Mastercard has hired Michael Froman, who was a top trade adviser to former President Obama, as the card brand’s vice chairman and president of strategic growth.
In the newly created position, Froman will lead a team coordinating Mastercard’s business moves with governments, connected cities, financial inclusion and other new opportunities under a single organization, according to a Monday press release.
Froman will also work with teams at the company to oversee the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and will join the company’s management committee, Mastercard said in the release.
“With Mike at the helm and with these teams working seamlessly together, we can build on our foundation to dramatically advance digital identity, power and water efficiencies, digital payments acceptance, and government benefits as scalable solutions,” said Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga in the release.
From 2013 to 2017, Froman served as the U.S. Trade Representative and was Obama’s principal adviser and negotiator on international trade and investment issues, according to the release. Previously he served as an assistant to the president and was Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economic Affairs, the release said.
Before working at the White House, Froman held several executive positions at Citigroup, helping to shape the company’s strategy in China, India, Brazil and other emerging markets. Earlier he served in the Treasury Department under President Clinton. Most recently Froman was with the Council on Foreign Relations and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs.
Froman has a law degree from Harvard and a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University.
