Each year, MasterCard processes more than a trillion dollars worth of credit card transactions between its 25,000 millions acceptance locations in 210 countries worldwide. Net revenues for 2007 year were $4.1 billion, a 22 percent increase versus the same period in 2006. Information technology drives all MasterCard's three card business services: franchiser of acceptance locations that are guaranteed through MasterCard's network; processor of all payment transactions through the network and the final settlement of dollars with the financial institutions; and consultant offering a data warehouse of intelligence to help customers, such as merchants and banks, to make the best use of payments.

Robert Reeg, interim president of global technology and operations at MasterCard Worldwide, says that he doesn't worry about aligning IT with the business. He says, "We're one and the same. IT and the business are completely connected." In fact, Reeg leverages IT talent around the world to build and to manage MasterCard's massive network. He has even created the role of the business technologist as a way to develop future IT leaders.

In this podcast, Reeg talks about how his organization has adapted to the current economy to maintain its position in the marketplace, what processes, best practices, and new technologies are in place to manage a global organization, what role outsourcing plays in the IT operations, and how leveraging diversity can improve the innovation process.

Bio
Robert Reeg oversees MasterCard Worldwide's strategic processing platform, global network, and quality of operations that serve 25 million acceptable locations in 210 countries worldwide. He serves as a member of the company's Executive Committee and Management. He continues in his role as chief technology officer at MasterCard Worldwide. He led the company's $160 million core processing systems reengineering effort, which was delivered on budget and on schedule.

Prior to joining MasterCard, Reeg held IT and business leadership positions with Sprint Corp., Cleveland Pneumatic, Totco Inc., and Conoco Inc. Reeg serves on the board of directors for MMGTS, the University of Missouri-St. Louis Leadership Council, Washington University's Professional Degree Programs Academic Advisory Board, and the United Way of Greater St. Louis' Technology Committee.

Resources
InformationWeek  - Offshoring Grows to Global Proportions
Computerworld  - Managing Outsourcing
IT World - MasterCard  Sets Plans for Global IT-based Payment Networks

Production Credits
Elizabeth Ferrarini, Executive  Producer
Tom Parish, Host and Audio  Producer
AlarmMusic.com Production Music  Library for Broadcast, Film, Video & Post Production

If you've ever received a courtesy call from DirecTV or have subscribed to an  AARP service over the telephone, then you've probably spoken with one of the 14,000 customer care representatives from PRC  LLC, formerly called Precision Response Corp.

With annual revenues of about a half-billion dollars, PRC is the country's third largest contact center outsourcer, and it manages customer relationships for some of the world's leading corporations. PRC's key goal is to deliver the value that customers –- B-to-B or B-to-C -- expect. And, IT provides the crucial underpinning for driving the contact center services. In this podcast, CIO and CTO Umesh Jain talks about how a large enterprise can gain a deeper understanding of its customers' behavior by harnessing the contact center's vast amounts of customer and market data.

Bio

Umesh Jain is the chief information officer and senior vice president of strategic initiatives (CTO) at PRC LLC, the third largest contact center outsourcer in the U.S. He was the founder and president of Merging Elements, a technology solutions company to help Fortune 1000 organizations become more market driven. Jain holds a B.Eng. in Computer Systems and Electronics from King’s College London and an M.B.A. from University of Miami.

Diamond  Castle Buys PRC

PRC Web site

Production Credits

Elizabeth Ferrarini, Producer
Dana  Farver, Executive Producer, Communities Editor-in-Chief
Tom  Parish, Audio Producer, Show Host