MERCEDES GARCIA

Mercedes Garcia is Vice President Community Relations at Mastercard. In this role, she is responsible for developing relationships with consumers, merchants, labor organizations, consumer advocacy groups and governments via the Master Your Card (MYC) community empowerment program. This program provides education about how consumers and business owners can get the most from their money through the smart use of electronic payments technology.

For several years, she also served as Mastercard’s spokesperson for financial education programs for Hispanics, African Americans and other underserved groups. She supported the development of these educational programs, including marketing and training materials. In addition, Ms. Garcia personally conducted training sessions for thousands of people.

Mercedes has been recognized by many organizations and institutions, including the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with their “2015 Women Empowering and Embracing Women” Award, by the New York Hispanic Chamber of Commerce “2016 Annual Hispanic Women in Business” Award, which honors the commitment of exceptional Hispanic Women and most recently the Community Building Champion Award by the YWCA, White Plains & Central Westchester and the “2019 Financial Inclusion Impact” by World of Money.

She joined Mastercard in 1994 to open its Venezuela office. She moved to the company’s headquarters in Purchase, N.Y., in 1998 to join the Global Product Group, supporting the development and rollout of various Mastercard payment card programs around the world.

Prior to joining Mastercard, Ms. Garcia developed an extensive marketing and advertising background, working for more than 10 years at J. Walter Thompson, one of the leading multinational advertising agencies. Ms. Garcia is native of Venezuela, speaks several languages and has a Business Administration and Hotel Management degree from the Mexican Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management in Mexico City.