Wherever we operate worldwide, our team are united by Mastercard’s corporate culture and a desire to meet the unique needs of local individuals and businesses.
Our European management committee leads Mastercard to innovate with purpose.
Meet Mastercard's European Leadership Team:
Mark Barnett is President of Mastercard Europe and a member of the company’s management committee since 1 June 2020. He is responsible for the overall success of the only true multi-rail payments technology company, across a region that encompasses 53 countries and serves over 950 million people through partnerships with retailers, financial institutions and businesses.
In this role, Mark leads a business focused on doing well, doing good and making people’s lives easier by delivering simple and secure ways to pay and by fostering a culture where he drives new technology and innovation to position Mastercard as the partner of choice.
Mark joined Mastercard in 2003 and has held various roles. Prior to his current role, Mark was the President of the Mastercard UK, Ireland, Nordics and Baltics Division.
Mark has over 20 years’ experience in the retail banking and payments industry. Most of his client work has been at board level; developing payments strategy, designing innovative new products, advising card schemes and processors, supporting government payment initiatives and implementing major transformation programs.
Mark has an MBA from Imperial College Business School, University of London, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, also from London University.
Based in Waterloo, Sébastien Albert leads Mastercard Europe's Strategy and Business Excellence team. With his team, he supports Europe by helping define the regional strategy, empowering teams with data (especially sales) & ensuring appropriate value exchange across the 4-party model. His scope includes Customer Economics, Strategy, Industry Engagement, Analytics & Business Insights & Sales Excellence.
Sébastien previously worked in Finance and Strategy roles at Mastercard and also gained extensive experience advising Payment and Fintech companies on their most strategic priorities at the Boston Consulting Group.
Sébastien graduated magna cum laude as a business engineer from the Solvay Business School. He is still involved in the school as teaching assistant for a strategy seminar.
Pilar Aurrecoechea is senior vice president, Account Management, Banco Santander, within International Markets. In this role, she is responsible for growing the business within the account as well as bringing new innovations to the bank to be implemented jointly. Ms. Aurrecoechea has over 30 years’ experience in payments and financial services.
Ms. Aurrecoechea rejoined Mastercard on July 1 of 2015, after 18 months as the Financial Services global director for Telefonica Group. In addition to developing and launching Telco financial products at Telefonica, both for B2B and B2C customers, she was the president of the Board of the joint ventures between Mastercard and Telefonica in Latam: Zuum and MFS as well as board member of Yaap, JV between Telefonica, Banco Santander and Caixa in Spain.
Prior to moving to Telefonica, Ms. Aurrecoechea was Mastercard Spain and Portugal country manager for two and a half years. Before that, she worked at Visa Europe as senior vice president of Consulting for four years, as the head of Payments for Caja Madrid for eight and a half years, and at American Express for 10 years.
Ms. Aurrecoechea earned a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego and a Master of Business Administration from San Diego State University.
Peter Bakenecker is Mastercard’s Division President for Central Europe Division. Since joining in 2006 Peter held various management positions, including Head of Product, Business Development as well as Digital Payments for Europe. For many years he was part of the Mastercard Advisors’ management team for Europe, AP and MEA, where he had the opportunity to design and build payments technology solutions in various geographies for different industries.
Before joining Mastercard, Peter was with Batten & Company as well as Roland Berger Strategy Consultants as part of their financial services practices.
Peter holds an MBA in Banking & Finance from the University of Essen/Duisburg and the University of Technology in Sydney. He completed executive programs at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Peter, his wife and two sons live in Munich. He is passionate on traveling and exploring new parts of the world together with his family.
Starting from July 2024 Michele has been appointed as Regional Service Lead (RSL). He is now in charge for Mastercard Services Business in Europe, aimed at integrating the Go-To-Market Approach. He is responsible for all business development, product groups and customer success within the region, working closely with the global counterparts on Consulting, Consumer Acquisition and Engagement, Security Solutions, Business and Marketing Insights and Open Banking.
Michele has been with Mastercard since 2008, covering different important roles. From October 2017 to June 2024, he was the Country Manager of Italy developing and implementing the Mastercard strategy in the country.
