Visa Vice Chair and CFO Vasant Prabhu to Retire Sept. 30

Visa Vice Chair and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Vasant Prabhu will retire on Sept. 30.

The firm said in a Thursday (Feb. 16) press release that Prabhu will help Visa search for and onboard his replacement, ensuring a smooth transition before he steps down.

“I want to thank Vasant for his outstanding strategic and financial leadership over the past eight years,” Visa CEO Ryan McInerney said in the release. “Vasant has played an integral role in shaping Visa’s strategic transformation as we evolved our business to a network of networks, introduced new revenue growth drivers including new flows and value added services and executed acquisitions to advance our strategy.”

Prabhu joined Visa as CFO in 2015. His position was expanded in 2019 as he took on the vice chairman role, with Visa saying at the time that Prabhu would have an active role in representing the company at industry forum, serve as a valuable voice with key constituents and give strategic counsel on major initiatives.

Before arriving at Visa, Prabhu served as CFO at NBCUniversal Media, CFO and later vice chairman at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and CFO and executive vice president at Safeway. He also held senior leadership roles at PepsiCo; Booz, Allen & Hamilton, and The McGraw-Hill Companies.

“I am grateful to have played a part in the tremendous growth of one of the world’s most well-respected brands during a time of inflection in the company’s history,” Prabhu said in the release. “As I retire, I know that the company is well positioned to continue to grow and take full advantage of the revolution in payments around the globe.”

Visa recently had a change in the CEO position too, as McInerney became CEO Feb. 1 after being named to the post in November.

McInerney had been the company’s president since 2013, responsible for Visa’s global businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. He succeeded Alfred F. Kelly Jr., who transitioned from CEO to the executive chairman’s role.

“I cannot think of a finer leader to continue to position Visa at the center of money movement in increasingly innovative ways,” Kelly said of his successor.