# Frank Cooper III

> Frank Cooper III is Visa's chief marketing officer, an executive whose career has moved from entertainment law and music labels through internet media, consumer brands, asset management and global payments. A Harvard-trained lawyer and former Def Jam business-affairs leader, he later held senior marketing roles at AOL and PepsiCo, served as chief marketing and creative officer at BuzzFeed, and spent five years as BlackRock's global CMO before joining Visa in May 2022. His public work centers on the intersection of culture, technology and commerce, with trust, human potential and measurable business growth as recurring themes.

- **Role:** Chief Marketing Officer at Visa
- **Organizations:** Visa, BlackRock, BuzzFeed, PepsiCo, AOL, Urban Box Office Networks, Tommy Boy Music, Def Jam Recordings, Motown Records, American Advertising Federation, Burlington Stores
- **From:** San Francisco, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley, J.D.; Supreme Court Editor, Harvard Law Review, Harvard Law School
- **Known for:** Named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2010., Received ADCOLOR's Legend Award., Four-time honoree on Billboard's Power 100 list, according to Visa's executive biography.

## Career timeline

- **1990** — After Harvard Law School, entered the music business at Motown Records.
- **1993-1996** — Served as senior vice president of business affairs at Def Jam Recordings.
- **1996-1998** — Worked as a senior executive at Tommy Boy Music.
- **1998-2001** — Co-founded Urban Box Office Networks, an early digital media company focused on urban culture.
- **2001-2003** — Led interactive marketing for music programs at AOL.
- **2003-2015** — Held multiple marketing leadership roles at PepsiCo, culminating in chief marketing officer of global consumer engagement.
- **2015-2017** — Served as chief marketing and creative officer at BuzzFeed.
- **2017-2022** — Served as senior managing director and global chief marketing officer at BlackRock.
- **2022-present** — Leads Visa's global marketing across consumer, B2B and client marketing, brand, data and insights, digital platforms, content and sponsorships.

## Achievements

- Named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2010.
- Received ADCOLOR's Legend Award.
- Four-time honoree on Billboard's Power 100 list, according to Visa's executive biography.
- Received the Raymond J. McGuire Harvard University Alumni Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement in 2014.
- Served as chairman and director of the American Advertising Federation from 2009 to 2011.
- Led PepsiCo's global consumer engagement marketing and the relaunch of the Pepsi trademark.
- Helped articulate BlackRock's purpose around helping more people experience financial well-being.
- Served as an independent director of Burlington Stores and Burlington Coat Factory Investments Holdings.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Published public reflections on courage, authentic storytelling in an AI-shaped media environment, and the need for marketers to combine art and science.
- **2026-06** — Released a Frankly Speaking conversation with Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati and wrote about courage as deliberate action taken with an understanding of risk.
- **2026-05** — Discussed how Visa evaluates creator partnerships, including due diligence, portfolio risk and business outcomes such as payment volume and share of wallet.
- **2026-03** — Published a Culture & Commerce essay reflecting on Korea and Vietnam and used K-pop as an analogy for modern brand building.
- **2025-11** — Appeared on Forbes' The Enterprise Zone to discuss his career, Visa's sponsorship strategy, AI, leadership and the changing CMO role.

## Links

- Website: https://www.visa.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-cooper-iii
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frank.cooper3/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/frank-cooper
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-11