Raja Rajamannar - Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President, Healthcare, Mastercard

Join our host Alejandro Garcia -Amaya and the Techstars alumni tech founder community at this Web Series conversation with our special guest Raja Rajamannar.

Guest Background

Raja Rajamannar is chief marketing and communications officer for Mastercard and founding  president of its healthcare business. He serves as a member of the company’s executive  leadership team and management committee.

Over the past decade, Raja has transformed Mastercard into one of the fastest-growing brands  in the world. At the helm of the iconic Priceless platform, he and his team are on the cutting  edge of experiential, multisensory marketing programs for consumers and customers around the  world. Raja has extended the reach and impact of the brand by embracing artificial intelligence  and Web3 technologies while pioneering new standards in inclusive design.

Raja’s leadership has propelled Mastercard to one of the top 12 most valuable brands in the  world as well as the world’s No. 1 audio brand. In 2022, the company was named top three in Ad  Age's 2022 Marketers of the Year. Recent innovations have earned accolades from Disability:IN,  Fast Company, Cannes Lions and many other prestigious organizations.

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 nine languages.

As President of Healthcare, Raja focuses on driving value for healthcare industry stakeholders  through innovative Mastercard assets such as data analytics, AI and cybersecurity solutions.  Prior to Mastercard, Raja was chief transformation officer for the health insurance firm  Elevance (formerly Anthem) and chief innovation and marketing officer for Humana. He’s held  senior management roles with Unilever and Citibank.

Raja has been named one of Forbes’ Most Influential CMOs five times and was inducted into  both the Forbes Marketing Hall of Fame and The CMO Club Hall of Fame. Other awards include  Business Insider’s Most Innovative CMOs, WFA Global Marketer of the Year, Adweek’s Grand  Brand Genius, Billboard’s Top Branding Power Player and Fashion Group International’s Tech and  Brand Innovation Award.

He is president of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and on the boards of the  Association of National Advertisers (ANA), The Ad Council and Yale School of Management  Consumer Insights Council. He serves on the board of PPL Corporation, a U.S. Fortune 500  company (NYSE: PPL), and is also on several not-for-profit boards including Bon Secours Mercy  Health, New York City Ballet and Cintrifuse.

Originally from India, Raja received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Osmania  University and Master of Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management in  Bangalore. He currently resides with his wife and younger son in the United States.