Visa appoints Cietan Kitney to lead Japan market

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, announced today the appointment of Cietan Kitney as Representative Director and Country Manager of Visa Worldwide Japan (“Visa Japan”). The change is effective 1 April 2023.

This appointment follows the announcement earlier this month that Japan’s current Country Manager Stephen Karpin will be promoted to Regional President, Asia Pacific, Visa, effective 1 April 2023.

Mr. Kitney said: “I am honoured to lead Visa’s operations in Japan, which is the world’s third-largest economy and Visa’s largest market in Asia Pacific. I look forward to working closely with our clients and partners in Japan, and to help accelerate the cashless agenda across the nation.”

As Representative Director and Country Manager, Mr. Kitney will take full responsibility for business operations and client management in Japan, based in Tokyo.

Mr. Kitney has been deeply involved in the Japan payments landscape for many years in his previous roles at American Express and at Visa. Since joining Visa in 2012, he has held a number of senior roles, including leadership of Asia Pacific Strategy and Merchant Sales and Acquiring. Since 2019, he has led Asia Pacific Product & Solutions.

Before joining Visa, Mr. Kitney led the strategic planning team for the American Express Global Network Services business. Prior to that, he worked at TNS Australia, consulting throughout banks, payment companies and regulators on various aspects of payment systems globally. Mr. Kitney holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and degrees in Literature, Sociology and Politics.

About Visa

Visa is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. For more information, please visit Visa.com (English site) or www.visa.co.jp（Japanese site）.