As President and CEO-Elect, Michael understands that ending gender discrimination isn’t just a matter of basic human rights; it’s eradicating a barrier to accelerating sustainable development. Promoting women’s leadership in driving economic growth and galvanizing their willpower isn’t just about enriching economies—it’s about building a more just, equitable global society. During the course of Michael’s 10 years at Mastercard, he has been a visionary who kickstarted much of the work behind their financial inclusion journey. Recently, Mastercard has expanded its commitment to financial inclusion, pledging to bring a total of one billion people and fifty million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025, with a direct focus on supplying twenty-five million women entrepreneurs with solutions to help them grow their businesses. Outside of Mastercard, Michael is part of the Accion Board of Directors; providing support to two billion adults across the world lacking financial services. In 2018, MasterCard and Accion launched a partnership, bringing Mastercard’s worldwide networks and resources together to transform millions of underserved micro and small businesses while focusing on the cultivation of female entrepreneurs.