Director, Commercialization Lead - Start Path

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, Commercialization Lead - Start Path

• Are you motivated by a fast-paced environment where you would be a subject matter expert, a
connector, and a leader with a reputation for impact?
• Do you have a passion for startups and emerging technology, and possess an entrepreneurial
spirit?
• Are you compelled to win and wish you could work in an environment that has the nimbleness of
a startup and works with startups globally?

Start Path is Mastercard’s award-winning, global startup engagement program through which Mastercard engages with later-stage startups to drive product development and commercial opportunities across the company and with our customers. The Start Path team is an agile, cross-functional group that collaborates with varied teams across Mastercard and external partners to drive innovation. Operating in a highly matrixed environment with a big global vision, we engage the best later-stage startups to unlock transformative opportunities.

We are now seeking a dynamic Partnership Director to lead strategic collaboration at the intersection of our startups, internal business teams, and key Mastercard clients—driving innovation, unlocking value, and accelerating growth.

THE ROLE:
• Ensure best-in-class sourcing of early- to late-stage startups through relationship building with external ecosystem (e.g. VCs, ecosystem partners)
• Manage top startup accounts to drive product development and distribution
• Work closely with account teams to evangelize the Start Path program and train Account
Managers and Sales teams on how Start Path creates value for our customers
• Responsible for creating and executing on an innovative strategy to drive Start Path adoption,
leveraging a combination of partnerships and relationship management skills
• Cultivate effective senior level relationships, building rapport and trust with Mastercard
customers
• Lead a go-to-market strategy to maximize engagements between startups and customers
• Employ consultative selling skills to shape and execute startup engagements with customers
with the ability to think from the perspective of the customer
• Create and deliver compelling ways that Start Path can guide Mastercard’s customers to develop
their own innovative, startup engagement strategies building on startup, fintech, investment and
technology trends
• Contribute to evaluation and selection of startups pre-programme and mentoring of startups
during programme

ALL ABOUT YOU:
• Demonstrate strong self-awareness, open to different approaches and ideas and open to
challenging status quo to drive new business initiatives
• Expert consultative selling skills including strong influencing and negotiation skills, with the
ability to think from the perspective of the customer
• Ability to quickly learn about new technologies, demonstrating startup subject matter expertise
and industry thought leadership
• Results driven, solutions and customer focused, with strong business acumen and sense of
urgency
• Demonstrate multi-disciplinary knowledge, i.e. innovative product development, business
development, marketing, client relationship management, emerging technologies
• Proactively able to identify opportunities before others and develop strategies to take advantage
of these opportunities
• Demonstrated experience quickly understanding, utilizing and evangelizing new technology
• Demonstrated ability to take accountability and drive to desired results with passion, ambition
and aptitude
• Self-motivated, thrives in the ambiguity that comes with a lean and agile team at the forefront of
an evolving space
• Possesses a passion for the startup community
• Expertise gained in Retail Banking and/or Payment Industry is highly desirable
• MBA or other advanced degree in strategy, marketing, communications, innovation,
entrepreneurship or other related field a plus

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without re