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In October of 2025, Guillermo Cisneros made it to the C-suite. The EVP and chief audit executive at Fiserv underwent an extensive evolution at the organization during his previous eleven years, one that he now believes was fundamental to getting him to where he is today.
“There was a moment a few years ago when I learned a lesson I wish I had learned much earlier in my career,” Cisneros explains. “I learned that it’s not about trying to be better than your leaders, to try and demonstrate that you can do their job. It’s about making your boss look good in any way that you can. I tell that to young people now: be aware of who you work for and strive to make them look good.”
Cisneros is refreshingly candid about the fact that there were things about his professional self that needed some reflection. Early on in life, the young professional chased titles instead of patience, and he says he’d like to have a conversation with his younger self. Sure, he may have been a CFO of a small company, but in not seeing the bigger picture, he unknowingly boxed himself into a position that would take years to grow out of.
Patience Can Be Key
“I once had a lead partner for KPMG in Mexico tell me that he knew that I was leaving for substantially more pay, but if I stayed, I was on a partner track,” the executive recalls. “Once you become a partner, nothing can stop you. But you know what? I didn’t listen to him. I chased the money and the title, and I wish I hadn’t. I was looking at short-term gains, and that’s what they turned out to be.”
If both of these memories seem to have a negative tint, it’s important to better understand Cisneros. You get the impression that he can hold the attention of any group he’s with. He’s charming and honest, almost to a fault. His candor seems, in part, because of the self-reflection he’s engaged in during different parts of his career. The EVP reached the summit of executive leadership he always hoped for, but one gets the impression the person who got that role isn’t the same one who turned down a partnership track early in his career.
Don’t mistake it, the executive held fascinating roles previously. He was at Fannie Mae in the middle of the financial crisis. He jokes that there may not have been a more interesting job on the planet at the time. Cisneros also rose to a managing director role at JPMorgan, a role achieved by a tiny percentage of the bank’s 317,000 employees, an especially prestigious accomplishment for a Latino in the US.
“If you asked me when I was a child what I wanted to do, I would have told you that I wanted to be a banker in New York City,” the EVP says. “Working at JPMorgan was the fulfillment of that childhood dream.”
Education and Self-Reflection
Cisneros’s rise above into these roles, he says, was partially in response to his father’s wishes that he earn an MBA. It would serve as a launchpad out of the roles he had unwittingly limited himself to while living in his home country of Mexico. But it wouldn’t guarantee a C-suite role he always wanted.
“It’s kind of ironic that as you grow, the opportunities seem to get rarer,” the EVP explains. “At a large organization like Fiserv, there are sixteen EVPs. They’re not going to create a new spot for you, and so I had to learn patience, and ultimately, I had to be reminded that I was in that role to serve. That made me a better leader when the time came.”
The timing wasn’t purposeful, but Cisneros said it was ultimately right. He was an SVP for a decade. Ambition sometimes has to level with hierarchy and timing.
And now? Cisneros isn’t trying to prove anything to himself or the world anymore, other than that he can be a good leader and effective in his role.
“I want to prove to this leadership team that I’m a good fit for this job,” Cisneros says, jokingly adding, “And that I won’t screw up too quickly.”
The Anchor and Foundation
Cisneros says that his wife and children, willing to move several times at his behest, provided the support and centeredness for his own growth and development. He calls them the anchor, the motivation, and the foundation for any of his accomplishments. Years spent traveling, working punishing hours, and relocating would not have been possible without their backing, and he’s quick to acknowledge their sacrifices as central to his own success.
What is left for a man who spent so much of his career fighting to advance?
“I just want the next generation to prioritize self-reflection and adaptability,” Cisneros says. “You need to check in with yourself and understand your motivations and realize you might need to change. I’m not saying this from a place of judgment, I’m saying this as someone who had to do it myself.”
EY is proud to provide consulting services to Fiserv. Working closely with Guillermo Cisneros Finck and the Fiserv Internal Audit team has been a privilege, allowing EY to assist Fiserv in driving efficient and effective audit services. Our close cooperation has allowed EY to showcase our industry knowledge and internal audit capabilities to address specific, targeted and time-sensitive risk-reduction topics. EY helps assure, grow, transform and operate organizations by bringing together all our capabilities: Assurance, Consulting, Strategy and Transactions, Tax and Technology, all enabled by 400,000 people globally.
