FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) today announced the appointment of former Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis as Senior Vice President, Global Government Relations.
Marantis joins Visa from Square, where he led global policy, government, and regulatory affairs. Marantis will report directly to William Sheedy, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy, M&A, and Government Relations at Visa Inc., and be responsible for all facets of Visa’s government relations activities, with an emphasis on partnering with government officials around the world to advance policies to foster the growth of electronic payments.
“Electronic payments around the globe are innovating and expanding at unprecedented levels, which is why Visa is investing in our leadership to work even more closely with governments to partner on the deployment of Visa’s capabilities and services,” said Sheedy. “Demetrios is a proven global leader who brings an impressive combination of public sector experience and payments industry knowledge to help both Visa and governments benefit from advancing electronic payments across a broad spectrum of needs in the many markets in which Visa operates.”
“I’m honored to join Visa at an incredible time in this dynamic industry,” said Marantis. “The payments ecosystem is rapidly changing, and I am excited to be part of an organization leading the conversation about digital payments in an increasingly mobile world, both in the United States and globally.”
Prior to joining Square in May 2013, Marantis served as Acting United States Trade Representative and Deputy United States Trade Representative. Marantis was nominated for his position by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 6, 2009. As Deputy United States Trade Representative, he was responsible for U.S. trade negotiations and enforcement in Asia and Africa, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum, and Trade and Investment Framework Agreements with countries ranging from South Africa to the Philippines.
Before the Obama Administration, Marantis served as Chief International Trade Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, advising former Chairman Max Baucus and members of the Finance Committee and Democratic Caucus on trade and economic issues. He joined the committee in February 2005 after serving as Issues Director on the Kerry-Edwards 2004 presidential campaign. Marantis spent 2002 through 2004 in Hanoi as Chief Legal Advisor for the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council and between 1998 and 2002, Demetrios served as Associate General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He also worked for five years in the Washington, D.C. and Brussels, Belgium offices of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.
Marantis holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an A.B. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.