Director, Mergers and Acquisitions

Job description

Our Purpose Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential. Title and Summary Director, Mergers and Acquisitions Our Team The GBSC Mergers & Acquisitions Center of Excellence supports the integration of acquired businesses into Mastercard and GBSC processes and platforms through a consistent governance and engagement model. The team provides integration strategy and execution, program governance, project management, risk management, executive reporting, process standardization and integration playbooks. The team partners across Finance and GBSC functions to bring earlier visibility to acquisition requirements, establish repeatable integration approaches, identify risks and dependencies, and support acquired businesses through integration and stabilization. The Opportunity The Director, GBSC M&A Strategy & Execution will lead the translation of M&A strategy into coordinated execution across GBSC for acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic transactions. This role will operate at the intersection of deal strategy, integration planning and GBSC operations, establishing the structure required to move complex transactions from diligence and pre-close planning through Day 1 readiness, integration, stabilization and transition to business-as-usual operations. The Director will partner with M&A leadership, GBSC functional leaders, Finance, People & Capability, Legal, Technology and other stakeholders to establish integration strategies, clarify ownership and dependencies, surface risks and decisions, and enable scalable execution across multiple concurrent transactions. The Role M&A Strategy & Planning Translate transaction objectives and integration principles into actionable GBSC integration strategies, roadmaps, milestones and execution plans. Lead GBSC assessment and scoping for new transactions, identifying impacted capabilities, processes, systems, resources, dependencies and operational risks. Partner with deal and functional leaders to determine appropriate integration approaches based on transaction structure, business requirements, timing and risk. Establish clear success criteria, guiding principles, decision points and transition expectations for each transaction. Connect lessons across the M&A portfolio so that individual deal decisions strengthen the broader GBSC integration model. Integration Execution Drive cross-functional execution across GBSC workstreams from pre-close planning through Day 1, integration and stabilization. Establish clear ownership, milestones, interdependencies, escalation paths and decision requirements across workstreams. Monitor execution against integration plans and proactively identify risks, constraints and cross-functional dependencies that could affect transaction readiness or business continuity. Facilitate resolution of issues requiring coordination across multiple functions, ensuring the accountable business owner retains decision ownership. Ensure integration plans appropriately address operational readiness, process transition and handoff to BAU teams. Governance & Executive Decision Support Establish disciplined governance for GBSC M&A execution, including appropriate operating rhythms, decision forums, milestones and escalation mechanisms. Provide concise executive reporting that translates program detail into business impact, material risks, tradeoffs, dependencies and decisions required. Prepare leadership and SteerCo discussions with clear recommendations, decision requirements and accountable owners. Create transparency across concurrent transactions, identifying portfolio-level resource conflicts, dependencies and emerging risks requiring leadership intervention. GBSC Operating Model & Capability Development Build and continuously improve repeatable M&A methodologies, playbooks, templates, tollgates, readiness criteria and integration standards. Partner with GBSC operational teams to refine roles, responsibilities and handoff models between the M&A COE and BAU organizations. Capture lessons learned and convert recurring integration challenges into scalable processes and capabilities. Identify opportunities to simplify integration activities, reduce manual effort and improve consistency across transactions. Advance the use of data, dashboards, automation and AI to improve integration visibility, reporting and execution. Stakeholder Leadership Serve as a strategic integration partner connecting M&A leadership, GBSC functions, acquired-company stakeholders and broader enterprise partners. Build alignment across stakeholders with differing objectives, timelines and operating constraints. Influence decisions without relying on direct authority, using facts, business context, risk assessment and clear recommendations. Challenge unclear accountability, unnecessary complexity and execution approaches that create avoidable enterprise risk. Support acquired-company leaders through the transition into Mastercard processes and operating models. All About You Significant experience leading complex M&A integrations, enterprise transformation, strategy execution, program management or shared-services initiatives. Demonstrated ability to translate strategy and ambiguous business objectives into structured execution plans. Strong understanding of the M&A lifecycle, including diligence, pre-close planning, Day 1 readiness, integration, stabilization and transition to BAU. Experience operating across multiple business functions and managing complex cross-functional dependencies. Strong executive communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex issues into clear risks, options, recommendations and decisions. Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive outcomes in a global matrixed organization. Strong problem-solving and analytical capability, including the ability to identify root causes, evaluate tradeoffs and develop practical solutions. Experience establishing governance models, operating rhythms, performance measures and scalable processes. Ability to manage multiple transactions or strategic initiatives simultaneously while maintaining focus on critical milestones and enterprise risks. Strong orientation toward continuous improvement, automation and scalable ways of working. Proven ability to build relationships and create accountability across teams without direct reporting authority. Comfortable operating in high-visibility situations with incomplete information, compressed timelines and changing priorities. Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact reasonable_accommodation@mastercard.com and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly. Corporate Security Responsibility All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must: Abide by Mastercard’s secu