Ali Raza
Ali Raza is Executive Vice President of Speer & Associates, Inc. (S&A) with responsibility for the management and performance of consulting projects in the U.S. and abroad. In this capacity, he focuses on strategic planning advisory support at the corporate level and within the retail banking, payments and transaction processing businesses. Mr. Raza brings a valuable combination of international and domestic experience helping to provide S&A clients a global perspective of trends and best practices in the financial services industry.
Mr. Raza has an extensive background in retail banking, card issuance / acquiring and payments, including strategy development, business line management, and value optimization. Additional areas of expertise and interest include product design, financial management, and emerging payment products including Internet and mobile. He has assisted numerous clients in growing their profitability, increasing market share, enhancing shareholder value and improving operating performance.
S&A domestic and international client engagements have focused on high-level strategic planning / tactical execution support, business line planning, and market development for major banks, card associations, Internet based companies, specialty finance companies, credit card issuers, merchant acquirers, and transaction processors. Significant recent client engagements have included M&A support in Latin America, an analysis of merchant industry pricing in North America, and a market assessment study for commercial payment solutions in Canada. Additionally, Mr. Raza has been supporting a leading Internet company with its regional payments strategy. In the U.S. Mr. Raza has been providing decision support and thought leadership to various U.S. banks evaluating their position in credit card lending. Frequently quoted in the industry press, Mr. Raza has also written numerous articles for publication.
Mr. Raza’s professional career has been concentrated in retail financial services and payments. Prior to joining S&A, Mr. Raza established and subsequently managed the credit card business at a leading overseas bank where he also held senior management positions in retail banking, merchant acquiring, and consumer payments. He began his career at a New York-based money centre bank.
Mr. Raza holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Reed College.