(Sharecast News) - Network International announced on Tuesday that group chief executive officer Simon Haslam has decided to retire from the company, after 40 years in the financial services sector.
The FTSE 250 company said that as a result, and following a global leadership search, Nandan Mer - currently strategy head of international markets at MasterCard - would succeed Haslam as group CEO from 1 February.
It said Haslam would step down as group CEO and from the board on 31 January, and would remain with the company throughout his six month notice period to ensure a smooth transition.
"During his tenure, Simon has led the company's transformation into the largest payment solutions provider in the United Arab Emirates and the leading enabler of digital commerce throughout the Middle East and Africa, and delivered significant growth across all our markets," said chairman Ron Kalifa.
"He leaves behind a strong business and a legacy of success."
The board said Mer had a proven track record of building and growing businesses over 30 years in a number of global markets with leading financial institutions, including American Express, Citigroup, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and most recently MasterCard.
During his 11 year career at MasterCard, Mer was strategy head for international markets, president for the Japan business, and head of global consumer credit and loyalty solutions.
Prior to that, Mer was head of international corporate and investment banking at UBA, and before that he built and led consumer banking businesses for two decades with Citigroup in India, the Czech Republic, Israel, Russia and the UK.
Mer's appointment followed a "rigorous search and selection process", the board said, supported by external advisers.
"[Nandan Mer] has a wide breadth of experience across the consumer credit and payment industries in several international markets, including within the Middle East and Africa," Kalifa added.
"Nandan's strong track record of success with Mastercard and strong sector expertise make him an excellent appointment to lead Network through the next stage of our ambitious strategic growth plans."
At 0805 GMT, shares in Network International Holdings were up 1.07% at 296.34p.
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