A Week Following Stablecoin Introduction, PayPal Appoints New CEO

The Board of Directors of PayPal disclosed that the new Chief Executive Officer of the payment processor giant will be Alex Chriss (an executive who runs Small Businesses and Self-Employed Group at Intuit). He will enter the new role on September 27, replacing Dan Schulman.

The amendment comes a week after PayPal doubled down on its crypto efforts by launching a stablecoin pegged to the valuation of the US dollar. 

PayPal With a New Boss

The announcement states that the Board of Directors was looking for a new CEO for months. The appointment of Chriss (who will also serve as President of PayPal) seems to have complied with the requirements of finding an individual with extensive global payments, product, and technology experience, who could lead the company toward new achievements in the future. 

“With his depth of experience in product development, his passion for serving customers and 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,” said John Donahoe, Chair of the PayPal Board of Directors.

He also thanked Dan Schulman for his “outstanding leadership” over the past eight years, during which he helped the firm set up a solid foundation for the future. 

Speaking on the matter was also Chriss, who described PayPal as an “extraordinary company that plays a critical role in the lives of consumers and merchants all over the world.”

Schulman will remain on the board of the firm until the next annual meeting of stockholders in May 2024. Under his reign, PayPal introduced several cryptocurrency offerings, and he displayed himself as a keen proponent of the industry. 

Schulman, who admitted in 2019 that he holds bitcoin, predicted that the combination of digital assets, central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, and digital wallets could reshape the financial system.

Continuing PayPal’s Crypto Forays

Besides holding crypto on its balance sheet and enabling a variety of cryptocurrency services for users, PayPal recently made the headlines by launching a stablecoin called PYUSD. The monetary product is fixed to the value of the American dollar and issued by Paxos Trust Co.

PayPal said it will gradually introduce PYUSD to clients in the USA: a move indicating the firm’s determination to remain part of the digital asset sector despite the regulatory uncertainty in the world’s largest economy.

Alex Chriss’ background in Intuit includes helping individuals and small businesses have better access to financial services and more control over their funds. As such, his appointment could align with PayPal’s crypto mission.