Executive Bios

Andrea Scerch is president of Mastercard’s Latin America and the Caribbean region. In this role, Andrea is responsible for the strategy, direction, and overall success of all aspects of Mastercard’s operations across the region, which is comprised of 45 countries and territories, through its partnerships with retailers, fintechs, financial institutions, government, and businesses. 

Andrea has held diverse roles during his tenure at Mastercard. In his previous position Andrea led Mastercard’s global Consumer Products and Processing team where he was responsible for the company’s “core” consumer product offer (credit, debit and prepaid products). Previously he was responsible for a group of processing assets, including Payment Gateway Services, enabling merchants to accept digital payments across multiple channels and markets; Payment Transaction Services, the technology helping issuers and acquirers process payments; and Prepaid Management Services, an end-to-end prepaid program manager. In this capacity, he also spearheaded the integration of multiple businesses, including Transaction Network Services, which was acquired in 2014. 

Andrea first joined Mastercard in 2005 as the head of strategy for Europe before assuming the role of division president for Central Europe markets. Under his leadership, the company strengthened its position across the region, achieved strong growth and successfully deployed new payment technology in the markets. 

Before joining Mastercard, Andrea was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company in Italy, where he worked with large, pan-European retail banks leading strategic projects on key business topics.  

Andrea holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France and has a degree in Economics and Business Administration, from La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. 

Kiki Del Valle is executive vice president of Market Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) at Mastercard. In her role, she oversees the region’s operations and customer-facing activities including market transformation strategy, business development, and relationship management with fintechs, merchants, digital partners, and payment service providers. Prior to this role, Kiki was senior vice president of Digital Partnerships, where she was responsible for Mastercard’s digital strategy with fintechs, digital merchants, and startups, expanding Mastercard’s digital footprint, managing relationships with key players, and driving transformational efforts in Latin America.

Since joining the company in 2008, Kiki has held several leadership roles, including Digital Future delivering product innovation and accelerating digital adoption of tech infrastructure launching global wallet solutions – Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsumg Pay – and managing Mastercard’s partnership model with mobile network operators globally. 

Her passions include championing gender balance efforts serving as Mastercard LAC’s Executive Sponsor for the Women Leadership Network, and promoting inclusive growth. In 2020, she created the Tech for Good Partnership in Latin America, a private-to-private partnership to accelerate digital and financial inclusion efforts.

Before joining Mastercard in 2008, Kiki held roles in finance and new product development at The Home Depot and General Electric. She is a board member of the Damas Foundation of Puerto Rico. She holds a master’s degree in business with a concentration in finance and strategy from Emory University.

Walter Pimenta is executive vice president, Products and Engineering for Latin America and the Caribbean, reporting to the regional president. In this role, he is responsible for executing on opportunities in multi-rail, digital and B2B payments – consumer products, commercial products, acceptance solutions, real-time, account-to-account and push payments, processing, open banking, blockchain and digital assets applications.

Working for one of the fastest growing regions undergoing digital transformation, Walter possesses extensive knowledge of payment schemes, key industry players, and emerging technologies to support the company’s customer-centric focus in product design and delivery. He first joined Mastercard in 2011, as Product Lead for Emerging Payments in Brazil and has since held several positions as part of the regional and global Products & Engineering team. With more than two decades of experience, he’s helped lead a team that enables the best digital experience, with security, convenience and control everywhere and every way consumers choose to pay.

Prior to joining Mastercard, Walter held management positions at multinational companies in the financial and technology industries, including Gemalto and Citibank.

He holds both a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Federal de Lavras University, located in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Laura Cruz is President of Division North and the Caribbean, reporting to the regional president. In this role, she is responsible for leading the organization’s customer-facing activities to achieve significant growth in a highly competitive and dynamic environment. As a transformational leader, Laura has been a driving force in delivering innovative solutions that allow Mastercard to become the partner of choice for connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, and businesses, building a more connected world, and driving inclusion through action. 

Laura has been with Mastercard for more than a decade and has transitioned through several roles, including Senior Vice-President of Loyalty & Engagement for Latin America, Senior Vice-President of Sales for Mexico, and Country Manager for Mexico, and most recently, Divisional President for Mexico and Central America. In all her roles, Laura has created a strong vision to accelerate market growth and solidify Mastercard's leadership position. Through her work, she remains a strong advocate for equality, diversity, and inclusion, focused on generating a positive impact in the community while promoting the company’s values of “Doing Well, by Doing Good”.  

Laura has been recognized as one of the most powerful women in business by various rankings and publications such as Forbes and Expansión. She has been lauded by the Women Economic Forum Iberoamérica for her distinguished work in driving financial inclusion through technology. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of Directors of VivaAerobus and Save the Children in Mexico and is co-leader for the 30% Club chapter in Mexico. She also has served as mentor for Endeavor, a leading global community of high-impact entrepreneurs, where she has shared experiences and learned alongside those who are shaping the resilient economies. 

Laura Cruz holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and an MBA from Georgetown University, Washington D.C. She is also certified by IPADE CEO Management program.  

Agustín Beccar Varela serves as President of Mastercard for the Southern Cone & Andean Division*, leading operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

He joined Mastercard in June 2019 as General Manager for Argentina and Uruguay.  In 2020 he expanded his responsibilities by being appointed General Manager of the Southern Cone cluster, leading the markets of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. At the beginning of 2022, the South Cone became a Division and Agustin assumed the role of President.

Graduated in Business Administration from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), he has an extensive professional career. Prior to joining Mastercard, he worked for more than eight years at Walmart, serving in various leadership positions throughout the company, including Country Manager.

Marcelo Tangioni is the president of Mastercard’s Brazil Division, reporting to the regional president. In this role, he is responsible for advancing the company's strategic vision, fostering innovation, driving growth, promoting sustainability, and cultivating a purpose-driven culture in one of Mastercard's key global markets.

Marcelo first joined Mastercard in 2002 and has since amassed over two decades of invaluable experience within the company. His extensive tenure has provided him with a deep understanding of the business, having worked across various markets and departments. Prior to assuming his position in Brazil, he led the Caribbean region for five years. During this time, Marcelo successfully cultivated a collaborative work culture across the entire regional team, leading Mastercard's strategy and operations across 27 islands—a notably diverse market within Latin America. Earlier in his professional journey at Mastercard, Marcelo held positions of responsibility in the southern cone region where he oversaw Products, Loyalty, Digital Payments and C&I. Additionally, he held leadership positions at the company's global headquarters in Purchase, NY, and later oversaw Products for Latin America in Miami.

Prior to joining Mastercard, Marcelo worked at BankBoston, which laid the foundation for his subsequent achievements in the financial and payments industry.

He graduated with a Marketing degree from ESPM and pursued a Marketing Degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Additionally, he holds an MBA in Finance from USP.