We grew up in a multicultural home in a multicultural country with many faiths and languages. As a kid, you don’t distinguish between these things; you transfer from one boundary to the other effortlessly. You just see people. I attended a Catholic school, which was very proper—the nuns were strict—but the classroom was filled with kids from families of all kinds. That sense of difference, curiosity, and experiencing each other’s cultures—celebrating holidays like Chinese New Year, Diwali, Christmas, or Ramadan—was just part of natural life.
When I think back, I realize how much that prepared me for a diverse, beautiful world.
Alan Fleischmann
I love that. Are there any specific stories or moments from your childhood with your parents that you hold on to and cherish?
Reeta Roy
Oh, there are many. One that stands out is with my father. We lost him when I was young—he passed away when I was 15. During that difficult time, my mother had to care for him while keeping us together and ensuring our education. I remember her telling me, around age 13, that I must learn to become independent. She said, “You’re a young girl, but women can do anything a man can do. To do that, you’ll have to work hard and get an education. You must remember, in your mind, that you can be self-sufficient and independent.”
That advice was rooted in her own reality—losing her partner and having to ensure the household kept going. My father also made a deep impact on me. I recall going to the temple with him when I was little. While he prayed, I’d wander around, watching the priests and asking questions like, “Why are there so many gods? Isn’t one enough?” He would tell me stories about how different gods specialized in solving particular problems. He fed my curiosity, often tying it back to learning, studying, working hard, and serving others. These little stories animated my childhood.
Alan Fleischmann
And they prepared you for the future.
Reeta Roy
Absolutely. I didn’t realize it then, but they absolutely prepared me for the future. Another memory I hold dear is visiting southern Thailand, where my mother grew up, to meet my grandmother and her siblings. They didn’t have the opportunity to attend school but were self-made and entrepreneurial. I couldn’t speak Chinese as a kid, so I’d follow my grandmother around and observe her—watching her prepare meals or eat quickly, which fascinated me. She told me she learned to eat fast as a child in a big family where food was scarce.
It was inspiring to be surrounded by strong women who had to find their own way. That exposure imbued a sense of determination and resourcefulness in me at an early age.
Alan Fleischmann
What amazing role models. I imagine this gave you a global perspective early on, right?
Reeta Roy
Yes, absolutely—though I didn’t recognize it as global at the time. It was just daily life, interacting with people from all walks of life, different cultures, and backgrounds. My parents emphasized respect. Growing up in a home where my mother’s family was Buddhist, my father’s family was Hindu, and I attended a Catholic school in a Muslim-majority country, they said I could choose my faith when I was older. But the most important thing to practice, no matter what, was respect. That lesson stayed with me.
Alan Fleischmann
I love that—practicing respect as a faith itself. You live that; you’re so respectful and humble. But you also have this insatiable curiosity. Where does that come from? Was it inherited, or do you think it emerged from your experiences?
Reeta Roy
I think it’s both inherited and nurtured. Watching my mother navigate life as a single parent after my father passed away was awe-inspiring. Whether I realized it as a teenager or came to understand it later, her tenacity and strength left a profound impact on me. It instilled in me the importance of responsibility and accountability.
When it came to my education, I knew how much she sacrificed to make it possible. As I grew older, I was able to care for her in return, which deepened our bond. Those early years set my path and shaped my worldview, outlook, and daily behaviors.
Alan Fleischmann
Yeah, amazing. How was your brother an influence during that period as well?
Reeta Roy
He was very busy—and he was, and still is, a very good-looking young man. As my older brother, he was incredibly popular in school. Everything seemed to come easily to him—music, theater, science, sports. There wasn’t a single thing I could compete with him in, I have to say.
But he was certainly a big influence in terms of his leadership and his love for people. He could strike up a conversation with anyone, literally anyone, and I loved that about him. I often wished I could be more outgoing and as popular as he was. But I admired him deeply, and I’m so happy that we’ve remained close. We’re very lucky to have each other.
Alan Fleischmann
We have each other—that’s so important. It’s so beautiful. I love that. Actually, let’s talk about education, which you said was such a big part of your upbringing. Your mother made the powerful decision to mortgage your home to finance your high school education in Winston, North Carolina. Tell us about that experience—focusing on education, knowing what an opportunity it was, and the experience of studying abroad.
