Mark Pickens has two decades of experience in financial inclusion, concentrating on digital since 2005. He currently serves on Visa’s global leadership team for financial inclusion. In that role, he helps set and execute company strategy for expanding underserved consumers’ access to and usage of digital payment products worldwide. He previously served as Managing Director for the launch of mVisa, the company’s flagship mobile financial service in emerging markets, residing in Rwanda 2011-14.

Before joining Visa, Mark co-founded a $46M philanthropic investment fund for digital financial inclusion at CGAP, supported by the Gates Foundation, the UK’s Department for International Development, and Mastercard Foundation. He has also served in a variety of leadership roles with microfinance lenders in Bosnia, Cambodia and Madagascar, and founded successful media and healthcare startups in New York City and Madagascar. He is an Aspen Institute First Mover fellow, a graduate of Stanford’s Design Institute, and holds degrees from Columbia and Georgetown.