Hard work is at the cornerstone of BJ Perna’s success—and a trait that was instilled in him from an early age.
“My biggest inspiration and mentor is my father. He ingrained in me core values: No matter what you are doing, work hard and do it to the best of your ability; from every experience you have and every person you encounter, there is something to learn; you are always accountable to yourself, even if nobody else knows,” Perna said. “Just as influential is my mother, who taught me empathy and to put others before myself.”
Perna leads by example and is described as supportive and compassionate by his colleagues at Credit One Bank. Driven by the desire to improve people’s lives with turnkey technological solutions, Perna has risen through the ranks at Credit One over the past 14 years and now serves as vice president, development director.
Since he assumed the VP role, Perna’s team has tripled in size and is responsible for enhanced online responsiveness and optimizing the experience for more than 40 million monthly users.
“My proudest accomplishment is the relationships that I have built. I’m proud that the people I work with want to work with me and I want to work with them,” Perna said. “Professionally, I am looking most forward to mentoring the next group of technology leaders.”
Outside the office, Perna is active with local nonprofits. “I believe that community is important, because family and community shape our young people. Without that support, the talents and unforeseen accomplishments of too many young people could be tragically wasted. I support many of our local Las Vegas charities through the opportunities coordinated by Credit One Bank,” Perna said.