George Simon

George Simon is Executive Vice President and Head of Market Development for Europe at Mastercard. In this role, he is responsible for shaping and executing the company’s European business strategy, overseeing areas such as acceptance, digital partnerships, key merchant relationships, customer economics, Mastercard Direct Sales, processing, and public sector engagement across the region.

Previously, George served in several Divisional President roles at Mastercard. As President of High Growth European Markets, he led operations, sales, product and service delivery, and marketing across 11 markets, including Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Israel, and Russia. Prior to that, he headed the Central Eastern Europe division, managing customer activities and business operations across 19 countries.

George began his Mastercard career as Executive Vice President, Customer Delivery Head for Europe, where he led the rollout and performance of Mastercard products and services across the continent and oversaw the Mastercard Academy.

Before joining Mastercard, George spent 16 years at Citigroup, where he held a range of international leadership roles. He led Cards businesses in the UAE, Belgium, Turkey, and the Czech Republic, and served as Regional Head of Cards Acquisitions for Western Europe, spanning 10 markets.

George holds a BSc in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, and an MBA from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.