Prior to that, Michele was Vice President, Head of Business Development Continental Europe for Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS). With his team he managed the growth of the MPGS business in Western Europe, Italy & Greece, CEE and HGEM, helping all the different countries to diversify and grow the e-commerce business and making payments safe, simple and smart.
At the very beginning of his career in Mastercard, Michele was Vice President Account Management leading the relationship with UniCredit Group, Europe’s largest customer active in 17 countries.
Before joining Mastercard, he was Head of Sales & Marketing in PMI Mortgage Insurance and had a Senior Management position in Reuters.
Michele graduated in Economics & Business Management at Bocconi University in Milan.
Bartosz Ciolkowski is General Manager for Southeast Europe, which includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. Ciolkowski is responsible for implementing strategy in the region, developing electronic payments, and working with business and government partners.
Ciolkowski joined Mastercard in 2005. He previously held the role of General Manager for Poland, where he significantly contributed to the dynamic development of the electronic payments sector through the introduction of innovative solutions and products, as well as the expansion of the acceptance network. He played a pivotal role in establishing Cashless Poland Foundation and in Mastercard’s investment in the Polish Payment Standard (PSP), the owner of BLIK.
He also managed Mastercard business in the Czech and Slovak markets.
Ciolkowski is currently a member of the supervisory board of the Polish Payment Standard and a member of the supervisory board of the Cashless Poland Foundation.
Bartosz is technology and innovations enthusiast, with a mission to coach startups, helping them to scale. He recently joined the Board of Endeavour in Poland. He also actively supports diversity and inclusion, being a co-founding member of Champions of Change Club and supporting member of the Polish chapter of 30% Club.
Bartek is a happy father of 3-year-old Helena. He is passionate about cycling on a road bike and MTB, and a pet lover. He is a graduate from the Faculty of Economics of Poznan University of Economics and Business, with specialization in the field of economic policy and strategy.
Beatrice Cornacchia is the creative force leading the company’s brand strategy across multiple markets. After starting her journey with the company in 1991, Cornacchia went on to head strategic sales functions and numerous marketing teams in a succession of key roles including Head of Consumer Marketing, Europe; Head of Issuer and Merchant Marketing, Europe; and Head of Marketing, Italy and Greece.
Most recently, Cornacchia held the position of Senior Vice President, marketing and Communications, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA).
As a reflection of her impact in the role, in 2022, she was listed among Arabian Business’ ‘50 Inspiring Female Business Leaders’ in the region and Campaign Middle East’s ‘Marketing Game Changers’. Additionally, in 2021 she was included in the top ‘Women of Influence in the Arab World’ by Arabian Business.
Through strategic brand engagement and captivating story creation, Cornacchia balances Mastercard’s growing positioning as a tech company with an aspirational approach that taps into its heritage of creating ‘Priceless Possibilities’. Her exceptional brand-building work over the past few years has included launching the company’s innovative symbolic and sonic identity across the EEMEA region, and during the pandemic resulted in enhancing Mastercard’s positioning as a trusted voice for safe, secure, and seamless transactions.
Cornacchia’s efforts included the rollout of an evolved ecommerce thrust, and diligently leveraging data and tech expertise to inform stakeholders on contactless adoption as part of a winning campaigns at the Middle East PR Association (MEPRA), Dubai Lynx and Holmes Report SABRE Awards amongst others. One of the most publicized award-winning initiatives – the Astronomical Sales campaign that tied 97% discounts to a rare solar eclipse – contributed to a sustained, dynamic progression of differentiating Mastercard’s marketing and communications.
Cornacchia is systematically leveraging the underlying concept of Priceless – the deep emotional connection that fills people’s life with meaning and purpose – to empower Mastercard’s consumers in the region to pursue their passions with priceless possibilities. Cornacchia’s secret sauce for marketing combines great content with the science of data analytics, precision targeting and an innate understanding of human emotions.
As the latest milestone in her Mastercard journey, Beatrice was elevated to the position of Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Europe from 1 May 2023.
Payal currently serves as the Senior Vice President, Social Impact, International Markets at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. She joined the Center in April 2018, oversees the Center’s philanthropic investments around the globe and manages the Center’s international team across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
Previously, she was Head of Global Community Programs for Standard Chartered Bank. In this capacity, she designed the Bank’s new community investment strategy and oversaw all programs related to education, girls’ empowerment, global health, emergency response, and disaster relief. Payal joined Standard Chartered in July 2008 as the Head of Public Affairs for the Americas.
