Atma Iyer

Adjunct Professor, Retired Capital One Executive

Atma Iyer is a seasoned executive with a successful 30+ year career in a variety of industries, disciplines and geographies. He most recently completed a 20 year stint at Capital One (2002-2022) where he played a variety of roles across Strategy, Analysis, Operations, Human Resources, Risk Management, and Enterprise Payments, including serving as the Business Chief Risk Officer for the Credit Card division (2012-2016), as the Head of Human Resources for the Financial Services division (2017-2019), and as the Head of Enterprise Payments (2019-2022). Atma’s previous work experience includes time at American Airlines where he led efforts to design and develop large scale airline scheduling and planning solutions, McKinsey & Co. where he served as a consultant for a variety of clients and engagements spanning strategy, operations and organization; and Pathfire, a technology startup company, where he led their business development and investor fundraising efforts.

Atma currently serves as the Board Chair for the Better Housing Coalition which transforms communities through high-quality, eco-friendly affordable housing. He has served on the BHC Board since 2014. He is also an adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where he teaches graduate level courses at VCU’s Business School. In addition, he mentors several high school and college students as well as young professionals.

He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Anna University in India. He earned his MS in Computer Science at the University of Houston and his MBA at The University of Chicago. Atma and his wife (Indu) live in Richmond, and they have a daughter (Asha) and a dog (Obi).