EMVCo is structured to develop global specifications that enable card-based payment products to work seamlessly and securely around the world. EMVCo’s work is overseen by six member organisations—American Express, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay, and Visa— which recognise a shared responsibility for the reliability and security of payment transactions and the technology infrastructure that makes them possible. EMVCo is managed by the Board of Managers, which is comprised of two representatives from each of the member organisations. The EMVCo Executive Committee, composed of member organisation representatives, provides guidance on EMVCo’s long-term strategy.
EMVCo’s structure delineates responsibilities between a Specification Unit, Security Unit, Testing Units, and Functional Operations Unit:
The Director of Engagement and Operations leads EMVCo’s industry engagement strategy, and oversees business and legal activities with support from the Manager of Operations. The Director of Communications develops and delivers EMVCo’s communications strategy and programme. The Director of Technology oversees EMVCo’s technical activity.
Christian Aabye is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing Visa. He is also an active participant in EMVCo’s 3-D Secure Working Group.
Christian currently serves as Vice President, Global Interoperability and Specifications. Within this role, Christian oversees the management of Visa’s specifications for payment instruments, including contact and contactless card and terminal products, mobile payment solutions on both consumer and seller side, L3 testing and CA services as well as much of Visa’s participation within EMVCo.
Christian has worked in the payments industry for 29 years, the last 21 years with Visa.
Sophie Rainford is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing American Express.
Within American Express, Sophie currently serves as Vice President, Industry Engagement. Sophie began her career in payments at American Express over a 14 years ago, and is an industry expert in EMV, contactless and mobile technologies.
She holds a MSc in Human Centered Design from the University of Sussex, England and a BA in Computer Science and Philosophy from the University of Kent, England.
Carey Ferro currently serves as Chair of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing Discover.
Carey is currently serving as Senior Principal of Industry Relations within the Innovation and Emerging Payments division of Discover Global Network. With close to 20 years of payments experience, she has managed various technology based strategic projects and teams across the globe from an issuing, acquiring, and network perspective. Since 2015, Carey has focused on driving payments industry evolution through various leadership positions within EMVCo, US Payments Forum, and PCI Security Standards Council.
Carey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University in the U.S.
Jonathan Main is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing Mastercard.
Jonathan is currently a Vice President in the Cyber & Intelligence Solutions group in Mastercard, which is responsible for the development of EMV related specifications and products. Jonathan has worked in the field of mobile commerce for over 20 years, and during that time has been involved in many industry and technical bodies developing specifications related to mobile commerce.
Jonathan holds degrees in Electronic Engineering and Mathematical Sciences from the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Jianhua Ni is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing China UnionPay.
Jianhua currently serves as Technical Director within UnionPay. In this capacity, he is responsible for payment technology and specifications development, and represents UnionPay in EMVCo and other international technical bodies. Jianhua has over 15 years of experience within the payments and mobile industries. Prior to joining UnionPay, he served various technical, consulting and management roles at NXP and UL, where he acquired extensive expertise in such segments as mobile technologies, payment-related specifications development, testing and certification, etc.
Jianhua holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.
Jeff Owenson is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing Discover. He also serves on the Communications Team and the Engagement Working Group.
Jeff is currently a Sr. Principal in the Global Payments Innovation division where he represents Discover on industry and standards bodies. Jeff previously managed the Global Fraud Risk Management and Global EMV Deployment teams for Discover Network.
Jeff holds Finance and MIS degrees from the University of Iowa and a Master’s of Science from DePaul University in Chicago. Jeff is also a Certified Fraud Examiner.
Matt Crothers is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing American Express.
In addition to the Board of Managers, Matt is also Chair of the Engagement Working Group. At Amex, Matt is a Director of Industry Engagement within the Global Merchant and Network Services segment. In addition to supporting EMVCo, Matt also manages the relationship with W3C. Matt has 17 years of experience across a variety of roles with Amex.
Matt graduated from the University of Arizona in the US and has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Accounting.
Meng (Chris) Ren is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing China UnionPay. He also serves on the EMVCo Tokenisation Working Group, among several working groups.
Within UnionPay, Chris serves as Manager, International Standards and Innovations. He is assisting in UnionPay’s drive in technology and specifications development and is engaged in new technology initiatives. Chris has worked in the payments industry for around 10 years. Throughout his career, Chris was closely involved in various chip and mobile payment technologies.
