Raja Rajamannar, who has served as Director of Marketing and Communication at Mastercard for the last twelve years, leaves the position on December 1, 2025. Jill Kramer, who until now held the position of Director of Marketing and Communication at Accenture, will assume the role, as the company announced in a statement.
Raja Rajamannar will not completely separate from Mastercard because he will begin a new stage in the Senior Fellow position. Through a message on LinkedIn, the manager has described his more than ten years at the head of the company’s marketing area as “a trip that is priceless” and how “one of the most satisfying chapters of my life”.
He assures that it has been full of creativity, discovery and the joy of building something truly meaningful. He recalled some milestones of the brand, such as the commitment to multisensory marketing, the creation of a sound identity or the establishment of sponsorships and alliances and the development of the scalable branding platform.
Rajamannar claims to have been part of the construction of “something truly significant”
“At every step, we stayed true to the three mantras of great marketing: build and nurture the brand, drive the business measurably, and create a sustainable competitive advantage for the company.” Rajamannar said on the professional social network. “I am deeply grateful for everything we achieved together in each of these dimensions”.
He also took the opportunity to thank the entire team for their work, as well as partners and agencies with which he has collaborated over the years. Likewise, he has alluded to Jill Kramer, whom he assures that she brings notable experience from her career at Accenture.
For their part, Mastercard has highlighted Raja Rajamannar’s impact not only on the company, but on the marketing industry. “Their creativity, passion and tireless pursuit of excellence have inspired us all and helped make Mastercard one of the most admired brands in the world. We are deeply grateful for your leadership and look forward to your continued contributions.“said Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard, in a statement.
Throughout his professional career, which spans 35 years and several important markets and different positions of high responsibility in both marketing and management, Raja Rajamannar has defended marketing as the greatest competitive advantage of any company. This is what he pointed out in this conversation with reason.Why as part of the “Boarding Pass” program, in which he also highlighted the value of ideas and people over machines. “To be increasingly technological, we have to be increasingly human“, said.
Raja Rajamannar’s professional career began in 1985 as Product Manager at Asían Paints, and later as Regional Sales Manager and Senior Product Manager at Hindustan Lever, a subsidiary of Unilever. In 1994 he entered the financial sector when he joined Citibank as Marketing and Sales Director of the operation in the United Arab Emirates.
After ten years linked to the credit cards area and holding positions in the United Kingdom and the United States, he served as President and CEO of Diners Club North America between 2004 and 2006. After this he returned to Citigroup to be Executive Vice President and Marketing Director of the Global Cards division, and in 2009 he joined the insurance company Humana as Chief Executive International and responsible for marketing and innovation. Three years later he moved to the health insurance company WellPoint and in 2013 he joined Mastercard.
Rajamannar was recognized as Marketing Director of the Year 2018 by the World Association of Advertisers (WFA), of which he has served as president in recent years.
Jill Kramer’s career
Jill Kramer will pick up the baton from Raja Rajamannar. Mastercard has highlighted its global perspective and deep experience in B2B marketing as elements that will be invaluable in driving growth and innovation.
Kramer has served as Accenture’s Director of Marketing and Communications for the past four years. However, he has been part of the consultancy for the last decade, leading the management of the brand.
Before joining Accenture in 2015, she held the position of Senior Vice President at BBDO and, previously, Vice President and Account Director at DDB.
