Five Major Concepts For Diners Club’s New President

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As the world’s first multi-purpose charge card, the Diners Club franchise has a prominent place in the history of the payments industry. Purchased by Discover in 2008, Diners Club International now finds itself under the leadership of new President Eduardo Tobon as it seeks to reassert itself as one of the world’s premier card brands.

Market Platform Dynamics’ founder David Evans spoke with Tobon about expanding Diners Club International globally, restoring its historic brand and the major obstacles he faces in his new position.

“My role here is to make sure that we look into the future, continue to be a relevant player, and that we bring back some of the iconic aspects of the brand into the global arena,” Tobon said.  “We’re accepted in many, many places, but there’s room for improvement and room for growth. “

Tobon listed five fundamental concepts that he believes will help Diners Club International in its mission of global expansion and rejuvenation: idea, possibility, innovation, growth and future.

“They’re all interconnected in my opinion,” Tobon said. “I believe in the idea of possibilities and I believe in the possibilities of our ideas, which leads to innovation, which can lead to growth, and our future is predicated on that.  So they’re all interconnected.”

According to Tobon, Diners Club International is focused on further expanding its global reach. He cited Russia, Ecuador, U.K., Ireland, and Germany as among the overseas countries in which Diners Club is spreading, and emphasized that Discover is intent on bringing new markets into the fold as well.  Tobon mentioned market leaders such as WorldPay, Lloyd Cardnet, Concardis, First Data, Global Payments, Elavon and others as important to Diners Club’s growth, pointing out that Discover’s relationships with such businesses is an enormous advantage. 

“That’s going to help us on the acceptance front, which is very, very critical; and on the issuing front, we obviously have our franchises very committed to increasing their presence in Europe,” Tobon said.

“Discovery’s strategic priority, obviously, is to expand its global footprint.”

To hear more of Evans and Tobon on Diners Club International’s global mission, listen to the full podcast below.

To read a transcript of the audio conversation, click here.

Eduardo Tobon

President, Diners Club International

Eduardo Tobon is President of Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in 185 countries. Mr. Tobon is also a member of Discover Financial Services’ Management Committee. In his current role, Mr. Tobon is responsible for the entire Diners Club business including marketing, product management, operations, the service center, client relations and business development.

Mr. Tobon spent the past twelve years at Sovereign Bank-Santander, a top 10 global financial institution, in various senior leadership roles including strategy, product, marketing and sales. In his most current role he served as CEO of the US Cards and Payments Division.

Prior to Sovereign Bank-Santander, Mr. Tobon worked in strategic consulting at two McKinsey legacy firms (Mitchell Madison Group and AT Kearney), as well as in production planning with Procter and Gamble.

He earned a Bachelor Degree in Production Engineering from Universidad EAFIT in Medellin, Colombia and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

In addition to his responsibilities with Diners Club, he is involved in organizations that give back to children’s causes, volunteering with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and Children's Hospital.