Thomas Pageler ‘08 Catching bad guys wasn’t just a game Tom Pageler ’08 played as a child. With a father and grandfather who were law enforcement professionals, it was only natural that Pageler would follow in their footsteps.
“My father had friends in the Secret Service, and that sparked my interest at a young age,” says Pageler, a special agent for the U.S. Secret Service for seven years. “I basically tracked down international organized criminals who were attacking the U.S. payment system and high-tech companies.” As part of that role, Pageler effected arrests in Thailand and Cyprus, successfully extraditing criminals back to the United States for trial. “I arrested a Ukrainian individual for crimes against the United States while he was visiting Thailand,” recalls Pageler. In the process, he says he gained a level of expertise about the international judicial system as he worked closely with the U.S. assistant attorney, international judges and the Thai government. “The majority of the support I received during my time in Thailand was from my current employer,” explains Pageler. “Visa was able to supply all the information we were requesting for this arrest in a concise and timely manner. Ultimately, that led me to migrating over to them.” Pageler first worked in Visa’s Fraud Control department, but today manages the Emerging Risk department where he is responsible for protecting the Visa brand from reputation damage caused by illegal transactions. “The Emerging Risk Department is tasked with identifying new risks to Visa and developing strategies to mitigate these risks,” he explains. He also communicates risk-related topics to all necessary external stakeholders, which requires his participation in speaking engagements, written communications and webinars. Pageler regularly corresponds with law enforcement officials, member financial institutions and other key departments within Visa. “My role requires a tremendous amount of business communications,” explains Pageler. “The Business Communications class at Thunderbird has helped enormously in this respect.” So, too, have his International Political Economy class and accounting classes, says Pageler, who manages the overall budget for his department. One of the greatest take-aways from class to date, he admits, was a financial accounting class project. “Mostly the coordination of the group—setting up conference calls, sending the project back and forth, and using chat and e-mail to build one comprehensive answer—was very challenging,” Pageler says. He admits, however, that today’s cross-border and remote teams have to learn how to effectively communicate using such technology. The Web-based format of Thunderbird’s On-Demand program, Pageler says, further facilitates that learning. “I also enjoy the flexibility that enables me to obtain my MBA while working full time — and the vast backgrounds and real-life experiences of the OD students.”
While the 30-year-old Pageler says he misses the Secret Service — particularly his assignment to Vice President Dick Cheney’s detail in 2000 — the father of two is happy in his current profession. “I plan to utilize the education and experiences I obtain from Thunderbird’s program in my current position,” says Pageler. “Visa is a global company, and a Global MBA will help.” And, after all, he still gets to catch bad guys. |  |
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