people and culture people and culture people and culture people and culture people and culture people and cultu When it comes to our people and values,  there are no trade-offs. There was lots to learn when we started Capital One, but one thing we knew: to build a great company, we needed great people—multitalented, willing to put themselves on the line and able to excel on all fronts. Recruiting has always been our first priority, and our senior management goes to extraordinary lengths to make Capital One a magnet for the best of the best. The values at the heart of our culture can be summed up in two thoughts:  Excellence and  Do The Right Thing . Capital One is open and  collaborative. It gravitates toward challenge and seeks diversity in  people and ideas. We’re also committed to offering associates the  experiences and training they need to develop their full potential.  The energy we put into recruiting and the resources we devote to training are high-yield investments for Capital One. The proof is in our strong growth and nine straight years of record financial performance. And the caliber of our associates has made Capital One an outstanding corporate citizen. Over the last year our 17,000 associates volunteered more than 100,000 hours of service to their communities. The Company supports those efforts with substantial financial contributions to programs that help at-risk youth and meet community needs in job training,  housing and health care.  Forbes ® ranks us as one of its 100 Platinum Best Big Companies in America. Capital One frequently appears on the “choice employer” lists of magazines such as  Training ® and  Computerworld. ® The Black Collegian TM , Minority MBA SM ,  Savoy Professional and the  Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers ® have also cited Capital One as a choice employer. Our UK operations have received similar recognition from the Financial Times and  The Sunday Times . ® Capital One gives great people the opportunity to take on great challenges. Opportunity to stretch and grow. And to share the rewards of great performance. 14