Reeta Roy So my brother had won a scholarship and was at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, which is how we came to settle on North Carolina. I think my mother made an incredible decision financially to mortgage the house and pull together her savings. I remember that distinct moment—I was going to the U.S. for high school. I lived with a family in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a family I’m still in touch with today. My American brother and American sister are very much a part of my life, as are their kids. That decision, bold as it was, to let me leave at 16, was extraordinary. When I look back, I think she was so brave. My mother had the foresight to understand that this was an important move and that my education in the U.S. would open opportunities for me. I remember her saying, “This is my scholarship to you. After this, you’ll need to find your own way. We don’t have the means.” I often think about that moment and reflect on the sacrifices parents, especially mothers, make for their children. When I work with young people now, I share that my first scholarship was my mother’s. It’s so important to recognize and honor those sacrifices.
Alan Fleischmann Did she come with you when you left?
Reeta Roy No, I came alone. My brother was in school nearby, and I lived with my American family. They lived in a beautiful community. I think I might have been a handful at first—they had never hosted an international student and didn’t even know where Malaysia was! But they soon found out, and they were incredibly loving and protective of me as the “new kid” in the family. Suddenly, I was the older sister. I’d never been an older sister before, and that was exciting. I think about those early years with them—they were formative. When my senior year arrived, and it was time to apply to colleges, we focused on scholarships because there was no way I could attend without financial aid. That’s what led me to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College in North Carolina. I had these big ideas of attending a large state university, but going to St. Andrew’s, a small liberal arts college in a rural part of North Carolina, was the best thing that ever happened to me. They offered me a full scholarship—not just tuition but also room, board, and work-study. It was a small, tight-knit community that was incredibly student-centered. I was so welcomed. It’s where I truly flourished. If I hadn’t gone there, I don’t think I would have been as motivated to pursue graduate school.
Alan Fleischmann It sounds like you had great mentors there.
Reeta Roy Yes, one of my professors, Larry Schultz, was pivotal. He was a political science professor and my advisor. I hadn’t even finished my freshman year when he sat me down and said, “It’s not too early to think about graduate school.” I thought, “I just got here! What do you mean graduate school?” He handed me a brochure for the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and said, “I think you’d make a great student there one day. We’ve only had one other student attend Fletcher, but I think you could be the second.” I hadn’t even declared a major yet! But Larry told me, “Don’t worry about that. Just keep this in mind.” That kind of mentorship and encouragement shaped me.
Alan Fleischmann And you kept Fletcher in mind after that?
Reeta Roy I did. Initially, I thought I’d study biology and become a doctor. But after dissecting my first frog, I realized that wasn’t for me. Instead, I was fascinated by politics and international affairs. One of my professors taught African politics, and I remember writing my first paper about Cameroon. Seeds were planted early on. When it came time to apply for graduate school, I applied to several programs. I was rejected by all of them except two—the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, where I was waitlisted, and Fletcher. I’ll never forget the moment I found out about Fletcher. There was a mailman at St. Andrew’s who knew I was waiting for responses. Every day, I’d check the mail and mostly get small, thin envelopes—rejections. One day, I was on the other side of campus, and I heard him calling my name. I turned around to see him driving toward me on a golf cart. He handed me a big envelope from Fletcher. He waited as I opened it, and I looked up and said, “They want me. I got in!” He hugged me right there. It was that kind of place—a community where even the mailman was rooting for you.
Alan Fleischmann What an incredible journey. And Fletcher, like St. Andrew’s, must have been another special chapter.
Reeta Roy It truly was. Fletcher was a unique place. My classmates came from all over the world—some were mid-career, others had worked for a few years. The diversity of perspectives was incredible. I’m still in touch with many of them. Looking back, it wasn’t just the academics that shaped me—it was the relationships, the conversations between classes, and the crazy ideas we entertained. Those moments had a lasting impact.
Alan Fleischmann And that optimism you carry—it’s so inspiring. You’re pragmatic but hopeful. You’ve seen the impact of people believing in you and investing in you.
