Visa UK boss takes partnership marketing role

Visa, the card payment brand, has promoted UK managing director Colin Grannell to the new role of executive vice-president of partnership marketing. It is currently seeking a replacement.

Grannell, who has been managing director of Visa UK for seven years, will be responsible for implementing Visa’s sponsorships and partnerships, which include the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the FIFA World Cup and the Rugby World Cup.

A Visa spokesman says that Grannell was already involved in Visa’s Olympic sponsorship, and that his involvement increased “significantly” since the successful London 2012 bid to host the event.

Grannell will continue to lead the Visa UK business until a replacement is appointed. His successor will be responsible for developing Visa Europe’s strategy in the UK and Ireland, and building strong relationships with strategic partners. The company’s key aim is to accelerate the migration of personal spending from cash to plastic.

Visa Europe is an independent association of 4,500 member banks operating in 34 countries. Last month, the global credit card network revealed plans to merge its North American and international operations with a view to floating the combined business for £7bn. The European business will not be part of the merged division and will remain owned by its member banks.

Visa snatched the World Cup sponsorship from rival Mastercard in April. The move led Mastercard to begin legal proceedings against FIFA in the US. Mastercard, which had sponsored the World Cup for 16 years, says the move by FIFA was a “blatant and deceitful violation” of a written agreement. A US appeals court is hearing the case.