With a professional background in international philanthropy and politics, Payal has worked for a wide range of public sector organizations including the World Affairs Council, the Global Philanthropy Forum and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Payal also worked on foreign policy for the Office of President William J. Clinton. In 2014, President and Secretary Clinton appointed Payal to be a program advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative; she continued in this role until CGI ceased in 2016.
Payal has extensive experience in financial services as well. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, she worked on the launch of the AT&T Universal Savings and Reward Card for Citi.
Payal serves as a trustee for Women Win and is a fellow at the RSA and the Institute for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. In 2020, she was appointed to the Advisory Group for the WE EMPOWER G-7 program of UN Women and the Working Group on Financial Health of the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.
A Texas native, Payal has a BA with honors from Stanford University and an MBA and an MPA from New York University.
David Dechamps is head of Digital Partnerships for Europe. In this role, he is responsible for the development of Mastercard’s strategy with “big tech” partners for the European markets.
David is a member of Mastercard’s European Leadership Team.
Since he joined Mastercard in 2002, David held various positions as Head of Sales Products & Solutions and Vice President Prepaid Product Sales responsible for selling Mastercard’s prepaid solution across Europe.
As head of Digital Products in Europe. He led the deployment of contactless payments, mobile payments and e-commerce solutions.
David has also been the country manager for the Benelux cluster. In this role he was responsible for all sales, marketing and operations in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which included close cooperation with financial institutions as well as developing new solutions for retailers and cardholders.
David has worked in the electronic payments sector for over 20 years. During that time, he has worked for a bank, a technology vendor and a card network, giving him a valuable ability to understand the different perspectives in the payments industry.
David holds a degree in Commercial Engineering and a Masters in Telecommunications.
Eglantine Delmas is an Executive Vice President on the Mastercard Risk leadership team and the Chief Risk Officer for Europe & Regulated Entities. She joined Mastercard at the beginning of 2024 and is based in Paris. She oversees the second line of defense for Risk Management in Europe and for applicable regulated entities globally.
Eglantine is also part of the European Senior Management Team and is a Mastercard Transaction Services board member.
Working with the rest of the Mastercard Risk team, Eglantine takes an active role in developing risk management capabilities for Mastercard Europe (MCE) and regulated businesses. By managing their risks proactively in line with the group risk framework, she enables the implementation of the business strategy in compliance with regulators’ expectations.
Her role aligns risk management practices with local expectations, strengthens Mastercard’s overall risk practices and addresses regulatory expectations across our various geographies in an optimized way.
Eglantine joins Mastercard from Worldline Group, a French multinational payment acquirer and processor company, where she held the position of Chief Risk Officer and Head of Security. Previously, she held risk, compliance, and internal audit roles at BNPP, Dexia, DenizBank in Turkey, and Credit Agricole. Eglantine also has extensive experience working across the three lines of defense, and beyond risk, in compliance and internal audit. She has built a strong experience working with many regulators across Europe, Turkey, India, and Australia.
Simon Forbes is Mastercard’s Division President for UK and Ireland, responsible for the strategy, direction, and success of the region.
An industry expert, Simon has been at the forefront of changes and innovation in payments. He joined Mastercard in 2014, holding a variety of roles, including leading Mastercard’s relationships with high street retail banks and developing its business with pan-European retail and travel merchants. Before that, he spent six years at American Express.
Simon leads a business that enables economic growth by helping people, businesses and governments pay and get paid safely and securely. With his teams, he believes passionately in fostering greater financial and digital inclusion and helping small businesses grow. Mastercard’s flagship Strive UK program has already reached one million entrepreneurs, equipping them with the digital skills they need to grow their business.
Erik Gutwasser is Division President Mastercard Nordics and Baltics and a member of Mastercard’s European Leadership Team. He is responsible for leading the overall Mastercard business in the eight Nordic and Baltic markets, making sure that the close partnership with local players continues to drive and develop one of the most innovative payment landscapes in the world. Driving the localization of Mastercard’s multi-rail strategy is an important part of his role, that has become even more relevant as a result of the acquisition of Nets Corporate Services as well as the P27 partnership (the world’s first real-time, cross-border payment system in multiple currencies).
