Dustin White serves as the chief risk data officer at Visa Inc. He is responsible for capabilities and strategy that ensure cardholders have a secure commerce experience in the physical and digital worlds.
During the last decade, White has held various global executive roles within the company focused on business optimization, analytics, risk and operations. “His passion to innovate in practical ways is largely attributed to his family’s roots in agriculture,” the company said. “Watching his family make their living through farm and ranch operations as a child instilled a no-nonsense bias for action, a strong work ethic and a relentless pursuit of tangible results. These attributes are important to farming, but are also critical components of mitigating threat vectors in financial technology applications.”
White led Visa’s Global Risk teams and clients through the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping fraud levels at historic lows. As stay-at-home orders forced digital payment growth at a rate never seen before, fraudsters tried to capitalize on the movement by finding new scams for stealing from victims. White pioneered enhanced security capabilities and client engagements to keep the network safe.
White has also been instrumental in getting the voice of Visa security into industry publications, including PYMNTS, Dark Reading, and SC Media. He is a key Visa spokesperson, distilling difficult technical jargon into consumer-friendly language that is easily understood.
White has also been a key driver of Visa’s voice in speaking events spanning security and payment industries, often leading keynotes and spotlight sessions. In 2022, White was named to ETA’s Forty Under 40, which recognized game changers in digital payments.
While his primary focus is analytics and technology at Visa, White also keeps his entrepreneurial spirit alive through other business endeavors, most recently as a founder and partner of Jawbox Jerky.
In his free time, Dustin enjoys spending time with his wife and kids and volunteering in youth sports, where he coaches and has served as a program administrator for large nonprofit basketball programs in south Denver.
“I can think of two risks that I’ve taken multiple times in my career which I believe have been a big part of my leadership evolution,” White said.
“The first is to make big bets on people and their potential. As leaders, there is an inherent tendency to put guard rails around people as a means of mitigating failure.
“I’ve tried to buck that trend as often as I can — making big bets on nontraditional talent and upside.
“Second — do not shy away from new opportunities that present themselves. Not every role is worth taking, but each opportunity should be evaluated rigorously. One of the greatest blessings and privileges I’ve had at Visa is to get a wide array of experiences across various functional disciplines and teams. Not every role has been a perfect fit, but the knowledge and experiences I’ve gained in those roles are invaluable.”