Reeta Roy Yes, I have. And one of the most meaningful aspects of my journey is the experience of being truly seen—not just for how I looked, but for my potential, my work ethic, and my desire to contribute. That validation was powerful, and it’s something I hope to pass on to others.
Alan Fleischmann Did you return home during that time?
Reeta Roy Not until graduation. My mother came to the U.S. twice—once for my graduation from St. Andrew’s and then again for my graduation from Fletcher. Those were proud moments, seeing her there and knowing her sacrifices had paid off.
Alan Fleischmann What a full-circle moment—for her to see the return on that incredible investment.
Reeta Roy Absolutely. That mortgage was worth it.
Alan Fleischmann And after Fletcher, did you go straight to the UN?
Reeta Roy I did. It was a period of time where, as a young person, I always tell other young people: the way to guarantee yourself great unhappiness is to compare yourself to your classmates and what they’re doing. Instead, focus on where you want to be. It was a lot of knocking on doors, asking Fletcher School alumni for help, and someone gave me a break at the UN and hired me. I was offered a role and stayed there for two years. It was a marvelous classroom for someone who studied politics and international affairs. But in that time, I also realized it wasn’t the place for me. As I came to understand that, I began looking again. I had many rejections and had to pick myself up repeatedly.
I was referred to a woman at Bristol Myers Squibb who was very kind to me. She took me out to lunch and interviewed me for a role she had. I didn’t hear from her for several months and assumed I wasn’t going to get the job. She had kindly told me the job required five years of corporate experience. I had absolutely zero years of corporate experience, along with other qualifications I didn’t meet. But I was in awe of her. I thought, “I’d vacuum the carpet for you. I just want to hang around and learn.” Eight or nine months later, she called and said, “The job is still available. In the same week, three other people have given me your name—all the people you’ve been networking with. If you’re interested, you can come back. You don’t need to interview with me, but you can interview with the CFO. If he says yes, you’re hired.”
And so I was hired. I’m so grateful to Margaret—she’s a mentor to me to this day. She really opened up a whole new world for me.
Alan Fleischmann
I love that. And so, tell us a little bit about that. You were at the UN for two years?
Reeta Roy
I was there for two years, and then I joined Bristol Myers Squibb, where I stayed for 11 years in different roles.
Alan Fleischmann
Was it a difficult adjustment? You were living in New York, right?
Reeta Roy
I was living in New York City, and it was different. You have to remember that in college, I wouldn’t say I was totally a firebrand, but I was involved in many causes—anti-apartheid, social justice issues. I wasn’t always out front, but I’d help write letters, craft slogans, and enable us as students to express ourselves. And here I was, in a corporate setting, seeing things from a completely different vantage point.
The first role I had at Bristol Myers was at the crossroads of social responsibility, public policy, and business. We didn’t have ESG in those days, but this was probably a precursor to that. Margaret dealt with issues like access to medicines, pricing, and enabling access in parts of the world that couldn’t afford pharmaceuticals—questions around ethics and responsibility.
It was the perfect place to bring a background in international affairs and combine it with big questions about ethics and responsibility. At the same time, we were figuring out how corporations, while innovating and creating solutions, could also make their products more accessible and affordable.
Alan Fleischmann
These are true public-private-civil society partnerships.
Reeta Roy
Absolutely. I feel that my experience on that team for five years laid the foundation for many issues I see today. It helped me value listening and understanding different points of view and problem-solving approaches. Sometimes, a position is taken, but it doesn’t reveal the core interests a group might hold. It’s up to us to dig deeper, understand what really matters, and find common ground.
Alan Fleischmann
Part of your work with Bristol Myers Squibb took you to Shanghai for three years, right? Tell us about that experience.
Reeta Roy
It was a completely different assignment, and even in those three years, things changed dramatically. The company had been one of the early ones to start operations in China. It was among the first joint ventures, and its name, translated into Chinese, meant “precious historical treasure.”
My role was to help the leader of the holding company we’d put together. We had various businesses and were trying to build relationships with the government and emerging consumers. But when I arrived, we realized the business wasn’t making money. So I moved from public affairs into strategic planning and began working with our employees and joint venture partners to turn the company around—which we did in the course of a year.
