Joseph W. Saunders
Joseph W. Saunders
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
As chairman and chief executive officer of Visa Inc., Joseph W. Saunders leads a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories. He was elected to this role in May 2007, after serving Visa International as executive chairman of the Transition Governance Committee.
During his tenure at Visa, Saunders has strengthened Visa’s position as the world’s leading payments technology company. Under his leadership, Visa transformed from a private association of banks into a public company that completed the largest initial public offering in U.S. history in 2008. Since then, Saunders has built on Visa’s history of innovation, diversifying its business and expanding its product offerings through the acquisitions of CyberSource, PlaySpan and Fundamo as well as the introduction of Visa’s digital wallet—V.me.
Before joining Visa, Saunders served as president of card services for Washington Mutual, Inc. as well as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Providian Financial Corporation, one of the leading credit card issuers in the U.S.
Throughout his career, Saunders has held leadership positions within top financial services companies, including chairman and chief executive officer of Fleet Credit Card Services at FleetBoston Financial Corporation from 1997 through 2001; chairman of MasterCard International’s board of directors in 1996 while employed at Household Finance International Inc.; and head of Continental Bank’s credit card division, which is where he started his career and worked for 16 years.
A Chicago native, Saunders holds both a B.S. in business administration and an MBA from the University of Denver. He remains active in alumni activities and serves as chairman of the board for Teach For All, the Global Network for Expanding Educational Opportunity.
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