In his role, he leads a strong team with offices in four markets, focused on leveraging Mastercard’s global strength and innovation power to make a positive difference for the people living in the Nordics and Baltics.
Erik joined Mastercard in 2013 as Head of Mastercard Advisors and has held several customer centric roles including country manager roles, constantly working on growing and establishing new partnerships. Since 2018 he is responsible for Mastercard in the Nordics and Baltics.
Erik has over 14 years’ experience within consultancy and business strategy where he has been working for one of the leading global managing consultancy firms. He is also part of the board for Doconomy – a Nordic sustainability FinTech.
Erik has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management from Linköping Institute of Technology. Additionally, he has been studying at Stockholm University and at the University of Technology Sydney.
Solveig’s focus is at the intersection between Digital Technologies, Inclusive & Sustainable Growth and Government Innovation. With her team, across European markets, she partners with public entities on innovative programs in the areas of payment digitalization, sustainable tourism, smart mobility and cybersecurity.
Prior to that, she was the General Manager for the French market, responsible for the deployment of Mastercard strategy and growth in France. She worked on a partnership basis with private and public entities, developed Mastercard services footprint while focusing on driving innovation and accelerating digitalization of all means of payment in the market.
Before that, Solveig has held several positions for Mastercard in France such as Head of Business Development and Head of Mastercard Advisors. Before joining Mastercard in 2012, she has earned her spurs in the consulting for bank and financial institutions both in London and Paris.
James Issokson has served as Mastercard’s Senior Vice President for Europe Communications, based in London since 2020.
Issokson joined Mastercard in 2006 and throughout his career at Mastercard he has held several senior positions including head of communications for North America. In addition, Issokson oversaw reputation and issues management at Mastercard, counselling senior executives on reputational risks and challenges.
Prior to joining Mastercard, Issokson held senior positions at several PR firms working with technology startups in Boston and in New York and Washington, DC, where he focused on government and corporate affairs.
Issokson received a degree in Political Science from The American University.
Max Lanckriet is currently Executive Vice President Customer Delivery Europe. In this role, he leads the team that is responsible for delivery and implementation of Mastercard programs and projects across Europe. The Customer Delivery group consists of various sub-teams such as: the in-market delivery teams, the Mastercard EU Academy group, the Europe Customer Implementation team, the EU Product Delivery team as well as the PTS and MPGS delivery teams.
Max has been working for +20 years in the financial services industry with a strong focus on ACH, asset management, B2B and card payments. He joined Mastercard in 2002 and held various positions ranging from Product Management Processing Solutions, Business Development Lead, CD lead for Western Europe and Product Delivery lead for Europe. On top, Customer Delivery was also the home of the MCDS direct sales group for several years.
Prior to joining Mastercard, Max gained experience in payment technologies as the Head of Electronic Banking for SME’s at KBC bank. On behalf of KBC, he joined Isabel, the multi-bank SW start-up in Belgium where he held various positions as Head of Product Management, Marketing Director and Advisory Board Member. Afterwards, he joined and co-founded CDS, a software provider for asset allocation & portfolio management where he was heading up the product management and development teams.
Max holds a master’s degree from the University of Leuven, a master’s degree from the Vlerick Business School as well as a degree from the INSEAD Business School.
Chris Mullett is the Chief Financial Officer for Europe. He and his team are responsible for all aspects of financial management of the European business, including financial reporting, planning and analysis, accounting and controls, objective setting and performance tracking, and business development finance. The Chief Financial Office for Europe also oversees local real estate, sourcing, treasury and tax matters.
Prior to his current role, Chris spent two years as CFO for Mastercard Technology, based in St Louis, USA and three years as Controller for Asia-Pacific, based in Singapore.
Before joining Mastercard, Chris was with Hewlett Packard Enterprise for a total of 11 years in a range of roles in both Europe and Asia, finishing as the Asia-Pacific CFO for Enterprise Services. Chris also spent four years with Hertz Europe as Assistant Controller. Chris began his career at Arthur Andersen in Manchester, UK in the Audit and Advisory practice covering a broad range of clients in the manufacturing, travel, retail and energy sectors.
