MasterCard Worldwide appoints Denzil Lawson head of Regional Business Development

Lawson, who last held the position of General Manager for Middle East and Levant, will now handle business development of the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. He had worked for ANZ Bank in Australia for more than 12 years before joining MasterCard in 2002 to lead its sales and business development for Africa, Middle East and South Asia.

Vicky Bindra, president, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard Worldwide, said, "Denzil has extensive experience in developing the business for MasterCard in the Middle East and Levant markets, launching new products and growing MasterCard's share of the payments business. In this newly created position, he will take his knowledge and successes to explore and create opportunities with customer financial institutions across the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa footprint."

MasterCard also appointed Michael Miebach as General Manager, Middle East & Africa. Formerly Barclays Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa, and Managing Director, UAE, Miebach was responsible for all corporate, commercial and consumer businesses in the region.

Bindra added, "Michael brings with him a wealth of experience in the financial services sector and a deep understanding of the Middle East and Africa, which offer great potential for MasterCard in our core business. We are confident that both Denzil and Michael will put us in a strong position to maximise the substantial opportunities across our high growth region."