Dear Fellow Stockholder,

As we write this letter, 2019 feels like a distant memory. Our stellar performance for the year is recorded in the numbers, and we want to thank our people, our partners and you for the continued support and belief in our company.

But now, we are experiencing the extreme circumstances of a global pandemic. Lives, work, trade and economies have been disrupted. It’s clear that the world was unprepared for this circumstance. Maybe that’s the fault of a collective failure of imagination, maybe it’s hubris or maybe just bad planning-but it is certainly hurting us all in ways that are more all-encompassing than recent crises we have seen. One thing is for sure, over the past decades our world has become smaller and more interconnected. This crisis should open all our eyes to this reality and drive us to redouble our efforts on making the whole planet a better place-because what affects one inevitably impacts us all. Inclusive growth and ecological sustainability-in essence, human decency and the values that make us a civilization-have become even more critical for our future and for that of our children.

Powering Choice, Convenience and Security

At our core, we are a payments technology company. Our goal, however, is more than just to make every device a commerce device, it’s to do so in ways that support choice: that means being a one-stop network that supports all kinds of payment types (credit, debit, prepaid and more) for all kinds of users (businesses, individuals, governments and so on) across all kinds of transaction paths (card, ACH and blockchain, to name a few); and doing it all with top-level security and a seamless experience.

Making the Digital Economy Work for Everyone, Everywhere

Diversifying our business means becoming an integral part of the broader commerce experience across multiple touchpoints beyond payments. Doing that means working with all types of customers in all kinds of markets, including governments, and being adaptable to help in all kinds of situations.

The trust, partnerships and programs we’ve built with all levels of government and non-governmental organizations around the world have put us in a position to move quickly to build and support emergency disbursement programs for a number of them in this time of crisis. As one example, we were able to get our City Key program-a hybrid ID/ payment card that uses Mastercard’s existing network of vendor partnerships and prominent prepaid companies to disburse donated resources-up and running for a partner in eight days. For the donations, we brought our Mastercard Donation Platform to the offering so that people could contribute to a relief fund via web, SMS, and social media channels. And we haven’t stopped there: we’ve also brought Mastercard Send to the table as a means for distributing financial assistance nationwide.

Committing to connect 1 Billion people to the digital economy by 2025

We are able to do all of that now because our strategy has been built for the long term and because we’ve been executing against it and investing in it, organically and inorganically, for so many years. Furthermore, we have cultivated and retained a broad range of talent from banks and consultancies, as well as marketing agencies, governments, technology firms, retailers and more. The diversity of our employees is our opportunity. Because of them, we have a brand that is not only recognizable around the world, it is trusted. Because of them, our data and our technology are able to quickly pivot when needs change. And they have done it all with decency-the kind that makes us a cohesive, collaborative community, always driven to put our resources and capabilities to work in the ways that benefit a greater good.

On December 31, 2020, Rick Haythornthwaite will retire from the Board and will be succeeded by Ajay Banga, who will serve as Executive Chair. Merit Janow will assume the role of lead independent director at that time. On January 1, 2021, Michael Miebach will succeed Mr. Banga as President & CEO of Mastercard.