Vice President, AI & Data Strategy

Vice President, AI & Data Strategy

The AI and Data Office is responsible for the strategy, acquisition, evaluation, and responsible use of AI and data capabilities that power innovation and operations across Mastercard. Reporting to the Senior Vice President, AI & Data Strategy, the Vice President will partner with Technology and People & Capabilities (P&C) leaders to define and execute enterprise AI and data strategies that accelerate business priorities, strengthen decision-making, and enable innovation at scale. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, execution, and governance—translating business priorities into actionable AI and data initiatives, addressing capability gaps, and enabling scalable, responsible adoption across a complex, global organization.

Role Responsibilities:

• Define and drive the AI and data strategy roadmap across the Technology and P&C organizations, ensuring alignment to enterprise priorities and measurable business outcomes.
• Partner with senior leaders to translate business priorities into AI and data initiatives while identifying and addressing gaps in capabilities, operating models, and governance.
• Serve as a strategic advisor on internal and third-party AI and data capabilities, guiding evaluation, prioritization, and implementation of high-impact AI and data solutions.
• Lead the adoption of data and AI design practices for new products, services, and enterprise initiatives, including data requirements, AI intake, Data Briefs, Data Flows, and supporting materials required for product management and governance processes.
• Build strong relationships across Technology, P&C, and enterprise stakeholder groups to champion AI and data best practices and strengthen organizational readiness.
• Represent Mastercard externally as a senior voice in the AI and data space, helping advance the company's reputation, perspective, and strategic objectives.
• Define, track, and communicate success metrics for the function, including AI intake throughput, strategy adoption, and other relevant indicators of progress and impact.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, operational ownership, and execution excellence across cross-functional teams.

All About You:

• Proven experience defining and executing enterprise-scale AI and data strategies in complex, matrixed organizations.
• Strong understanding of AI, data, analytics, and governance, with the ability to connect technical capabilities to business value.
• Deep understanding of the Payments and/or Fintech industry, especially the underlying technology stacks.
• Exceptional executive communication and stakeholder management skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders across business, product, and technology functions globally.
• Strong business and financial acumen, with experience assessing trade-offs, prioritizing investments, and supporting cost-efficiency objectives.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and build strong relationships across diverse stakeholder groups in complex, matrixed environments.
• Ability to shape practical strategies and operating plans that define how data and AI are governed, prioritized, and applied to support business objectives.
• Experience working with enterprise HR systems (e.g., Workday), with the ability to align AI and data strategies to people, workforce, and capability data to enable more effective talent and organizational decision-making.
• Comfortable operating in fast-paced environments with a high degree of complexity, ambiguity, and executive visibility.

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 security policies and practices;
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard's guidelines.

In line with Mastercard's total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.

Pay Ranges:

Purchase, New York: $235,000 - $375,000 USD

Arlington, Virginia: $235,000 - $375,000 USD

New York City, New York: $245,000 - $391,000 USD

O'Fallon, Missouri: $204,000 - $326,000 USD