About Marie-Elise Droga

Based in San Francisco, Marie-Elise Droga is Head of Fintech Partnerships, Global and North America at Visa and a member of the company’s North America Leadership Team. Her responsibilities include partnering with innovative Fintechs on relevant solutions that factor in the evolving payments landscape, and leading growth programs with this critical and fast-growing segment of clients. Marie-Elise Droga  also spearheads collaboration between Visa’s Venture team and regional fintech heads to identify emerging trends and identify best practices to grow and scale Visa’s fintech portfolio. As a lifelong creative and strategic global business builder, Marie-Elise has deep roots in sales and partnerships. In her prior roles at Western Union, she was at the forefront of strategic efforts to accelerate digital growth and reinvent the company’s approach to distribution. As a leading expert in cross-border payments, she expanded relationships with some of the world’s leading retail and digital brands like Amazon, Airbnb, Google and Walmart. A native of France who has lived and worked on four continents, Marie-Elise Droga earned an MBA from Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management in Belgium, and a Business Management degree from ESCP Business School in Paris, studying for six months at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India. Innovation, agility, and value creation are in my DNA, enabling Marie-Elise Droga to thrive in over a dozen industry segments - from innovative Startups to Fortune 500 players in Financial Services, Consumer Products and now Data Analytics. Whether operating as a commercially-driven GM with an end-to-end mindset, or as a CRO hyper-focused on top line growth and maximizing margins, She makes it a point to think holistically. She combines visionary thinking and “boots on the ground” execution to drive impactful change. Here’s where she truly shines: • She provides visionary leadership while remaining deeply involved in execution. • Marie-Elise Droga specializes in recalibrating business models and cultivating high-performance sales & GTM teams. • Payments innovation, data-driven consumer insights, and emerging trends are her forte. Having lived and worked across 7 countries on 4 continents, Marie-Elise Droga has honed her adaptability as a business leader, irrespective of geography, industry sector, and challenges at hand.