Thought Leader Spotlight: Patrick Rahlfs

Behind the data are our world-class thought leaders. Over the next few months, we will be introducing you to the people responsible for Comperemedia’s industry expertise.

Patrick Rahlfs is an Associate Research Analyst at Comperemedia, specializing in custom reporting in financial services.

Q: What topics do you specialize in? 

A: I specialize in custom reporting within the financial services industry, especially monitoring and analyzing credit card competitive landscapes. 

Q: How did you get to where you are now? 

A:  After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, I sought a position that could allow me to harness my natural curiosity when it comes to data in an environment that empowers real-world strategic decision making. As a research analyst for Comperemedia, I have been able to learn a great deal about financial services and apply my analytic approach to investigate and answer clients’ questions.

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in your industry, who would it be and why? 

A: I’d like to have lunch with Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase. Beyond the wealth of wisdom he could offer from his experience in the banking industry, it would be fascinating to obtain his big picture perspective on career success in general.

Q: Tell us about a brand campaign or shift in strategy that has recently caught your eye?

A: Recent product refreshes from American Express have been quite interesting to observe. In a time when many companies are stripping back peripheral card benefits, Amex has been increasing many of its premium cards’ travel benefits, while increasing annual fees to incorporate the added value. With customers’ shifting preferences regarding which benefits they value, I am intrigued to see how the landscape’s benefits restructuring as a whole continues to adapt.

Q: What is your favorite part about your job?

A: As my position mostly focuses on delivering custom reports, I love using Comperemedia’s database to play around with various data fields in an attempt to find correlations that clients may not have noticed before. While many surface level trends may be straightforward to observe, I like to dive a level deeper in order to shed light on underlying shifts that might not be evident to the casual observer.

Q: Last but not least- tell a fun fact about yourself. 

A: In college, I founded an a cappella trio that exclusively covered Jason DeRulo songs. We reached the final round of the school’s televised talent show, and our success snowballed to the point where we were interviewed by the local news for a university fundraiser.