Senior Fellow, Former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Mastercard
Raja Rajamannar is a senior fellow at Mastercard, serving as a true brand ambassador following an extraordinary 12-year tenure as chief marketing and communications officer of the company. During his time leading the company’s integrated marketing and communications function, Raja transformed Mastercard into one of the fastest-growing brands in the world. He evolved the iconic Priceless campaign into a truly experiential, multisensory platform, infusing emerging technologies and advanced data analytics, while pioneering new standards in inclusive design. Raja’s leadership propelled Mastercard to one of BrandZ’s most valuable global brands and the world’s No. 1 audio brand for five consecutive years, and garnered accolades from Disability:IN, Fast Company, Cannes Lions, and other prestigious organizations. This transformative body of work has been developed into formal case studies at both Harvard Business School and the Yale School of Management. Raja has deep business management experience, leading large, revenue-driving organizations throughout his career. This has provided a critical foundation for ensuring marketing serves as a force multiplier for growth. His prior roles include founding president of the healthcare business at Mastercard, chief transformation officer at health insurance firm Elevance (formerly Anthem), and chief innovation and marketing officer at Humana. He also held senior leadership roles at Unilever and Citibank, including chairman and CEO of Diners Club North America. Raja serves on the board of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), a U.S. Fortune 500 company, and on the board of Bon Secours Mercy Health, one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States, with operations also in Ireland and the Philippines. He is a senior advisor to the private equity firm Cornell Capital. He also serves on the Advisory Team of the McLaren Formula 1 team. He additionally serves on the boards of the Association of National Advertisers, the Ad Council, and the New York City Ballet. In recognition of his thought leadership and real-world impact, Raja currently serves as an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management, where he engages with faculty, executives, and students on the future of marketing and business transformation. A Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Raja is a frequent speaker and media commentator. His book, Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow’s Consumers, has become a touchstone for marketing leaders and academics around the world and is now available in 14 languages. These insights inspired the Bloomberg Originals series, Quantum Marketing with Raja Rajamannar, now in its second season. An inductee into the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame, Forbes’ CMO Hall of Fame, and the AMA Marketing Hall of Fame, Raja has been recognized as one of Business Insider’s Most Innovative CMOs seven times. He has also been named WFA Global Marketer of the Year, Advertising Person of the Year by the Ad Club of New York, Adweek’s Brand Genius and Grand Brand Genius, Billboard’s Top Branding Power Player, and a recipient of the Fashion Group International Tech and Brand Innovation Award, among many other honors. Originally from India, Raja received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Osmania University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He resides in the United States with his wife and younger son.
