Press release: Visa Europe today announced the appointment of Nicolas Huss as its next President and CEO.  Huss (48) will join Visa Europe from Apollo Group, where he is Chief Executive, Avant Spain and Ireland, on 1 October.

After seven and a half years as President and CEO, Peter Ayliffe has decided to step down at the end of September in order to concentrate on his expanding portfolio of non-executive roles. Under his leadership, spending on Visa cards in Europe has grown from €1 in €11 to €1 in €6.75, point of sale spending on Visa cards has doubled, and the number of transactions processed by the world-class European system, the implementation of which he has overseen, has grown from 4.2 billion to 14 billion per annum.

Jan Lidén, Chairman of the Visa Europe Board, said: “I am delighted that the extensive search for a new CEO has resulted in the appointment of Nicolas Huss.  His expertise in financial services, gained at senior roles at Banque Sovac, GE and MBNA Bank of America, and widespread European experience, together with his track record of growing businesses, make him a truly exceptional hire.

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter for his inspirational leadership of the business and the pivotal role he has played in creating Europe’s leading payments system.”

Nicolas Huss said: “I am delighted to be joining Visa Europe at such an incredibly exciting time for the payments industry. The explosive adoption of smartphones and the relentless growth of e-commerce have created tremendous new opportunities to provide consumers and retailers with even better ways to pay and be paid. I look forward to working with the Visa Europe Board, its members, employees and wider ecosystem to drive further growth in the business.”
 
Peter Ayliffe said: “It has been a tremendous honor to lead Visa Europe and establish a successful standalone European payments business with its own processing capabilities. The infrastructure we have developed provides a platform for all European consumers and stakeholders to benefit from more convenient, efficient ways to pay, both today and in the future.
 
“I would like to thank my very supportive Chairman Jan Lidén and members of the Visa Europe Board, my very talented leadership team, and every single Visa Europe employee who together have made the last seven and a half years so successful and enjoyable.”

Biography

Nicolas Huss has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Visa Europe with effect from 1 October 2013.

Nicolas, 48, is currently Chief Executive of Avant in Spain and Ireland, part of the Apollo Group. In this role, Nicolas oversees the consumer finance business for Apollo Global Management and is based in Madrid, Spain.

Prior to joining Apollo, Nicolas worked for Bank of America as the MBNA European Collections & Portfolio Optimization Executive for the card business. In addition to responsibility for card services in Spain, he also led collections for Europe (UK, Ireland and Spain portfolios).  

Nicolas has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry.  He was CEO Spain for GE Money and held several roles in different parts of Europe and Latin America for GE Capital. He was also a member of the board for a number of joint-ventures with Spanish banks and a member of the board of GEC SAS (GE France Financial Entities Holding).

A true European, Nicolas speaks English and Spanish, in addition to his native French and has lived and worked in a variety of countries.  He has a track record of growing businesses and building multi cultural teams.

Nicolas holds a degree in Law and an MA in Political Science and Government, both from the University of Toulouse.