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Mastercard’s Former CPO: Succession Is a Discipline, Not an Event

Mastercard treats executive succession as an ongoing discipline rather than a one‑off event, exemplified by the recent handoff from its former chief people officer to Susan Muigai. The transition leveraged the Mastercard Fellows Program, allowing the outgoing CPO to contribute strategically while preserving institutional knowledge. Data‑driven tools such as the Culture Health Index and AI‑powered platforms like Unlocked and Cai reinforced a culture‑first, risk‑managed approach. The result was a seamless onboarding that accelerated impact and demonstrated how technology can augment, not replace, human‑centered succession planning.