About

As anyone who oversees a globally spread-out team will know, it can be a challenge to foster enough camaraderie to make things cohesive. Paul Petta has 55 direct reports sitting in various different locations, and he says ‘Commercial reality prevents us from getting together in-person as much as we want to, so I try and get us together as much as possible in other ways, whether it’s on the phone or via videoconference. It’s definitely a day to day challenge that I work hard to close the gap on’. Paul is also credited with leading a significant change to Mastercard’s legal department, by working to create full-service offerings out of each of the company’s regional headquarters, something which has enhanced efficiency across the board. He is particularly proud of the combined group’s efforts in helping MasterCard evolve from a private company to a publicly-traded stock listed on the NYSE. He says ‘The most gratifying part about it is we all helped build something that was a small private company into this large cap, growth stock blessed with a great business model’. Being part of a growing company means the requirements Petta faces are liable to change regulary: ‘When I get up I don’t know what each day holds and I find that exciting, motivating and stimulating’. Mike Williams and Firoz Dattu, of AdvanceLaw, say they have been ‘thoroughly impressed by Petta’s commitment to making the legal market more efficient’.