Visa Europe hires Huss as new chief executive
Nicolas Huss will take over the reigns at Visa Europe in October
Visa Europe has appointed Nicolas Huss as its new president and chief executive. Huss will join Visa Europe from investment management firm Apollo Group, where he is chief executive for credit card and customer servicing business Avant Spain and Ireland.
Due to take up his new role on 1 October, Huss previously worked for Bank of America in its card business. He also led collections for Europe. Before that, he was chief executive in 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.
Huss speaks English, Spanish and French, his native language. He replaces Peter Ayliffe, who decided to step down at the end of September to concentrate on his non-executive roles. During Ayliffe’s seven-year term, spending on Visa cards in Europe grew from €1 in €11 to €1 in €6.75.
“I am delighted to be joining Visa Europe at such an incredibly exciting time for the payments industry,” said Huss. “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.”
