#125: Mastercard EVP and Head of Marketing & Communications Rustom Dastoor | How to Make a Global Brand Feel Local

About this episode

How does a brand stay culturally relevant across 200 countries?

This week on Soul & Science, Jason Harris talks to Rustom Dastoor, EVP and Head of Marketing & Communications at Mastercard, about building a brand that resonates across cultures, markets, and generations. Born and raised in India amid the country’s surge towards consumerism, Rustom has lived and worked across four continents and brings a uniquely international perspective to branding, consumer behavior, and the evolving relationship between creativity and technology.

Rustom shares how Mastercard balances global consistency with local relevance across hundreds of markets, the growing importance of regulation and data governance, and why the best brands integrate into local culture instead of simply extracting value from it. They also discuss the future of marketing, why successful marketing will increasingly need to put data at the center of strategy, and why AI and data are most powerful when they’re used to guide thinking—not replace it.

Key Takeaways

✅ Global brands succeed when they integrate into local culture

✅ Data should inform decisions, not dictate them

✅ AI adds real value in data analysis, not automation

✅ Consistency builds trust, but relevance drives connection

Memorable Moments 💡 “To gain something new, you have to give up something old.”

💡 “People are more similar than they are different.”

💡 “Use data for illumination, not support.”

💡 “If you’re comfortable, you’re stagnating.”

💡 “A global brand needs to be seen as a contributor, not an extractor.”

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