Visa appoints new VP and UAE Country Manager

By Leandra Monteiro

Visa has announced the appointment of Salima Gutieva as Vice President and Country Manager for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Salima replaces Shahebaz Khan who has been appointed as Senior Vice-President, Head of New Payment Flows for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA).

In her new role as a Country Manager for UAE, Salima will be based in Dubai and will be responsible for market strategy and supporting clients and government partners in the UAE in meeting growing demand for seamless, secure digital payments. Salima Gutieva has 16 years of experience with Visa in various business development positions, including Head of Sales for Visa in Russia.

In his new role, Shahebaz will be responsible for driving Visa Business Solutions, Visa Government Solutions and Visa Direct for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region, supporting clients and government partners capture the huge growth opportunity within new payment flows and global money movement. Shahebaz first joined Visa Consulting and Analytics, before being promoted to Country Manager for UAE, and most recently leading Visa’s business across UAE, Bahrain and Oman.

Commenting on Shahebaz’s appointment, Andrew Torre, Regional President for CEMEA said, “In recent years, we have seen tremendous opportunities in the CEMEA region when it comes to new payment flows and money movement including government-to-consumer, business-to-consumer, and person-to-person channels. I’m confident that Shahebaz’s deep knowledge and expertise will be a catalyst for the growth of our clients and partners across the region.”

“We are delighted to have a leader of Salima’s caliber managing our UAE operations” said Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Visa’s SVP and Group Country Manager for the GCC.  “She brings her extensive industry experience and strong expertise to the region at a time of great opportunity in the payments, commerce and money movement. We are confident that under Salima’s leadership we can further expand the acceptance of seamless, secure digital payments in the UAE and support the local economy in its digital transformation.”

Visa has been at the forefront of digital transformation and payment technology innovation across the Middle East and beyond. The appointments strengthen Visa’s commitment to driving financial inclusion, supporting a cashless economy, and strengthening its regional leadership.