Vice President, Brand Strategy

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

Vice President, Brand Strategy

Job Description
Vice President, Brand Strategy
Reports to: Senior Vice President, Brand Strategy & Advertising

The Vice President of Brand Strategy is responsible for advancing a unified, enterprise-wide brand strategy that strengthens and scales the power of the company’s brand.

This role serves as a critical component of the expression of the organization, with a strong and clear articulation of what the brand stands for and connective tissue between the brand promise and the brand expression, across all aspects of the business and among all audiences.

This role partners closely with enterprise leadership, product, sales, marketing, and regional teams to translate the strength of a globally iconic master brand into differentiated, credible, and growth-driving brand systems.

Key Responsibilities
Brand Strategy & Architecture
• Ensure the brand platform is fit for purpose as our business scales and evolves, with a unifying positioning that works across all categories and audiences, further re-enforcing and building value back into the brand.
• Lead brand architecture decisions across products, platforms and services.
• Lead brand migration strategies for acquired companies aligned to business objectives, maintaining and transferring brand value, partnering with M&A and B2B marketing and communications teams to realize effective brand migrations.
Strategic Leadership & Influence
• Serve as a senior brand counselor to executive leadership, business unit heads, and regional leaders.
• Influence business strategy through a brand lens, ensuring brand considerations inform portfolio, innovation, and partnership decisions.
• Drive alignment and adoption of brand strategy across global and regional teams, operating largely through influence.
Go-to-Market & Activation Partnership
• Partner with product, product marketing, and B2B marketing for go to market of new products and services supporting with naming and branding strategies.
• Partner with brand marketing, creative agencies and regional teams to ensure there is a strong and resonant expression of the brand in our marketing and advertising efforts.
Governance, Standards & Systems
• Establish & evolve brand governance frameworks that enable speed & consistency at global scale.
• Oversee brand guidelines, toolkits & processes that empower teams while protecting brand integrity.
Team & Capability Building
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing global brand strategy team
• Build brand strategy capabilities across the organization through education, frameworks, and shared ways of working
• Foster strong partnerships with agencies and external strategic partners

Qualifications & Experience
• 15+ years of experience in brand strategy, at Brand consultancy and Brand side, with significant experience at enterprise scale
• Proven leadership experience in B2C and B2B branding, preferably within complex portfolios or adjacent-category ecosystems
• Proven experience in transfer of equity & brand migration strategies.
• Skilled in naming including complex scenarios across CX with both B2B and B2C lens
• Strong strategic acumen with the ability to connect brand decisions to business outcomes
• Exceptional storytelling, influence, and stakeholder management skills at executive level
• Experience working across geographies, cultures, and matrixed organizations
• Prior experience in financial services, technology, platforms, preferred
Leadership Profile
• Enterprise-minded: Thinks beyond individual initiatives to long-term brand value and enterprise impact
• Credible and authoritative: Able to command trust with senior leaders while remaining collaborative and pragmatic
• Nurturing and clear: An empathetic leader, able to motivate and bring clear direction someone who will be a great example of ‘the Mastercard Way’
• Strategic but actionable: Balances big-picture brand vision with practical execution frameworks
• Calm builder: Thrives in complexity and brings clarity, rigor, and momentum to ambiguous environments

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 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: $217,000 - $359,000 USD