Mastercard Labs (A)

When Ajaypal (Ajay) Banga became the CEO of Mastercard in 2010, he shifted the company’s competitive focus from card networks to cash itself. Mastercard’s new vision of a “World Beyond Cash” distilled into a three-pronged framework: Grow the core business, Diversify customers and employees, and Build new businesses that reinforce Mastercard’s core capabilities. With digital technologies on the rise, Banga knew that innovation would need to become a strategic imperative. Yet, in a 2010 survey, Mastercard’s 7,000 employees ranked “innovation” as the 26th most important factor for the future of Mastercard in a list of 27.
Banga tasked Garry Lyons, who had joined Mastercard through the 2009 acquisition of Orbiscom, with infusing innovation into Mastercard’s culture. With a significant incremental investment, and free reign to spend it as he pleased, Lyons created Mastercard Labs—a global R&D network that became a catalytic force for change at the company. In December 2017, Lyons is stepping down from his role as Chief Innovation Officer and reflecting on the path ahead for Mastercard and its Labs.