Chris is an Accounting & Economics graduate of Sheffield University in the UK, and a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Tulsi Narayan is the Executive Vice President of Commercial and New Payment Flow business, Europe, where she leads growth for market-leading assets and solutions focused on B2B and cross-border transactions. Her team drives innovation in a fast-evolving landscape, offering solutions across commercial cards (including SME, T&E, Purchasing, Fleet, and Virtual), B2B payables and receivables, bill payments, and both domestic and cross-border money movement.
Previously, Tulsi led the Europe Security Solutions team, scaling solutions including AI-based fraud tools, Cyber Security, and Scam Fraud. Before joining Mastercard, Tulsi was a strategy consultant with Bain & Co. and Kearney and was a corporate banker at Lloyds Bank managing a portfolio of FTSE 250 customers in the Industrials sector.
Tulsi holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and has an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering from Mumbai University.
Tulsi resides in London with her husband and twin daughters. She loves exploring new destinations with her family and has a passion for the vibrant London theatre scene.
Howard is responsible for all People & Capability (Human Resource) activities across Mastercard’s Europe region. Reporting into the International Markets (IMK) business, Howard works with the European Senior Management Team and Global People Function leadership, in support of the broader ‘People and Talent’ agenda, ensuring Mastercard continues to build ‘world class People & Capability practices’ throughout the region.
Howard first joined Mastercard’s UK & Ireland Division in Q4 2013, with the goal to attract, develop and engage the best Talent, in line with Mastercard’s ambitious plans and growth strategy.
Howard was promoted to the region Europe People & Capability role in 2015, with a focus upon leadership development, succession and diverse Talent building, acquisition integration, organisational change and building an environment and brand, “where the Best People choose to be”.
Howard and his family relocated from Brussels to London in 2013, in order to join Mastercard in Canary Wharf/Angel Lane offices, having completed several international HR assignments through 15 years in Chicago, Zurich, Brussels and Warsaw. Howard’s earlier HR career was predominantly built within the Healthcare & Pharma sectors, working with US multi-national organisations, although the ‘Growth’ company trend continues on with Mastercard.
After gaining his degree in UK, Howard completed a postgraduate HR qualification at Westminster University and then went onto complete his Master’s degree in HR Strategy at Oxford. Howard is a Certified People Coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and a Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD).
Howard is married to Harriet, who teaches in a local school and they have a daughter, two sons and an ever-hungry brown Labrador, all living in South East England.
Matteo Piccolo is the Mastercard Services BD lead for Europe - he is responsible for coordinating the Services sales effort across the Region.
Matteo joined Mastercard in 2012 in the Mastercard Advisors team, leading the Italian Consulting delivery team and acting as Client Business Leader for large accounts, pushing Data & Services solutions and overseeing the execution. In 2016 he started up the Data Partnerships business in Europe, pushing Mastercard data products through alternative channels and reselling partners and then he expanded his remit adding the data Platforms sales. In 2019 he took the Advisors Product Europe lead role, overseeing Consulting, Innovation, Data, and Analytics products. He then moved into a Global role, leading Data & Services Sales Strategy.
Before joining Mastercard, Matteo was with Ernst & Young Advisory and with Accenture for around 10 years, working in the business and strategy practice and focusing on Telco, FI, Aerospace & Defense and Real Estate industries.
Matteo holds a Master Degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Rome.
Matteo, his wife and two daughters live in Rome. He is passionate about outdoor activities and beekeeping and he is an heavy reader
Paloma Real is Mastercard’s Division President for Western Europe. She has 20 years of experience in the payments industry.
Paloma was previously Country Manager for Mastercard Spain, overseeing the development, implementation, and growth of the company's strategy in Spain. Prior to that, she managed Business Development for the market.
Before joining Mastercard, Paloma led the Payment, E-commerce and Financial Services Area at France Telecom (former Amena and Auna Group), working on designing, defining and launching financial and payment mobile solutions.
In 2021 and 2022 Paloma was included among the Top 100 Leading Women in Spain and one of the 100 Influencer Women in Spain by Forbes Spain. She has been selected as one of the 35 Women to Follow in the Financial Industry by “Women to Follow” in Spain in 2024.
