Headquartered in California and listed on the NYSE (NYSE:V), Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments.  The company employs over 17,000 people worldwide across 38 countries and provides digital payments products, services and processing to over 16,000 financial institution clients.  Visa partners with 44 million merchant outlets and provides 3.3 billion Visa accounts throughout the world.  Visa is one of the world’s largest retail electronic payment networks.  The company operates one of the world’s most advanced processing networks, VisaNet, offering fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants, capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second.  With a market capitalisation of circa $4000BN, Visa is one of the world’s most valuable global brands (BrandZ 2019) and one of the world’s most innovative companies (Forbes 2019).

Over the last 12 months, Visa made tremendous progress leading a dynamic industry and advancing the growth of digital payments globally. Against a backdrop of geopolitical challenges and uneven global economic conditions, Visa delivered outstanding financial and operating results.

In 2019, Visa completed four strategic acquisitions; Earthport (Earthport operates the largest independent Account Clearing House (ACH) network in the world, providing cross border payments), Payworks (enabling seamless omni-channel experiences), Verifi (improving ecosystem dispute chargebacks) and Rambus (extending tokenisation to non-card transactions).  These acquisitions have furthered Visa’s strategy to advance the growth of digital payments.  With the combination of a partner driven business model to support growth through scale, Visa’s strategic investments will help accelerate the company’s growth and expand into key areas delivering new payment flows, services and capabilities, as well as expanding client reach.  Accessing new and differentiated capabilities will ensure Visa is well placed to deliver a network of services built on the strong foundation for the company to be a truly global leader in payments. 

Visa’s mission is: to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive.  Visa enables money movement for everyone, everywhere. 

In 2019, Visa made significant strides in advancing the goal to be a single connection point for initiating any transaction, both on the Visa network and beyond.  With a relentless focus on innovation, this is the catalyst for Visa to spearhead rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere.  The company is able to provide the benefits of scale to investments with the ability to accelerate innovation.  As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying its brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce.  2018 witnessed Visa launching a $100M European investment program to support the thriving Fintech ecosystem in Europe and grow its investment activity in start-ups. 

Visa is one of the best performing stock in the Dow 30.  The company has recently reported a strong and healthy set of full year results (October 2019) with net operating revenues of $22.9BN, an increase of 11% from the year prior.  Closing the fiscal year with strong momentum, delivering robust revenue and earnings growth fueled by double-digit increases in payments volume, cross border volume and processed transactions, Visa assumes a healthy outlook in FY’20.  Earnings per share growth (EPS) was 18%, delivering an incredible performance globally with strong business operations in Europe.

The Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) Region

Visa has five key regions globally: North America; Latin America; Europe; CEMEA (Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa); and Asia Pacific. CEMEA is one of the most diverse, multicultural and fastest growing regions in the world.  Driven by Visa’s global vision “to be the best way to pay and be paid, for everyone, everywhere” CEMEA is a rapidly-growing region for Visa.  The region contains a compelling blend of history, innovation and opportunity, drawing on a rich heritage and global reputation.  CEMEA combines over 90 countries, operating in 9 core markets with a further 12 markets representing significant growth opportunity, approximately 700 employees in 22 offices, representing 44 nationalities.  The region combines mature and sophisticated markets such as Russia and South Africa; as well as many emerging markets that are driving the next generation of growth. CEMEA is divided into four sub-regions: Middle East and North Africa; Commonwealth of Independent States and South Eastern Europe (CIS & SEE); Russia; and Sub-Saharan Africa.

CEMEA contains seven of the world’s twenty most populous countries, and the biggest new business opportunities lie within untapped consumer expenditure of Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt and Kenya. Together, these markets account for 26% of CEMEA’s Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE), 29% of its population, but just 2% of current Visa payment volume.  Therefore, the opportunity is huge.  Innovative and strategic business growth is imperative.

