The FINANCIAL — Visa Inc. has announced the appointment of Andrew Torre as Regional President for its Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region, based in Dubai.
Torre, who previously led Visa’s Sub-Saharan Africa business, will now oversee all of Visa’s operations in more than 90 countries across CEMEA and report to Visa’s global president, Ryan McInerney. Torre will also sit on Visa’s global Operating Committee.
Torre is a Visa and payments industry veteran, with deep experience across the markets that comprise Visa’s CEMEA region. Having previously worked with the World Bank in Kiev, Moscow and CIS territories, Torre has been with Visa since 2002, holding global roles in product, strategy and pricing, as well as general manager roles in Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Visa.
“Andrew’s deep experience, which touches every part of our CEMEA region, has prepared him well for his new role. It provides him with a phenomenal understanding of both Visa’s global operations, as well as the markets that make up this fascinating and complex region. This will not only benefit Visa and our financial institution clients, but also add tremendous value to our merchant and government partners as we strive together to bring the benefits of connected, digital commerce to more people in the region” says Ryan McInerney, President, Visa Inc.
“Nowhere is our mission more important to economic growth and prosperity than in the CEMEA region,” says Torre. “By 2020, we estimate that around 25 percent of the world’s population will live in this region, and those consumers will be young, technology savvy, and hungry for financial services that are more relevant and accessible to them. This opens up exciting opportunities for us to service those future consumers through innovative, mobile technologies that Visa is deploying, right now, in market, in anticipation of future consumer needs.
