FF News Tattoo Studio: Nationwide on Culture, Community and Doing Banking Differently

At Sibos 2025, Jonathan Mastrodomenico, part of Nationwide’s senior technology leadership, shares why a five-year graduate scheme turned into a 21-year career. For Mastrodomenico, three things have kept him there in equal measure: the people, the culture and the work. You can have a brilliant outcome, he says, but if the team dynamic or culture is off, you won’t get the best from anyone. Nationwide puts real effort into a fair, low-hierarchy environment where every voice is heard, and that makes day-to-day work genuinely better.

A big part of the story is Nationwide’s business model as they are a building society, not a bank and Mastrodomenico simply calls out the difference. Nationwide’s profits aren’t paid to shareholders; they’re reinvested to improve services and outcomes for members, which in today’s climate, that feels right to many customers and staff alike. It also gives their marketing team a strong message, one you can lean on “for the right reasons.” For him personally, doing work that friends and family can be proud of matters, and this model aligns with those values.

On the technology side, Mastrodomenico says the “book of work” keeps growing, and Nationwide’s capacity to deliver is growing too. That mutual model helps fund continuous improvement, which is critical with the Virgin Money deal progressing. Whether you call it a merger or an acquisition, the focus is the same: make sure the underlying tech is robust before any customer migration, so everyday banking stays seamless for everyone involved.

Culture crops up again when talking integration. Bringing in a company with a different heritage can be tricky, but Mastrodomenico’s experience with his Virgin Money colleagues has been positive. The teams he’s met feel like a natural fit with Nationwide’s ethos and that confidence sits alongside a simple proof point: tenure. It’s common to meet people with 20–35 years’ service, which suggests the organisation doesn’t just attract talent, it keeps it.

From his seat at Nationwide Sibos 2025, Mastrodomenico makes the case that Nationwide’s building society model, inclusive tech culture, and long-range thinking are a rare combination in financial services. Mastrodomenico believes a member-owned model, a healthy, inclusive culture and disciplined tech delivery create a platform to do right by customers while scaling for what’s next