Visa USA Names Four Independent Members to Its Board Of Directors

Visa USA, the nation’s leading payment brand and largest payment system, announced today the first four independent members of its board of directors: Philip D. DeFeo, Linda Baker Keene, Jon C. Madonna and John A. Swainson.

At Visa’s “Annual Meeting of Members” held Friday in Broomfield, Colorado, members approved corporate governance changes that will allow for independent directors to sit on Visa’s board for the first time in the organization’s history. Visa member financial institutions voiced overwhelming support for the company’s proposals with more than 90 percent of outstanding votes returned in favor of Visa’s governance transition. The independent directors officially joined the Visa board on Friday.

“This is a very important step in the process of transforming our board to include a majority of independent directors,” said John Philip Coghlan, President and CEO of Visa USA. “Although we are a private organization, this is one of a number of steps Visa is taking to meet today’s standard of good governance. In addition to the breadth of perspective and experience that these new board members will provide, we believe these changes will strengthen Visa’s position in the electronic payments industry.”