Julie Nestor

A mainstay of this Power List, Mastercard’s Julie Nestor owes her position not just to her consistent track record of outstanding commercial results, but also her ability to bring an essentially human lens to her role.

In the past year alone, Nestor has delivered enhanced visibility for the payment processor across the region, made crucial inroads in India, and still maintained a highly visible role as an industry thought leader and champion of inclusion, a passion she has increasingly made central to her marketing strategy.

Tourism partnerships have become an essential—and fruitful—part of the Mastercard mix this year, with highly successful apps in Malaysia and Thailand supplemented by a 19% uplift in consumer spend around the Singapore Grand Prix off the back of fan campaigns in four markets. The firm’s largest ever campaign in India, meanwhile, encouraged a shift away from QR codes to contactless payment, backed by five films with full-funnel activation, while a partnership with the Tokyo Marathon saw 70% of the sponsorship fee recouped.

Additionally, Nestor pioneered a broadcast-style thought leadership series on LinkedIn which generated 4.2 million video views and a 9% uplift in brand favourability. She also built on the brand’s ongoing #AcceptanceMatters autism campaign by introducing ‘calm hours’ to 79 retail locations across Singapore and launching a digital hub for autistic Australians that made headlines and reached far beyond Mastercard’s traditional consumer audience.

The metrics are the ultimate testament to Nestor’s ability to make a socially conscious approach to marketing pay. While Mastercard was ranked the top alternative payment method in 11 out of 12 Asia Pacific markets this year, it also scored highest in the same number of countries for social responsibility, according to the Brand Affection Index.

It’s no wonder, then, that Beatrice Cornacchia, executive vice president of marketing and communications, APEMEA at Mastercard, describes Nestor as a marketer capable of delivering impact consistently across markets through campaigns that build brand strength, drive growth, and scale regionally while remaining locally relevant.