Mastercard, the American financial services corporation, has named its new CEO on Tuesday to replace the current chief Ajay Banga. Michael Miebach will assume the role of the chief executive officer and join the board on January 1, 2021, same day Banga will take over as the company's executive chairman.
The credit card and electronic payments giant also announced that Miebach will be appointed as the company president on March 1, 2020, before the big promotion early next year. As the president, Miebach will oversee sales, marketing, products, services, and technology organizations for the company.
"Mastercard has outstanding people, leading technology and tremendous potential. I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead this great company with a team by my side that is second to none. I've dedicated the last decade of my career to payment innovation and will continue to evolve and execute Mastercard's strategy," Miebach said in a statement.
Banga will replace Richard Haythornthwaite as the chairman of the board of directors in a major top-management reshuffle in years. Banga has served as Mastercard CEO since April 2010 and Haythornthwaite will retire from his post after over a decade of service to make way for the new chairman next year.
Who is Michael Miebach?
| Miebach is an MBA graduate from the University of Passau in Germany |
| Miebach lives with his family in New York |
| Miebach is currently the company's chief product officer |
| Miebach has been a part of Mastercard since 2016 and he previously served as the company president for the Middle East and Africa regions |
| Prior to joining Mastercard, Miebach held senior roles at Barclays Bank PLC and Citibank |
| Miebach is a board member of ACCION international and Ronald McDonald House New York City |
Miebach for CEO - a natural course
Miebach was unanimously elected as the CEO by the Mastercard's board of directors. His 25 years of experience in the field of finance makes him ideal for the job.
During the course of Michael's 10 years at Mastercard, he has been a key architect of our multi-rail strategy–including leading the acquisition of Vocalink and the pending transaction with Nets–to address a broader set of payment flows. He's also a visionary who kickstarted much of the work behind our financial inclusion journey. I am excited to continue working closely with Michael and supporting Mastercard's success when I become Executive Chairman," Banga said about Miebach.
