He will have responsibility for building all aspects of MasterCard's issuance and acceptance business in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, and will report to Alan Heuer, MasterCard's Chief Operating Officer. He will also become a member of the company's Operating Committee.

He will succeed Ruth Ann Marshall, who has chosen early retirement but has agreed to stay through June to help with the transition. Macnee returns to MasterCard, where he was President, MasterCard Canada, from 2001 to 2004.

Most recently, he was Executive Vice President, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, in Toronto, where he was responsible for overall management of the bank's credit card business and national collections. He also served as Chairman of Visa Canada and Director of Visa International.

He originally joined MasterCard from Toronto Dominion Bank where he worked for 18 years, beginning in 1983. He ultimately became Senior Vice President with full product management and client service responsibility for payment cards and personal lending.

Macnee received his B.A. and B.Ed from Queens University, and an MBA from York University. He has been a director of various charitable organizations including Save the Children Canada, Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada, and the Sunnybrook and Women's College Foundation.

Marshall joined MasterCard in 1999, and has been instrumental in driving the growth of the MasterCard business with customers across the region.

Under her leadership, the Americas region generated more than half of the company's worldwide volume.

"Ruth Ann will be a hard act to follow, and we wish her the best as she enters a new chapter of her life," Heuer said. "However, we are fortunate to be able to bring back Walt, who has a wealth of exceptional experience and a track record of achievement in the payment cards industry. I have no doubt he will continue to build on the strong foundation Ruth Ann created, and deliver on our commitment to bring our customers innovative products and value-added services to help them enhance the profitability of their payments businesses."