Hunt’s role will be to further enhance Mastercard security capabilities for cardholders, customers, merchants and other stakeholders in light of the growing cybercrime threat.

Cybercrime is forecast to double in the next five years hitting $6 trillion by 2021. While cybercrime can have a major impact upon revenues and reputation of a large company, the rapid increase in threats can often have catastrophic effects for all businesses—with many never recovering from an attack. That’s why enhanced cybersecurity solutions—including strategic partnerships, standards development and new products innovation under the leadership of Hunt—are an increasingly important part of how Mastercard delivers security leadership in the digital world.Simon Hunt

“The digital security ecosystem is only as strong as its weakest link,” said Ajay Bhalla, chief security solutions officer at Mastercard. “We believe it’s time to redefine the rules for good cybersecurity practice and use the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, to help protect those sectors that need the most support. Bringing a proven cybersecurity leader like Simon on board will help us continue to build out and enhance our multi-layered defense approach for our customers, cardholders, merchants and other stakeholders.”

Hunt has been a leader in the cybersecurity space for more than 20 years, widely recognized as an industry speaker and seasoned entrepreneur. He previously served in executive technology roles at McAfee, Intel, and most recently as the chief technology officer at the data protection firm Winmagic.

Hunt will take overall responsibility for Mastercard global cybersecurity solutions as well as industry standards, fraud reporting, our Security Labs and cyber partnership programs. His appointment comes on the back of the recent launch of Early Detection, a Mastercard service that uses predictive capability to help issuers manage potential fraud as a result of card or identity hacks.