Mastercard Names Former US Trade Rep In New Role Focused On Growth

Mastercard announced news that former United States Trade Representative Michael Froman will join the company as vice chairman and president of strategic growth.

In a press release, the payments company said the newly created role will be effective as of Monday (April 16). The company said that in the role, Froman will be in charge of integrating and aligning the company’s global approach to doing business with governments, cities, financial inclusion and other business opportunities under one organization. He will also be in charge of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and will join the company’s management committee.

“We are thrilled to add Mike to our team,” said Ajay Banga, president and CEO of Mastercard, in the press release. “At every stop in his career, he has made a real, positive impact — whether it was in the public or the private sector, in international trade, development or finance. His experience and insights will help advance our strategic growth.”

Mastercard noted that back in 2015, it set a goal to bring 500 million new consumers and 40 million small and medium-sized businesses into the financial mainstream by 2020. The effort, it said, starts with access to financial tools and services. Mastercard also said it’s focused on making a real impact by helping people get on the path to more prosperity. Froman’s team will look to expand public-private partnerships while driving enterprise partnerships with governments, non-government organizations and foundations. Froman and his team will also collaborate with organizations to create and manage its products, including the Mastercard Lab for Financial Inclusion in Kenya.

“With Mike at the helm and with these teams working seamlessly together, we can build on our foundation to dramatically advance digital identity, power and water efficiencies, digital payments acceptance and government benefits as scalable solutions,” said Banga in the same press release.

Froman joins Mastercard from the Council on Foreign Relations and from the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. He will continue to serve as a Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2013 to 2017, Froman served as the U.S. Trade Representative — President Barack Obama’s principal advisor and negotiator on international trade and investment issues. He worked to open foreign markets for U.S. goods and services, reached trade agreements and enforced the rights of American workers, farmers and firms.