Rob Beard has resigned as chief legal and global affairs officer of Mastercard in order to take the legal reins of Coherent Corp., a maker of lasers and other electronic components.

Beard had been Mastercard’s legal chief for 14 months, a tumultuous stretch of highs and lows for the Purchase, New York-based company. In March, Mastercard and fellow credit card giant Visa agreed to pay $30 billion to resolve decades of litigation alleging that they charged excessive swipe fees.