PBN C-Suite 2024 Awards
SMALL PRIVATE COMPANY: Nisha Cordero
Marstone Inc. | Chief people officer and general counsel
TODAY’S COMPANIES ARE CHALLENGED with finding ways for technology and people to work together seamlessly without losing top talent, morale or the values the company sets. This is a challenge that Nisha Cordero, chief people officer and general counsel at Providence-based Marstone Inc., has identified and continues to lead her staff through.
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Marstone is a leading digital investment and planning firm with a mission to expand financial literacy, broaden financial inclusion and humanize finance for everyone. The company combines people with technology, understanding banks and their customers’ challenges. Unlike its competitors, Marstone’s technology is integrated with multiple custodians and banking core systems.
Marstone, which also has offices in New York, is deployed in various ways across banks, community banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, bridging the gap between technology and the banks themselves. While the company has found success in its technological solutions for its customers, Cordero has found technological success for her employees and is integral to Marstone’s continued success.
Cordero has been a critical player in building and growing Marstone to its current local workforce of more than 30 employees by introducing processes and best practices to improve recruitment, hiring, onboarding and performance management. When she joined Marstone in 2017, then as head of human resources and legal affairs, the company had just eight employees.
“Leadership is about being people-centric,” Cordero said. “I seek to counsel, mentor and coach, building relationships and empowering our teams to visualize and innovate. I listen to what our teams need and think, value their contributions, and see their potential to expand and grow.”
Under Cordero’s leadership and counsel, one-on-one consultations at the company, continuous feedback reviews, goal-setting, action plans and engagement have been a main focal point for Marstone’s growth. Cordero leads Marstone’s employment policies and procedures and is a significant asset to multiple Marstone senior leadership team members.
Cordero provides ongoing support and coaching for senior executives to manage their teams, assists them with resource planning, and teaches them how to handle feedback and challenges effectively. This process ensures cohesion and collaboration throughout the company.
As Cordero continues to grow as a leader, she has brought her experience and skills to various issues, tackling them head-on. In her seven years with Marstone, she led the company through multiple challenges and changes. Whether navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and market instability or managing human resouorces risk, Cordero has ensured Marstone’s people strategy aligns with the company’s vision, mission and goals.
“Nisha has been a key contributor to Marstone’s success since joining in 2017. She has been a steward of our mission, vision and values, a prime advocate of our team, and has helped lead us to tremendous growth through unprecedented events,” Marstone co-founder and CEO Margaret Hartigan said. “Among other improvements, she has introduced new ways to augment recruitment, hiring and onboarding, and helped maintain company culture throughout our growth.”
Cordero improved ways to build relationships and increase productivity through the framework for Marstone’s one-on-one consultations and review process. She helped streamline technological implementations and brought on performance management operations to maximize the value of the Marstone team’s time while giving them the tools and resources they need to work daily.
From a technological standpoint, Cordero implemented advanced technology by introducing digital recruitment and performance management tools, which have been a game changer for Marstone’s administrative practices.
Helping people doesn’t stop at the office for Cordero. She volunteers with nonprofits and serves on committees and community boards. She has also volunteered as an alumni admissions ambassador for Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Additionally, Cordero is a court-appointed special advocate and court-trained mediator. As the board president of the YWCA, Cordero was honored with the Essie W. Mayer Award for Outstanding Leadership.
