Swift Board’s chair Yawar Shah retires after 16 years

By Gloria Methri

The Swift Board of Directors announced that Yawar Shah has stepped down, retiring from the Board after 16 years as Chair. Deputy Chair Mark Buitenhek will cover Shah’s responsibilities until a new Chair is formally elected by the Board in the months ahead as part of Swift’s governance process.

Swift provides a network that enables global financial institutions to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized, and reliable environment.

Yawar Shah said during his time as chair of Swift and a representative of the U.S. on the board, the organization continued to transform the cross-border experience for both payments and securities while upholding security, resilience, and reliability.

He said, “Swift is in great shape with strong financials, growing traffic, industry momentum around its strategy, and exciting innovation ahead. At the end of a successful year and as we move to the next phase of strategic delivery it is the right time for me to retire from the role of Chair and the Board. I would like to thank Swift Board colleagues from around the world for their continuing dedication and together with Swift’s management team, I am confident the cooperative remains in excellent shape for the years ahead.”

Javier Pérez-Tasso, CEO of Swift commented, “I would like to recognise Yawar’s many contributions to the Swift community over the years. I look forward to working together with the Board through the leadership transition as we continue to deliver on our global vision for instant and frictionless transactions with the highest standards of operational excellence.”

In one recent development, the company said on Nov. 29 that the sign-ups for its cross-border payments service have tripled since its launch in 2021. Swift Go, “which brings speed, transparency and certainty” to payments of less than $10,000, is now used by more than 500 banks in upwards of 120 countries. Swift Go, which expedites payments under $10,000, is now used by more than 500 banks in over 120 countries.