Amir Hayek has stepped into the role of Senior Vice President, Regional Core Payments Commercialization for Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) at Mastercard, marking a significant new chapter in his more than 12-year career with the global payments company.
Hayek announced the appointment, expressing enthusiasm for the expanded mandate. “I’m excited to begin a new chapter as SVP, Core Payments Commercialization, EEMEA at Mastercard,” he said.
“Since joining Mastercard in 2014, I’ve had the privilege of taking on five roles across levels, functions, and continents. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities, experiences, and trust that have shaped my career along the way.”
In his new position, based in Dubai, Hayek will focus on driving growth and impact across the diverse EEMEA markets by commercializing core payments solutions. He previously served as Head of Strategic Pricing and Interchange for EEMEA from June 2023 to May 2026, where he worked with regional and global leadership teams to leverage economics in support of financial inclusion and business expansion.
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Before that, Hayek spent four years as Vice President of Enterprise Strategy in New York, collaborating closely with the CEO and C-level executives. In that role he helped shape company-wide strategies covering services and digital currencies, defined regional approaches for North America, China, India, the Middle East and Africa, and developed commercialization plans for products including contactless payments, QR codes and wallets.
He also evaluated major partnerships, investments and M&A opportunities while supporting investor and board engagements.
Earlier in his Mastercard tenure, as Director of MEA Strategy and M&A, Hayek led one of the company’s largest global minority investments, defined engagement models with digital players, built business cases for significant Africa investments, and helped establish an analytics function.
He began at Mastercard in 2014 as a Managing Consultant in the Middle East and Africa, delivering more than 20 projects for banks, merchants and governments, including payments strategy work for the UAE’s largest bank and the design of Egypt’s first pan-banking loyalty programme.
Prior to joining Mastercard, Hayek built a strong foundation in strategy consulting and finance. He held progressive roles at PA Consulting Group, rising to Principal Consultant, and earlier positions at OC&C Strategy Consultants and as a Credit Risk Analyst at Barclays in Cairo.
Hayek thanked the teams, colleagues and leaders who supported him throughout his journey and said he looks forward to continuing to learn from and collaborate with the talented teams across EEMEA.