To guide its work, and support its global mission, Visa focuses on seven strategic pillars that underpin its work around the world:

The Position

Vice President Processing will lead the Network Processing function within the CEMEA region and will be responsible for developing the network processing strategy and executing to grow transactions on the Visa network through innovations and value-added services working with internal and external stakeholders on domestic and regional processing opportunities.

The Vice President Processing, CEMEA will serve as the leader for Network Processing for both the POS and ATM business in the CEMEA geography and will be part of the CEMEA Products Leadership Team.

Scope of Responsibilities

·       Lead the development and manage the execution strategy for the CEMEA geography

·       Align with product, sales and acceptance initiatives

·       Lead and support GNP market teams to ensure country management and sales teams are effectively communicated to in regards to strategies and plans.

·       Develop, own and communicate the Processing annual operating plan to achieve business objectives

·       Ensure activities are regularly reviewed and reported to global Function and CEMEA leaders

·       Manage the identification and assessment of processing trends, opportunities and threats in key CEMEA

·       Identify, qualify and quantify market specific opportunities in close cooperation with local relationship management and product teams

·       Promote an understanding of critical success factors to achieving network processing revenue objectives

·       Provide input into design and implementation of general marketing and promotional activities to ensure increased awareness of processing objectives and priorities

·       Lead and utilize market team leader’s Subject Matter Expertise (SME) to provide processing consultancy to CEMEA teams, clients and payment system stakeholders

·       Provide professional advice and consultancy to relevant stakeholders covering both tactical and strategic objectives

·       Demonstrate a strong understanding of Visa’s processing capabilities overall with specific knowledge and leadership of network processing objectives

·       Drive market processing solutions using Visa asset or Partnership in alignment with Overall Company goals

·       Manage Processing product output from partners to make sure Visa’s interest is kept

·       Provide leadership to ensure training of relationship management staff with the goal of ensuring relationship management becomes self-sufficient in processing sales and opportunity identification

·       Manage and lead a team of processing professionals in network and issuer processing responsible for the management and growth of the network processing share in specific markets and the issuer processing business in CEMEA

Definition of Success (within the next 12-18 months)

•  Significantly increased the value of and clients’ usage of the network in the CEMEA region

  ·       Set clear objectives, strategy and alignment across the board regarding priority markets in CEMEA for Visa to go into and partner in

  ·       Realised and facilitated the implementation of the processing network usage growth opportunity in CEMEA’s emerging markets (and thus, the evolution of the new systems integration with Visa Inc.

Ideal Background and Key Selection Criteria

• 20+ years’ experience in payment processing (incl. products and service management, sales and business development), 10+ years of which in senior people management leadership positions across multiple geographies
• Sales experience and proven negotiation skills in two or more of Visa key markets / sub-regions in CEMEA preferred, coupled with experience working in a multinational matrixed organization
• Bachelor’s/MSc. degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Economics, Business or related field (Graduate degree or MBA strongly preferred)

 Technical and Functional Excellence

• Payment processing business expert who can effectively lead a global team of processing subject matter experts and execute processing initiatives
• Able to provide management direction and leadership to the network and processing teams and processing-related functions (e.g. Issuer and Acquirer processing resources)

Team Leadership

• Strong people leader, with demonstrated ability to recruit, lead, develop and inspire high-caliber talent and large cross-functional and geographically dispersed teams of highly skilled professionals
• Able to galvanize a culturally diverse team across multiple time zones, develop talent, with proactive participative management style

Thought Leadership:

• An industry evangelist with a point of view who is interested in transforming and revolutionizing the global payments technology industry
• Able to develop a culture comfortable with challenging current market paradigms to achieve and exceed goals

Global mindset in leadership

• Able to collaborate with business and technology stakeholders in a multinational matrix environment to plan, develop and deliver projects in order to create change in the payments industry
• Excellent communicator, with interpersonal and collaboration skills to influence direction and change attitudes / decisions of senior level management and clients

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.