It was like earning an MBA in real life. It was intense but incredibly exciting.
Alan Fleischmann
When you think about that time, it sounds like it was pre-transformation for the region.
Reeta Roy
Yes, absolutely pre-transformation. We had an interesting oncology business that brought products for breast and lung cancer to China. At the time, discussing cancer was taboo. We had to find ways to help patients identify their conditions and seek medical help.
One thing we did was partner with a local radio station to produce a talk show about health. It was the first-ever talk show on breast cancer in China. After the show, the station received an incredible number of calls. People said it was the first time they’d heard anyone talk openly about surviving breast cancer, that there was hope—and they wanted a piece of that hope.
For women, it was a relief to speak about their experiences. That was something else. We went on to produce TV shows as well. It was an incredible time. I always felt that China in the ’90s was a frontier, with endless possibilities for communicating and reaching communities in need.
Alan Fleischmann
And you joined Abbott—you were also in charge of global citizenship.
Reeta Roy
Right, yeah, I was.
Alan Fleischmann
It’s all building toward MasterCard, it seems.
Reeta Roy
In a way, it was. When I was recruited, I remember discussing the role during the interview. It was a role to handle difficult issues. During the meeting, an idea came to me, and rather foolishly—seeing it in retrospect—I said, “I don’t think the job I’m interviewing for is the job that you need to fix these issues or to address these issues.” I remember the person interviewing me saying, “What do you mean?” I said, “I think we need to find out why these issues are happening, not just try to fix them after the fact.”
I went home and told my husband, “Well, I think I really goofed. I said this in the middle of the interview.” Lo and behold, two days later, I got a call offering me the role. They said, “You can come and make yourself useful, but you have six months to figure out what the real job is.” That led to global citizenship and policy at Abbott.
Alan Fleischmann
Love that. And it was an amazing experience for you?
Reeta Roy
It was. First, living outside of Chicago was exciting. But this was a role where there was a lot of sponsorship and support from the CEO and others. I remember my first few months doing a ton of interviews internally, just listening to the challenges, concerns, and opportunities. That helped me—and eventually my colleagues and my boss—put together a strategy around citizenship and policy.
It brought us into dealing with all the tough issues the industry faced, but from a vantage point of values: caring for patients, ensuring access to critical care, allowing science to lead, and, at the same time, thinking creatively about making medicines and technologies accessible and affordable in parts of the world that couldn’t afford them. I will always be grateful for that experience.
Alan Fleischmann
I love that. That’s amazing. You had this extraordinary experience, built these partnerships, traveled abroad, and then became Vice President of the Abbott Fund, the corporate foundation. Tell us a little about that role, because it seems like everything was leading to where you are today.
Reeta Roy
Yes, the Abbott Fund was a corporate foundation. At the CEO’s request, I took a look and figured out how to align philanthropic giving with the most critical issues facing the industry. At the top of the list were access to medicines and life-saving technologies. That’s how the foundation—and Abbott—began working in Africa.
When I think about that experience and where I am today, one of the most important things was listening. Listening to understand the opportunities and how to leverage an organization’s strengths to do good. The opportunity to join the MasterCard Foundation came at a time when I was starting to feel restless, asking, “Is there something more I should be doing with my life?”
What attracted me to the role was that the foundation, though legally established in 2006, had nothing in place when I joined in 2008. It was a startup—a white piece of paper. There was a charitable purpose to advance education and financial inclusion, but that was it. The rest had to be figured out.
When I was offered the opportunity, it was daunting, but I jumped in. The first three years felt like drinking from a fire hose—so much to learn, so many organizations and foundations to consult and learn from. I’m grateful to everyone who took time to talk to me because they shaped my thinking.
Alan Fleischmann
Tell us more about the MasterCard Foundation. Its name makes you think of the company, but I know it’s Canadian-based and separate from MasterCard, despite its origins at the company’s IPO.
Reeta Roy
Yes, MasterCard did an incredible thing during its IPO—it set aside 10% of the wealth and endowed the foundation. At the time, it was worth $500 million. They made three unprecedented decisions: they created a Canadian, not an American, foundation, based in Toronto, an international city, and they established it as a fully independent foundation with its own board, management, and decision-making.
