Courtney Gentleman leads the Diversified & Value business platform for Synchrony, one of the nation’s premier consumer financial services companies. In this role, Courtney helps large retail partners deliver everyday value to consumers shopping for daily needs or important life moments. As an innovative and growth-focused executive, she’s passionate about leading teams that deliver customized financing programs, multi-channel shopping experiences and loyalty solutions for a variety of industries, while driving consumer and partner engagement through financing products, loyalty solutions and seamless consumer experiences.
Courtney offers significant experience in the B2B, B2B2C and D2C space and in-depth knowledge of omni-channel, CRM and digital marketing. Prior to her current role, she was SVP & Chief Marketing Officer for Digital, responsible for driving growth and setting strategy for Synchrony’s highly innovative, digital-first partners. Additionally, she led marketing strategies, product development and consumer experience for Synchrony Bank and Synchrony Mastercard general purpose credit cards.
Throughout her time at Synchrony, Courtney has led growth and marketing strategies for a wide range of partners including Lowe’s Home Improvement, Sam’s Club, Amazon, PayPal, Ashley Home Stores, Sleep Number, Pandora, Venmo, Guitar Center and Belk. She has experience serving a wide range of industries including home, auto, luxury, marketplaces, department stores, furniture & home décor, power sports and music.
She recently served as the global network leader for Synchrony’s Women’s Network, a 6,000-person strong resource group. In 2020, she was one of four nationwide recipients of the Linkage’s Women in Leadership Executive Impact award, which recognizes executives who have demonstrated a deep commitment to the advancement of women leaders at their organizations. She is passionate about developing talent and is a fierce advocate for female advancement.
Prior to Synchrony, Courtney was Director of Strategic Alliances for the Association for Financial Professionals in Washington D.C., representing more than 10,000 members and was responsible for identifying joint venture and strategic alliance opportunities.
Courtney is an active member of the Chicago buildOn Board and was named Board Chair in December 2021. She holds a B.S. in Political Science from Villanova University and an M.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. She resides in Chicago, along with her husband Randy and dog Dakota.
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I had a chance to connect with some of our industry’s top thought leaders at last week’s Women in Retail Leadership Summit for a true meeting of the minds. We held insightful discussions on the trends shaping today’s new working world, including the importance of supporting employees’ wellbeing, ways to combat burnout, and leadership lessons....
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