Darren Ware is vice president of Government Engagement for Mastercard, Latin America and the Caribbean. In this role, he engages with local and national public sector leaders to support governments on their digital transformation efforts, financial inclusion and modernization of public finance management. He has worked across Latin America and the Caribbean for 20+ years, always in technology with a focus on national digital agendas, Smart Cities, digital inclusion, and Public Sector digitization.

Before Mastercard, Darren was at Cisco Systems for 14 years in a variety of roles across global including, Emerging Markets and Latin America teams. He worked both in strategy and business development roles, including building a City Diagnostics model to benchmark Emerging Markets city efforts against global best practices, and drove Country Digital Acceleration efforts with key national governments in Latin America.

Darren has been based in Miami since 1999, while originally from South Carolina. He holds both his undergraduate and master of international business studies (MIBS) degrees from the University of South Carolina. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and has lived in Spain, Argentina and Brazil.

He brings expertise in developing growth strategies using fact-based analysis and understanding of enterprise and payment technology markets. Practiced at using consulting skills and analytical ability to develop pragmatic strategic recommendations for an executive audience. Over his career, he has developed a global perspective and cultural awareness built from broad on-the-ground international experience, including speaking both Spanish and Portuguese.