Marqeta appoints former WorldFirst CEO Jeff Parker as SVP and managing director

After two years as WealthFirst's CEO, Jeff Parker will lead Marqeta's international expansion.

Card issuing platform Marqeta has appointed Jeff Parker as its new SVP and managing director, international.

Parker joins from international business payment provider WorldFirst, where he spent more than five years, most recently as CEO shortly after it was acquired by Ant Group.

In his role at Marqeta, Parker will be responsible for building the company’s go-to market and operational functions international as well as advancing its service offerings in key markets across Europe and APAC.

“As more banks, fintechs, e-commerce participants, and marketplaces look towards payments becoming an enabling function that can be embedded to provide seamless, frictionless experiences for their customers, I believe Marqeta is well positioned to answer this demand,” Parker said.

“Marqeta combines end-to-end maturity and scale with a high growth, flexible mentality which makes it suited to providing a holistic set of card issuing and banking-as-a-service capabilities for customers that adds value across the payment chain.” 

Marqeta works with businesses worldwide to “empower payments innovation” built using its API card issuing and payment processing platform. 

It has supported companies such as Klarna, Western Union and Capital on Tap.

Parker brings more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership roles at businesses across the world which have given him an understanding of the importance of tailoring products and services for local markets.

He will lead Marqeta’s continued global expansion following the opening of its European headquarters in London in 2018 and expansions into Melbourne and Singapore in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

“Jeff is an inspiring leader, and his hands-on experience driving strategic business development at major financial services organisations makes him a great choice to accelerate Marqeta’s international growth and embrace the opportunities ahead of us,” Marqeta CEO Jason Gardner said. 

“Jeff’s understanding of our ambitions, people-focused culture, and core values, combined with his own expertise as an innovation champion and leader with a proven track record of success, make him a strong fit for Marqeta.”