The payments company, PayPal, revealed a new CEO this morning. Senior Intuit executive Alex Chriss will become PayPal’s president and CEO on September 27, 2023, succeeding current CEO Dan Schulman, members of PayPal’s board announced this morning in a press statement.
The hiring came after a months-long CEO search focusing on seeking a new leader with global payments, product, and technology experience.
Chriss, like Schulman, had been with his prior firm for an extended period, having joined Intuit 19 years ago and gradually increasing his responsibilities. He has been the executive vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Small Business and Self-Employed Group, which accounts for more than half of the company’s sales, since January 2019. He has led a global organization of thousands of individuals responsible for providing products like QuickBooks and Mailchimp to thousands of customers.
According to the board’s announcement, in his most recent leadership role, he raised its customers and sales at a compound annual growth rate of 20% and 23%, respectively. In addition, he oversaw Intuit’s $12 billion acquisition of Mailchimp in 2021.
Chriss has the unanimous backing of PayPal’s board of directors and its CEO search committee, entrusted with identifying a replacement for longtime CEO Schulman, who announced his intention to retire at the end of last year. According to CNBC, Chriss was chosen from a pool of nine contenders. According to the article, the board also met with over 20 investors, including activist investor Elliott Management.
“Alex is the perfect leader to take PayPal forward and accelerate the company’s growth opportunities,” said John Donahoe, chair of the PayPal board of directors, in a statement. “With his depth of experience in product development, his passion for serving customers, his longstanding commitment to empowering and enabling small businesses, and his proven track record of developing and inspiring his team, Alex is the perfect leader to take PayPal forward and accelerate the company’s growth opportunities.” “The Board search committee worked diligently and thoroughly to find the right candidate to take PayPal into its next stage of growth and expansion, and we are confident Alex is that person.”
Chriss joined PayPal when the company was restructuring, stating in February that it would lay off 2,000 full-time employees, or 7% of its staff, citing the macroeconomic situation.
It said that its $600 million savings would be spent on projects such as passwordless checkout, one-click in-app experiences, and utilizing AI for improved checkout routines.
Donahoe also expressed gratitude to current CEO Jeff Schulman for his “outstanding leadership during PayPal’s eight years of growth as an independent company.”
“Dan made many major contributions to PayPal and helped establish a strong foundation for the future,” he stated.
Following his departure from eBay, ex-CEO Schulman joined PayPal in 2014. During his leadership, Paypal’s revenues increased from $9.2 billion in 2015 to $27.5 billion in 2022, with total active accounts more than doubling to over 430 million in 200 markets. Total payment volume climbed by a factor of five, from $288 billion in 2015 to $1.36 trillion in 2022.
“I’m proud of what we have accomplished at PayPal and of the incredibly talented and committed people I work with every day,” Schulman said in a statement. “Together, we reimagined financial services and e-commerce, and worked to improve our customers’ financial health.” PayPal makes an impact in the lives of its customers and communities every day, and the company is well-positioned for the future. It has been a tremendous honor to have had the opportunity to manage this wonderful organization for the past 8 1/2 years. However, I’ve reached a stage in my life when I’d like to dedicate more time to my interests outside of the office. “I remain completely committed to working closely with the Board and my eventual successor to ensure a smooth transition and that we maintain our positive momentum,” he said.
Schulman will stay on PayPal’s board of directors until the company’s next annual meeting of stockholders in May 2024. As investors react positively to the news, PayPal’s stock is up over 2% this morning.
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