Chris holds a BS in Computer Software Systems from the University of Washington, U.S.A.
Mark Rigby is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing Visa. He also represents Visa on the EMVCo Executive Committee.
Mark currently serves as Senior Director, Product Policy and Standards. Within this role Mark oversees the strategy, policy and new product & service development for Visa’s contact and contactless card products, as well as leading licensing activities for Visa’s chip assets.
Mark has worked in the payments industry for 20 years, with JCB, then Visa in Europe and the US.
Patrik Smets is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing Mastercard.
Patrik is currently a VP, Design & Specifications in the Cyber & Intelligence Solutions group in Mastercard, which is responsible for the development of EMV related specifications and products on cards, mobiles and terminals.
Patrik has worked for around 10 years on hardware and software design, mostly around telecommunications, before moving into electronic payment systems in the late 90’s.
Patrik graduated as Electro-Mechanical Engineer at the KU Leuven with a Masters in Telecommunications Systems.
Junya Tanaka is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing JCB. He also represents JCB on the EMVCo Executive Committee, and serves as Chair for the Interoperability Working Group.
Within JCB, Junya currently serves as Executive Fellow, Brand Infrastructure & Technologies. He currently oversees the strategy planning, product development and market implementation of products based on EMV related specifications, including contact and contactless chip, mobile payments, and digital commerce.
Junya holds a BA in Policy Management from Keio University in Japan.
Soumya Chakrabarty is a member of the EMVCo Board of Managers, representing JCB. He is also the chair of EMVCo’s EV Open Payments Task Force.
Within JCB, Soumya Chakrabarty is the Head of Emerging Technologies and New Products for JCB International. He is responsible for developing and deploying emerging payment solutions and has been an industry expert in key payment technologies including EMV, contactless and mobile payments.
Soumya holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and has worked in the payments industry for over 20 years.
Arman Aygen is EMVCo’s Director of Technology, balancing his time between key EMVCo technical priorities. He is responsible for oversight of the technical developments across EMVCo’s multiple working groups, as well as activities related to product approvals and evaluations. Arman also represents EMVCo as part of the organisation’s engagement with other technical bodies, helping to ensure effective collaboration and industry alignment, which is integral to the evolution of EMVCo’s technical initiatives.
Arman brings proven expertise from across the payments industry, having held senior technology leadership positions across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. This includes roles at FIME and UL, where he was responsible for leading payments innovation and strategic relationship management with global payment brands.
Arman holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Communication Systems from EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), an MSc in Multimedia Communication Systems from EURECOM, and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Micro Engineering from EPFL.
Simon Kleine is Director of Communications at EMVCo with responsibility for developing and delivering its communications strategy and programme. Simon works with EMVCo’s Board of Managers and across its technical working groups to optimise engagement with existing stakeholders and educate external audiences about the vital role EMVCo plays in payment interoperability and security.
With a corporate communications career that spans more than 30 years, Simon has dedicated over half of this to delivering strategic communication programmes in the global payment sector and has held leadership positions at American Express, Visa and Western Union. Before entering the payments industry, he worked in communications in the retail and consumer goods industries.
Prior to joining EMVCo, Simon managed his own communications and business development consultancy working with banks, payment, fintech and financial services companies. He has also worked in senior roles at global PR consultancies, serving clients across a range of industries.
Simon graduated from Warwick University in England with a BA Hons degree in Politics.
Oliver Manahan is the Director of Engagement and Operations for EMVCo. His responsibilities include leading EMVCo’s industry engagement strategy, optimising relationships with Associates, Subscribers, regulators and other key external stakeholders, and overseeing day-to-day EMVCo business operations.
Oliver has over 25 years’ experience across the payments industry. Before taking on his current position at EMVCo, Oliver was a Senior Director, Business Development at Infineon Technologies. Oliver has also held senior positions at Mastercard and Visa, working across Emerging Payments and Chip Initiative departments, where his remit included delivering EMV® Chip and Contactless solutions.
In addition, Oliver has held various chair, board and committee positions across leading industry organisations including the EMV Migration Forum, GlobalPlatform, Secure Technology Alliance and the US Payments Forum.
Oliver holds a High Honours Diploma in Computer Programming and Analysis from Seneca College, Toronto.
Oliver Manahan and Arman Aygen are Agents of Alliances Management Consulting, Inc., and Simon Kleine is an Agent of Kleine Consulting Limited.
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by Carey Ferro