While the foundation maintains a cordial relationship with MasterCard, all decisions—where we work and what we fund—are made by the foundation itself.
Alan Fleischmann
I love that. And that must have felt like true entrepreneurship for you.
Reeta Roy
It was. Let me share a significant early decision. One of my first tasks was to determine where the foundation should focus its efforts. That led to the decision to focus on Africa in 2009. It was one of the most consequential decisions we made.
The second decision was to take a long-term view, even as we figured out what success would look like. The third was to be bold—supporting strong organizations or helping them grow stronger over the long term, whether in education, entrepreneurship, or financial inclusion.
These orientations guided us, even when we faced external pushback. People questioned whether we could find enough to fund in Africa or suggested focusing closer to home. While other opportunities are certainly worthy, I’m glad we stayed the course. We’ve remained focused, and I’m deeply grateful for that.
Alan Fleischmann
And a big, bold decision, right? There was no one else doing something like that, either.
Reeta Roy
Not to the extent that we were because here we were saying that we were prepared to commit our time, our resources, our funding to one part of the world. And I have to say what attracted us right away—certainly what attracted me because I traveled several times and listened to different stakeholders—was, one, the youthfulness of the continent. Second, it was a time when there had been so many democratic transitions of power. Many countries were being led by technocrats who were really focused on problem-solving and building their economies. There was also an emerging group of entrepreneurs. And by entrepreneurs, I mean you could walk through a market and see people trading, busy building businesses. You could go into an incubator and see young people with different business ideas. That energy, that desire to build and to solve problems, was palpable. We just knew we wanted to be part of the story—a story of a continent on the move.
Alan Fleischmann
Love that. I love that very much. And you build a team that’s global.
Reeta Roy
Yes, we built a team that’s global. Now it’s been well over a decade, and I have to say that after our first decade where we worked out of Canada and traveled quite a lot to Africa, we asked ourselves, “What will the next decade look like? And if we can focus on one thing—not just on Africa but one thing in Africa—what would it be?” I thought this was going to be an incredibly difficult question to answer or to get people to agree on. I remember doing the first quick focus group with my leadership team. I gave everybody a Post-it note and said, “Here, write something down, and answer this question.” So we put it up on the wall, and within 10 minutes, everybody had said the same thing: young people, employment, jobs. We repeated the experiment with a bigger group of people in the foundation, and in so many words, it was the same thing.
Then we said, “Okay, let’s figure this out.” That’s when we went out and consulted lots of young people and leaders to talk about what some of the critical issues were. That’s how we came up with a strategy called Young Africa Works, and we set out a bold target of 30 million young people in dignified work. We said that we wanted to make sure that at least 70% of them would be young women, that at least 75% of our partners would be African organizations, and that we would align ourselves with the critical growth sectors in the countries where we would work, ensuring we were also aligned with each country’s national aspirations to become a middle-income country.
Of course, once we did all that, we figured out, “How are we going to do this?” We realized we couldn’t do this from Toronto and that we needed to be close to the people we’d be working with—the organizations doing the work—and close to young people. That’s what led to an incredible transformation. It was both a challenging and yet the right decision to make, where we devolved the organization from just being based in Canada to now having a presence in seven countries across Africa.
So I moved to Rwanda. I moved during COVID. That’s where I’m based. My entire leadership team is African from all over the continent. Most of our staff are from across the continent. Many of our staff—many of us—have experiences, whether as scholarship kids, entrepreneurs, or people who have walked the same journey that many of the young people in our programs are walking. That’s what I love about the organization—that there’s a deep empathy for this work but also solidarity with the young people we’re serving.
Alan Fleischmann
I mean, you’ve embraced both the quantitative and qualitative targets as part of your goal setting, and you’ve made it so tangible and impactful. I’m curious about two things. First, is there a certain initiative you’re most proud of that you feel is the most impactful? Second, are there principles that have guided your leadership, and have they evolved? I mean, either you came into this highly principled, or there are principles that guide your leadership on a daily basis.
