Everyone loves a winner. When you think of a winner in business, you might picture someone organized, stylish and classy, intelligent, and with a little ‘something extra’ that you can’t quite put your finger on. Enter Joy Mbanugo, affectionately nicknamed Tiny General by her loving husband due to her small stature — in comparison to his towering frame, that is — and her love of keeping their lives organized and in order.
Mbanugo is a finance professional who believes that ‘You need to invest in your people and your infrastructure if you want a chance at succeeding in the big leagues.’ Her message is spreading far and wide and includes modern takes such as the benefits of investing in cryptocurrency.
Her current objective? To secure a position on an advisory board of a company she can believe in and stand behind. She currently works for Google Cloud. Her work history includes international tax consultant for Ernst and Young; capital markets tax for Blackrock, financial principal for the Finance Transformation, Systems, and Integration Group for Google; and start-up entrepreneur.
She also ‘worked on the largest ERP to ERP transformation in the United States’ and ‘led the Treasury Tax initiative at Google to streamline the cash management of $100 billion.’
Courting Mbanugo: What this Rockstar Looks for in a Company
Mbanugo is interested in financial adventures, fascinated by creative and new ways to make your money work for you on grand scales. Opportunities like cryptocurrency and blockchain technology excite her. She is looking for a business to join that keeps calculated risks on the table rather than forever taking the safe route.
“I love both ends of the career spectrum,” she told us. “I found a home in corporate financial consulting and directing, but that doesn’t mean I am boring. I want to stay at the forefront of financial news and monetary adventures for businesses. I am not a huge risk-taker, but I am a curious cat. If something looks good and checks the right boxes, we shouldn’t be afraid of it just because it’s different or new.”
Besides loving the thrill of growing a business’ funds, Mbanugo is most practical. She consulted smaller companies that were not ready for the speedy growth they were achieving, which caused problems due to their lack of backend readiness.
“Systems, processes, the so-called ‘boring’ stuff — that is the stuff you have to buckle down and do from the outset to prevent catastrophe as your business becomes successful,” said Mbanugo. “Success doesn’t happen overnight, but once the ball gets rolling, it can feel that fast — and not in a good way if you didn’t prepare.”
In short, this financial firecracker is looking for a company with stimulating pursuits that she can shepherd into a bigger and brighter future.
Qualifications
Mbanugo is practiced in tax audit, business operations, financial services, capital markets, and treasury experience, with over 19 years of background combined. Her training includes accounting, tax, and financial certifications.
She is an angel investor and finance specialist in the systems and infrastructure space. Her official position is with Google’s Cloud Partnership Finance team, which entails evaluating partnerships and cross-functional deals for Google Cloud.
Finally, Mbanugo is the Chief Financial Officer of nonprofit Paladin.org, a start-up engine for budding entrepreneurs.
Recent Accomplishments
Mbanugo recently partnered with How Women Lead as a host and breakout discussion lead in March. The program included discussions centered around Deepa Purushothaman’s book, “The First, The Few, The Only: How Women of Color can Redefine Power in Corporate America.”
Purushothaman, Founder of nFormation, is ‘one of the youngest women of color to achieve the rank of senior partner at Deloitte.’ She aims to change organizations to ‘cultivate a culture where women of color leaders can maximize their potential at work’ and inspire other women of color leaders to look within themselves for the power to do so.
Mbanugo also spoke at a Funded By Women event, need more info here please.
Fun Facts
So, who is the woman behind these achievements? Mbanugo is a fashion-enthusiast, loving mom, wife, and start-up consultant hobbyist. She doesn’t charge for those services because she finds so much joy in financial modeling and project management.
One of her first jobs was at Nine West, where she fell in love with shoes and learned the commonly-uttered-in-retail phrase, ‘I put my paycheck right back into this company.’
“My grandma told me I couldn’t spend all my money on clothes and shoes,” she said. “Grandma gave me tough love. She taught me how to invest and save.”
From where we’re standing, she is definitely the total package!
About Joy Mbanugo
Joy Mbanugo is the go-to market finance infrastructure expert and implements systems to prepare companies to go public. She has worked in finance for 19 years with companies such as Ernst and Young, Google, and Blackrock. To book a call with her to discuss board seat opportunities, venture investment deals, or how her methods can set you up for success, please visit: www.joymbanugo.com