Paloma holds a bachelor’s degree in Telco Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
George Simon is Executive Vice President, Market Development & Division President, High Growth Markets at Mastercard.
In this role, Mr. Simon has overall responsibility for Mastercard operations, sales, products & services and marketing; and leads the company’s efforts in driving digital innovations and development of electronic payments across 12 markets, including Russia, Turkey, Israel and CIS countries.
Prior to his appointment, George Simon was President for the Central Eastern Europe division responsible for overseeing Mastercard’s operations and customer related activities in 19 countries. He started his career at Mastercard as EVP, Customer Delivery Head for Europe and was responsible for the delivery of products and services to all European customers and successfully managed Mastercard Academy.
Before joining Mastercard, George Simon held various international assignments in developing and implementing cards strategies for business growth at Citigroup for 16 years. He led Cards Businesses in UAE, Belgium and the Czech Republic and served as regional head of Cards Acquisitions covering 10 markets in Western Europe.
Mr. Simon has a BSc in Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, and holds an MBA from Saïd Business School, Oxford University.
Erlend Van Vreckem is Mastercard’s General Counsel for the Europe Region. In this role, Erlend coordinates the legal, compliance, regulatory and public policy support for Mastercard’s businesses across Europe. Erlend deals daily with a wide number of complex and challenging matters, engages with senior governmental stakeholders on industry-wide subjects, leads large commercial transaction negotiations, is involved in anti-trust and regulatory matters, and supports litigation and settlement negotiations. In addition, Erlend has been driving the one team culture with passion, where all team members understand the need to partner and enable the business by leveraging the vast experience, skills and diversity in the team to provide creative solutions for complex matters.
Prior to joining Mastercard, Erlend was the Legal & Corporate Affairs Director for Anheuser-Busch InBev’s operations in the BeNeLux and France where he was responsible for representing the company at senior governmental levels and engaging with major retailers on the sale and distribution of consumer products. Erlend started his career as a general counsel for a global technology and consulting company (now part of FIS) focused exclusively on the financial services industry, where he negotiated large scale system integration transactions with financial institutions worldwide and with the major (fin)tech players.
Erlend holds a Law Degree and Post-Graduate Degree in IT Law from the Catholic University of Leuven and a(n employer-sponsored) MBA from INSEAD (Paris).
Brice van de Walle is the Executive Vice President, Core Payments for Mastercard Europe. In this role, he oversees the development and implementation of the next generation of payment experiences across our 30+ Europe region markets
Mastercard Core Payments cover digital payments infrastructure, products and platforms such as tokenization, authentication, digital assets, new acceptance models and optimization solutions to provide more flexibility, more security, in every in-store and online commerce use case, both for consumers and businesses.
Prior to this Brice has been serving as the Country Manager for France, and he brings with him 20 years of extensive global experience in the payment industry. He originally joined Mastercard in 2006, and throughout his tenure, he has held various roles in pricing, sales and product across the Europe and LAC regions.
Before joining Mastercard, Brice began his career at Accenture, advising both public and financial institutions
Erlend Van Vreckem is Mastercard’s General Counsel for the Europe Region. In this role, Erlend coordinates the legal, compliance, regulatory and public policy support for Mastercard’s businesses across Europe. Erlend deals daily with a wide number of complex and challenging matters, engages with senior governmental stakeholders on industry-wide subjects, leads large commercial transaction negotiations, is involved in anti-trust and regulatory matters, and supports litigation and settlement negotiations. In addition, Erlend has been driving the one team culture with passion, where all team members understand the need to partner and enable the business by leveraging the vast experience, skills and diversity in the team to provide creative solutions for complex matters.
Prior to joining Mastercard, Erlend was the Legal & Corporate Affairs Director for Anheuser-Busch InBev’s operations in the BeNeLux and France where he was responsible for representing the company at senior governmental levels and engaging with major retailers on the sale and distribution of consumer products. Erlend started his career as a general counsel for a global technology and consulting company (now part of FIS) focused exclusively on the financial services industry, where he negotiated large scale system integration transactions with financial institutions worldwide and with the major (fin)tech players.
Erlend holds a Law Degree and Post-Graduate Degree in IT Law from the Catholic University of Leuven and a(n employer-sponsored) MBA from INSEAD (Paris).