Mastercard has appointed Yasemin Bedir as President of its Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region, placing her at the helm of operations spanning 81 countries.
Bedir will take up the role on September 1, 2026, and will be based in the United Arab Emirates.
She will also join Mastercard’s Management Committee, taking on one of the company’s most senior regional leadership positions.
Her appointment marks another significant milestone in a career that has been closely tied to Mastercard for two decades.
Bedir is a 20-year Mastercard veteran whose career has seen her take on leadership responsibilities across some of the company’s key markets.
Before her latest appointment, she served as Division President for Eastern Europe, following earlier leadership roles overseeing Mastercard’s operations in Turkey and Azerbaijan.
From regional leadership to a wider mandate
As EMEA President, Bedir will inherit responsibility for a geographically diverse region that brings together established financial markets in Europe and the Middle East with rapidly evolving economies across Africa.
The role gives her a particularly broad mandate at a time when digital payments, financial inclusion, fintech innovation and the expansion of the digital economy are becoming increasingly important across the region.
Her progression through these roles has placed her at the intersection of payments, financial services and digital transformation,sectors that continue to reshape how consumers and businesses across emerging markets access and use financial services.
Her experience leading Mastercard businesses in different markets is expected to be central to the new role.
Her previous responsibilities in Turkey and Azerbaijan, followed by her leadership of Eastern Europe, have given her exposure to markets with very different economic and financial landscapes.
That experience now comes into play on a much larger stage.
A succession that signals continuity
Bedir succeeds Dimitrios Dosis, who is moving into a newly created position as Mastercard’s Chief Commercial Payments Officer.
The leadership transition therefore comes with a measure of continuity, while also positioning Bedir to shape the company’s regional priorities at a time of rapid change in the payments industry.
For Mastercard, the EEMEA region represents a strategically important market, with opportunities driven by increasing digitalisation, fintech growth and the continued shift from cash to electronic payments.
For Bedir, the appointment represents the culmination of two decades spent building expertise within the company and progressing through increasingly senior leadership positions.
Her career trajectory also illustrates how experience across individual markets can translate into broader regional leadership.
With the new mandate covering 81 countries, Bedir now moves from leading a division to overseeing one of Mastercard’s largest and most diverse geographic regions.
Her appointment places her among the senior women shaping the future of the global payments industry,and gives her an expanded platform from which to influence how Mastercard approaches innovation, partnerships and financial inclusion across EEMEA.
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