Eileen Simon is general counsel, Global Businesses, at Mastercard. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring the legal connectivity between the Product & Innovation, Services and Marketing & Communications organizations, as well as Operations & Technology (O&T). She also has responsibility for legal support of mergers and acquisitions, and expanding Mastercard’s role in the payments ecosystem while managing risk. Leveraging the collective legal and business expertise of her team, she enables growth by creating solutions that meet the needs of Mastercard stakeholders.
In her previous role as chief franchise integrity officer, Ms. Simon protected the integrity of the network and brand by enabling customers to operate in a manner that optimized their performance while minimizing risk to the system.
Prior to that, as chief franchise development officer, Ms. Simon was responsible for development and implementation of a global franchise strategy that competitively differentiated Mastercard. In that role, she managed the evolution and automation of the company’s licensing and registration processes, rules and standards. She also led efforts to revamp the Mastercard compliance and dispute resolution programs to enable business, meet customer needs and protect the integrity of our brands.
Before that, Ms. Simon managed the defense of complex commercial litigation for Mastercard. She also supervised investigations of fraud and misconduct, oversaw management of the compliance function and helped develop and support Enterprise Risk Management at Mastercard.
Ms. Simon is a member of the Mastercard Global Diversity and Inclusion Council. Since 2010 she has been the executive sponsor of the Mastercard global Women’s Leadership Network.
Before joining Mastercard in June of 1999, Ms. Simon practiced law at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York City, where she concentrated in antitrust law and litigation.
Ms. Simon is President of the Board of Directors of the YWCA White Plains and Central Westchester. She also is Secretary of the Board of Directors of Legal Momentum, and is a member of the Strategy Committee. She is a recipient of the 2015 Legal Momentum “Aiming High” award. She is a member of The Conference Board’s Leadership Council on Advancing Women. Previously, Ms. Simon served on the Women’s Executive Society of Westchester and the Board of Directors of the Westchester/Fairfield Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, where she co-chaired its Antitrust and Trade Regulation Committee. She was also a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Antitrust Section, and was named a “Super Lawyer” in 2007.
Ms. Simon graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was elected to Order of Barristers and served on the Executive Board of Moot Court. Ms. Simon is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut.