Mastercard has announced the appointment of Adam Jones as the new Country General Manager of its Mena Central cluster. In his new role, Jones will lead Mastercard’s operations across cluster, taking  responsibility for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Iraq markets.

 

Bolstering Mastercard’s Mena leadership team, Jones will work closely with Maria Medvedeva — Vice President for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain — to connect and power a digital economy that benefits everyone in Saudi Arabia.

 

As part of this commitment, Medvedeva and Jones will also place an emphasis on effecting a positive change in the communities they serve, focusing on diversity and inclusion, empowering youth, and women in the kingdom to fulfil their potential as business leaders.

 

“Saudi Arabia is fast becoming the region’s nerve-center of digital and cultural transformation. At Mastercard we strive to empower youth and female leaders to fulfil their potential as innovators and change makers, reshaping the cultural landscape of the kingdom to enter the new era of the inclusive opportunity. I am proud to be able to set an example across the region and the world.” said Medvedeva.

 

Empowerment of women

Mastercard’s approach is aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030 with the empowerment of women in the workplace being a key element of the national strategy. 40% of Mastercard’s workforce in the kingdom are women, above the national average of 35%, reiterating the commitment to empowering the future generation and advancing the Saudi digital economy.

 

“The kingdom is setting the pace for digital acceleration, providing a glimpse of what the future holds for the payments solutions sector. In an increasingly connected world, it is vital for companies, such as Mastercard to leverage all the tools at their disposal to empower the business leaders of tomorrow to realise their potential and affect meaningful change. I look forward to working with my Saudi colleagues to achieve those goals,” said Jones.

 

The announcement is the latest step taken by Mastercard to strengthen its regional leadership. It follows recent announcements detailing the expansion of Mastercard’s EEMEA (Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region, which includes 81 of the 210 markets across the world in which the company currently operates.

 

Head of Commercial Products

Jones joined Mastercard in 2015 as Head of Commercial Products for Middle East and Africa responsible for product and sales. Before joining Mastercard, Jones served as the Head of Commercial Business for American Express Middle East and North Africa, based in Dubai, UAE.

 

Medvedeva has more than two decades of experience in regional and global roles. She joined Mastercard in 2018 as Vice President of Solution Sales at Mastercard UAE. Prior to that, she consulted in UK and UAE based advisory firms in financial turnarounds.-- TradeArabia News Service