Reeta Roy
Let me start there. Well, I certainly think that the principle of leading by listening is critical. It’s an acknowledgment that many of these issues are complex and challenging. We could never fully appreciate the nature of some barriers facing young people, young women, farmers, or women in the market quite like they do unless we listen and really try to stand in their shoes. And we must be prepared to be influenced and change our minds.
We can consult experts and look at the literature, but it’s so important to have practical, firsthand experience or accounts of that experience that influence us. The second thing is that this work can only be undertaken in partnership. At the foundation, we use a term called co-creation, where we work with organizations to design together, set targets together, and figure out what we’re going to learn together when we implement these programs.
Finally, I’d say the pursuit of impact—the pursuit of actually seeing change—is vital. But it’s not just about change as we think it ought to be. It’s about change from the perspective of what young people and African organizations value. Quantitative impact, like the numbers I spoke of earlier, gives a sense of scale, but equally, if not more important, are the qualitative changes. Listening to people describe changes in their own words—in their lives, households, or communities—is invaluable. Many organizations we work with tell us how our partnership has changed their view or enabled them to do more. Even the simple sense of confidence they gain to achieve even greater things is critical.
You asked me what I’m proud of. There are so many things, but I’m most proud of my colleagues and the organizations we work with. If I had to choose one moment, it would be the global pandemic—COVID-19—and that critical time facing the continent. I am so proud of the partnership we have with the Africa CDC called Saving Lives and Livelihoods. It’s a partnership that set out to ensure Africa had access to vaccines when they came online—not only to roll them out but also to plant the seeds for the long term so that vaccines can actually be manufactured on the continent.
When we started this partnership, less than 3% of the population had been vaccinated. Now, over 50% have been vaccinated. At the time, only two labs on the continent could do genomic sequencing of the virus. Today, we have more than 40 labs. Of course, we need even more, but we’ve come a long way.
One of the things I learned from African leaders is how to be agile and how to come together. They aggregated their buying power for vaccines, PPE, and the tools they needed. I’m in awe of them, and I’m very proud of the work we’ve done together.Alan Fleischmann
Any mentors stand out? Anybody stand out in the final minute or two that you’d want to acknowledge?
Reeta Roy
There are many, and maybe the ones I want to acknowledge are actually some women leaders I’ve come across who’ve been so instrumental and influential—they probably don’t even realize that they’ve mentored me from afar, because I’ve been so impressed by how they conduct themselves. There’s the founder of an organization called Camfed, which works to advance women’s education across Africa. There’s a wonderful organization in northern Nigeria called WOFAN, started by a woman who helps other women get the right tools to produce food and to look after their crops. There are many, many inspirational women—they’re all gems who I admire.
Alan Fleischmann
I love that. But you’re a great mentor to so many, Reeta. You’re an amazing mentor and role model to so many people, and the work of the Foundation is awe-inspiring. The impact you’re making is amazing. The team you’re building and have been building on the ground is so awe-inspiring as well.
You know, I knew we needed more than an hour to be together and just listen to you. These qualities of leading as a “we,” not an “I”; this insatiable curiosity and humility; this faith around respect—I love that. And this idea that curiosity and humility should lead one to ask questions and never presume. By asking questions, I guess we’re respecting the individual dignity of those we serve.
I think about your mother, your father, your brother, and those mentors who led you to this extraordinary education. It’s no doubt, no question, that you see the windows and the opportunities to liberate others along the way. I just want to say thank you for all you do as a CEO, as a president, as a global leader. And just know that I’m hopeful that everyone listening today will visit your Foundation’s website and see the incredible work of the MasterCard Foundation. It’s inspiring to know that each individual can make a difference.
Reeta Roy
Thank you. Thank you for having me on your show.
Alan Fleischmann
I’m very touched, and it’s just very, very beautiful. Thank you, Reeta.
Reeta Roy
Thank you so much.
Alan Fleischmann
You’ve been listening to Leadership Matters on Sirius XM and on Leadership Matters Show.com. I’m your host, Alan Fleischmann, and we’ve had an amazing hour with Reeta Roy, the President and CEO of the MasterCard Foundation. She shared her journey, the principles she’s learned and led by, and the incredible impact she and her team have made and continue to make at the MasterCard Foundation in Africa and globally.
Thank you.
Reeta Roy
Thank you.