Visa announced, in a Monday press statement, the appointment of Marcello Baricordi as its general manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Baricordi, a Visa and payments industry veteran, replaces Ihab Ayoub. He will be responsible for all aspects of Visa’s operations in the MENA region. Baricordi will report to Andrew Torre, regional president for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) at Visa, headquartered in Dubai.
“This region is moving rapidly towards digital and mobile commerce. This is being driven by proactive and visionary government agendas, innovation-led financial institutions and merchants, and tech-savvy consumers,” said Baricordi.
He added that he looks forward to participating in accelerating this trend, which can be achieved through building on Visa’s strong relationships with financial institutions, merchants, governments, payment industry regulators, and other industry partners.
“Marcello Baricordi’s appointment comes at an exciting time for the region and for our business. He steps into the role with Visa already well-positioned to help our partners unlock the vast opportunities for growth and deliver the social and economic benefits of digital payments to more people across the MENA,” Torre commented.
Torre explained that Marcello’s experience in payments and the MENA region will allow him to work with the company’s teams and its partners to bring new products, technology solutions, and services to the market. He added that this will expand digital payments acceptance across more merchant segments, and improve cardholder experiences to accelerate cash displacement through innovation.
