Since taking over as CEO of Mastercard (NYSE: MA) on July 1, 2010, Ajay Banga has led this blue chip stock to an almost 15-fold increase in stock price -- from $21 a share to more than $313, in the space of 10 short years. And now his work is done. Mastercard announced this morning that on January 1, 2021, Banga will step down from his position and become instead the company's executive chairman of the board. Current chairman Richard Haythornthwaite will simultaneously retire from the chairman's position on that date -- and chief product officer Michael Miebach will be promoted to Mastercard's new CEO. Image Source: Getty Images (In the meantime, Miebach will begin transitioning into the leadership role by taking over the position of company president on March 1, 2020). In picking him, Banga noted that Miebach has been with Mastercard for a decade and "has a proven track record of building products and running businesses globally" and "has been a key architect of our multi-rail strategy" of developing new pathways to grow the business in areas including "payments, data, banking services and technology." Aged just 51, Miebach is also young enough that he could continue growing and leading Mastercard for more than another decade to come. (Or not. Banga himself is only 59). Mastercard stock is down 6.6% as of 2:15 p.m. in response to the news. 10 stocks we like better than MastercardWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Mastercard wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Mastercard. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source