Christopher Rodrigues
President and Chief Executive Officer
Visa International
Advisor for the International Year of Microcredit 2005

Prior to joining Visa International in June 2004, Mr. Rodrigues was the Group Chief Executive of Bradford & Bingley, a leading UK-based financial services organization. He joined Bradford & Bingley Building Society in 1996 as Group Chief Executive and led the organization through its successful flotation on the London Stock Exchange in December 2000 and it became an FTSE company in July 2002.

As head of Bradford & Bingley, Mr. Rodrigues oversaw the transformation of the company from a US$31 billion mutual organization into a rapidly growing US$59 billion niche lender. Under his leadership, Bradford & Bingley grew from 240 to over 500 branches throughout the UK, offering mortgages, insurance, independent investment advice and other financial and property services.

Mr. Rodrigues was born in 1949. His early career was spent with McKinsey & Company where he managed a wide variety of strategic, organizational and marketing projects in the UK, Continental Europe, and North America. In 1979, he joined American Express and held a number of senior positions, including President of American Express Service Corporation in New York and Managing Director of American Express Travel and Travel Management Services UK & USSR, based in London.

Prior to joining Bradford & Bingley in 1996, Mr. Rodrigues was Chief Executive of Thomas Cook, the global travel, travelers cheque and foreign exchange services company, which he joined as Chief Operating Officer in 1988.

From 1998 to 2003, he also served as a Non-Executive Director of the Financial Services Authority, the UK's financial markets regulator. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Hilton Group plc. Mr. Rodrigues is also a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta and Chairman of P to M Limited, who run the UK's Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

Educated at Cambridge University and Harvard Business School, Mr. Rodrigues holds a BA with Honors in Economics and Economics History and an MBA with distinction. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA).

Mr. Rodrigues is married with two children.

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