Witad Awards 2025: Rising star (vendor)—Hannah Sayson, S&P Global Marketplace

What is your position within your firm?
Hannah Sayson: I am the lead product manager of the S&P Global Marketplace, our single discovery and exploration tool for all of S&P Global’s data and solutions.

How long have you worked in the financial services industry?
Sayson: I have been in the financial services industry for three years.

How did you get into the industry? Was it a conscious decision or did you “fall” into it?
Sayson: My entry into the financial services industry was a conscious decision driven by my interest in data and technology. Joining S&P Global allowed me to take the next step toward achieving my career goals. I knew I would be joining an organization that is a global leader at the intersection of data and technology, and I was (and still am) really excited about developing my skills as a product manager.

What does your day-to-day role entail?
Sayson: My day-to-day role focuses on leading the development of the product roadmap and driving enhancements for the S&P Global Marketplace platform. This includes overseeing the addition of content across the platform, ensuring client satisfaction through regular engagement and feedback loops, and delivering relevant features that enhance clients’ discovery experiences.

What single project/piece of work are you most proud of during your career in the industry to date?
Sayson: I am most proud of launching the S&P Global Marketplace Generative AI Search, the first GenAI product to go live to clients at S&P Global. With the growing number of product offerings across S&P Global, identifying ways to help users find relevant data and solutions became increasingly important. 

This project significantly enhanced discovery and exploration on the platform by enabling users to find relevant S&P Global offerings through a natural language question and answer format. The launch of our GenAI Search led to the platform being awarded Best AI-Based Solution for Data Discovery at the 2024 Data Management Insight Awards USA.

I am most proud of launching the S&P Global Marketplace Generative AI Search, the first GenAI product to go live to clients at S&P Global

What are you currently working on and what makes it significant in the context of your position?
Sayson: I am currently focused on two key initiatives: expanding our catalogue of Marketplace Blueprints and providing clients with an overview of the datasets their firm is subscribed to. Marketplace Blueprints are a new type of product profile page or “tile” that demonstrates how our datasets and solutions can be used together to support clients’ business use-cases and workflow needs. 

Introducing more Marketplace Blueprints offers clients a more intuitive and efficient way to search and utilize S&P Global offerings, driving incremental revenue growth and enhancing client satisfaction. Our initiative to provide clients with visibility into their subscriptions aims to provide transparency on S&P Global datasets available to them and promote the usage of our products.

To what extent were you helped during your career by a mentor or role model within the business?
Sayson: I have been incredibly fortunate to receive support from amazing mentors and role models within S&P Global. Their guidance has been instrumental to my professional growth, helping me navigate challenges and seize opportunities.

To what extent does your firm have a formalized framework that seeks to identify and promote talented women and ensure they have every opportunity to realize their ambitions and contribute to the business?
Sayson: S&P Global has a robust framework to identify and promote talented women. The company values integrity, partnership and discovery, and actively supports career growth and development through various initiatives and programs.

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome during your career in the industry to date?
Sayson: The greatest obstacle I faced was integrating complex AI technologies into the Marketplace platform while ensuring a seamless user experience. Overcoming this required extensive collaboration and innovation, but the results have been highly rewarding.

What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned so far during your career?
Sayson: The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is the importance of client-centric problem-solving. Prioritizing and engaging with clients allows me to validate our platform’s strengths and identify potential areas for improvement. By focusing on the needs and feedback of our clients, I can drive the development of relevant solutions that truly make a difference and contribute to business success.

What would you advise women just entering the industry?
Sayson: My advice to women entering the industry is to embrace new opportunities to learn, be proactive, and seek out mentors. Collaboration and a growth mindset are key to success and making a meaningful impact in the finance services industry.

What does this award mean to you?
Sayson: This award is a special recognition of the hard work and dedication my team and I have put into the S&P Global Marketplace. It validates all the work we have put into innovating and improving the platform, and it motivates me to continue pushing the boundaries of what is possible in enhancing data discovery experiences and shortening our clients’ time to insights.