Mastercard has announced the appointment of Kelly Devine as its new European President after the departure of Mark Barnett from the role.
Devine previously worked for Mastercard for nine years as UK & Ireland President, leading the payment giant’s growth in consumer issuing, merchant relationships and significant market growth. Following this role, she worked as a Customer Director at UK furnishing retailer Dunelm.
Devine will report to Ling Hai, President, APEMEA and will join Mastercard’s Management Committee, effective 1 September, 2025. She will be based in the company’s European Headquarters in Waterloo, Belgium.
She commented on her new role, stating: “I am excited to return to Mastercard and lead the company’s presence in Europe.
“Mastercard is an industry leader across the continent because of the strong focus on customers, security, and brand trust, enabling value and choice to consumers and businesses across the region every day.”
“We are pleased to welcome Kelly Devine back to Mastercard to continue to drive our business in Europe. She has a proven record of building and enhancing partnerships based on mutual success and shared innovation,” added Hai.
“We look forward to her expanding on this commitment across the continent,” said Ling Hai, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Europe (APEMEA) at Mastercard.”
Devine’s predecessor Barnett will take on a new role at Mastercard that focuses on the company’s efforts to help support and grow small and medium-sized enterprises, which the company stated is a “key pillar” of its growth strategy.
Barnett served as Mastercard’s European President for five years, where he led the company to continue establishing itself as a card processing and issuing leader, as well as supporting humanitarian causes.
Payment Expert was present at a keynote speech Barnett delivered at Money 20/20 in June 2022, where he revealed how Mastercard Europe was helping to lead the support of Ukraine’s technology sector that was heavily impacted in the wake of Russo-Ukraine war.
Hai commented on Barnett’s five-year tenure, stating: “Under Mark Barnett’s leadership, our business in Europe has maintained robust growth, building on Mastercard’s long history as a cornerstone of Europe’s digital economy.
“Importantly, he expanded our relationships across Europe to ensure people and businesses have reliable choices to pay and get paid with the most innovative and secure payment products.
“He also continued to drive forward the company’s diversification into growth sectors and solutions including commercial payments, and data and cybersecurity services.”
CEO Miebach not fazed by global tariff war
Elsewhere within Mastercard, its CEO Michael Miebach recently spoke at the Semafor World Economy Summit on his stance on the ongoing global economic environment.
While many reports have suggested that Donald Trump’s ongoing trade battle with various countries may hinder consumer spending, Miebach turned to data which highlighted there was a 1.4% increase last March.
He said: “The consumer today is an empowered consumer that will still stick to what they want to do.
“While consumers may be paring down on how much they’re spending, “they still want to make that trip. We don’t see any change at this point.”
