MasterCard today announced a series of Middle East and Africa leadership changes, effective January 1, 2016.
Raghu Malhotra has been appointed MasterCard’s president, Middle East and Africa, taking over from Michael Miebach, who will become chief product officer, based at the company’s global headquarters in New York.
Malhotra, who has been overseeing activities for the 39 markets across the Middle East and North Africa, will now be responsible for driving the evolution of the company’s technologies and delivering increased value to MasterCard stakeholders across the entire region, including sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa.
Mr. Malhotra joined MasterCard in 2000 and has held a variety of leadership roles spanning general management, marketing, business and product development across multiple geographies in Asia, Middle East and Africa. He was most recently general manager for the Middle East.
Prior to joining MasterCard, Mr. Malhotra worked for Citicorp Credit, American Express and ANZ Grindlays Bank in a variety of leadership roles across the consumer franchise and financial services businesses.
Mr. Malhotra was ranked as one of the top Indian CEOs in the region by Forbes in 2014. He is a member of the board of directors of INJAZ Al-Arab Middle East and North Africa, an organization focused on building youth entrepreneurial skills in the region.
Mr. Malhotra graduated with an honors degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi and earned an MBA from the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne. He also has management training from IMD, Lausanne.