Visa is one of the world’s leading payments technology companies, powering global digital commerce and enabling secure transactions across more than 200 countries and territories. As the organisation continues to innovate in fintech, digital payments, data, and AI-driven products, the need for specialised legal expertise in privacy, artificial intelligence, and regulatory compliance has grown significantly.

The Challenge

Visa’s World Payments division sought a Legal Counsel (4–7 PQE) specialising in:

• Data Privacy (GDPR, global data frameworks)
• AI regulatory compliance and emerging AI governance
• FinTech and financial services regulation
• Product counselling for data-intensive and AI-enabled solutions

The ideal candidate needed to operate at the intersection of payments, technology, and regulation—balancing cutting-edge innovation with stringent governance requirements. Key challenges included:

• Competitive market for mid-senior privacy & AI lawyers
• Necessity for experience advising on AI use cases within regulated environments
• Strong understanding of both legal frameworks and technical applications
• Ability to partner with engineering, product, compliance, and commercial teams

This combination of FinTech expertise, privacy depth, and AI fluency made the talent pool highly specialised.

Space Executive’s Positioning

Space Executive partnered with Visa to:

• Map mid-senior privacy and technology counsel talent across fintech, banking, big tech, and regulatory environments
• Identify lawyers with hands-on AI advisory experience (model governance, data use, ethical frameworks)
• Filter candidates within the 4–7 PQE window who demonstrated strong cross-functional commercial capability
• Align legal expertise with Visa’s strategic priorities around AI innovation and data-driven product development

The goal was to ensure Visa secured a technically credible, business-savvy lawyer capable of advising on emerging technologies while navigating global regulatory requirements.

Outcome

• A focused, high-quality shortlist aligned with Visa’s need for a 4–7 PQE Legal Counsel in Data Privacy & AI
• Targeted identification of candidates with hybrid experience across payments, fintech, privacy, and AI governance
• Strong alignment with Visa’s innovation agenda in world payments and next-generation data-driven products