Wright State graduate thriving with Federal Reserve Bank

Delores Floyd, who earned an MBA from Wright State, is assistant vice president of information technology services with the Federal Reserve Bank System’s enterprise-wide IT strategy.

Delores Floyd appeared to be well on her way to an appropriate career path. After earning an undergraduate scholarship, she decided to major in electrical engineering and conquered challenging modern physics and calculus courses.

She accepted a part-time job with a credit card company during the summer. Floyd took a liking to the business setting, in particular, customer service and interaction with colleagues and working in teams. So, during her second year of college, she concluded that engineering was not for her.

“My part-time job was more fun than school. I really did not enjoy life in the engineering lab,” she said. “While engineering is a gratifying profession, I decided that I liked business more than science.”

Floyd changed her major to business management. This decision set the stage for a career serving various financial services companies, through which Floyd acquired communication, team-leading and problem-solving skills.

This continues to serve the Wright State University graduate well as assistant vice president of information technology services with the Federal Reserve Bank System’s enterprise-wide IT strategy.

Floyd, who joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in 2010 as a consultant, has served National IT in project and customer relationship management roles. She was an advisor to National IT’s chief client services officer prior to being promoted to her current post. Richmond is one of 12 federal reserve banks in the nation.

“The skills I had acquired in business made me comfortable in applying for a position with the Federal Reserve. I was not afraid to try something different,” said Floyd, who earned a Master of Business Administration from Wright State. “Also, I am an inquisitive person eager who is always eager to learn something new. I had taken some IT classes so I could properly speak the language.”

The Richmond, Virginia, resident leads a team of project managers who oversee IT projects for businesses in the Richmond Federal Reserve district. She says a transferrable skill set from previous roles prepared her for this stage in her career.

“The commonalities with each position included understanding customer outcomes, organizational goals and how to be mission-focused,” she said. “Also, how to allow technology to assist us in achieving our goals.”

After earning her bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame of Maryland University, Floyd accepted a position with Dayton-based GE Money. She also enrolled in the MBA Program at Wright State.

“Wright State felt right from the time I initially interacted with staff in the College of Business,” she said. “The flexibility of classes was a nice mix with my work schedule. Also, I could take real-world examples shared in the classroom one day and apply them the next day while leading a team at GE. It was a practical experience for me.”

Floyd worked at GE Money for two years while completing her MBA at Wright State. She subsequently left GE for Capital One in Virginia, where she served in a similar affinity and partnership marketing role, before joining the Federal Reserve Bank.

“I tell young people to embrace and enjoy every experience,” she said. “You never know how an opportunity may arise — it can often be relationships because of a simple conversation. I am inquisitive about education and organization and have never been afraid to try something new.”