MasterCard Debit Unit Taps Europay Exec as Its First CEO

Francis van den Bosch has been named chief executive officer of Maestro International, MasterCard International's on-line debit card program.

Mr. van den Bosch, who has been general manager of commercial affairs for Europay International since 1989, is the first to hold the post. He will remain at the Waterloo, Belgium, headquarters of Europay, which is closely affiliated with MasterCard, and will report to the Maestro board.

MasterCard and Europay, which have been stepping up their marketing cooperation, agreed in June to create a CEO position for Maestro as it tries to establish stronger international brand recognition.

Maestro had previously "reported into various parts around the world, and that meant that there was a bit of lack of focus on the product," said Mr. van den Bosch, 47.

He said he will "work very closely" with the CEOs of MasterCard and Europay, Robert Selander and Louis-Noel Joly, and with G. Henry Mundt 3d, MasterCard's executive vice president for global deposit access, who is based at the Purchase, N.Y., headquarters.

"The fact that both organizations have now agreed to pool on-line debit into one organization should drive them a lot closer," said Mr. van den Bosch in a telephone interview Monday, his first day in his new position.

But he added that both "will keep working their markets. It is not the purpose of Maestro to start meddling into what they're doing on a daily basis."

Mr. van den Bosch called on-line debit "a very fast growth market for many years to come" and said Maestro's challenge is to solidify its brand.

"It is not established yet," he said. "My objective would be to establish it as the prime on-line debit brand around the world."

Mr. van den Bosch's previous position, in which he managed business strategy, product development, chip migration, and bank relationships for Europay, will not be filled. It will be "split into three separate divisions," the executive said.

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