PayPal hires Intuit veteran with small business expertise to be next CEO
By Niket Nishant and Manya Saini
(Reuters) -Digital payments giant PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Holdings on Monday named Alex Chriss, a top executive at tax-preparation software firm Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), its next CEO as it looks to grab a bigger share of the payments market for small businesses.
Chriss, who has a strong track record in dealmaking, will replace Dan Schulman next month. Schulman will remain on PayPal's board until the next annual meeting of stockholders in May.
Shares of the company were up nearly 2.3% at $62.94 after the news.
It is a key moment for the digital payments giant that will be helmed by a new chief for the first time since it split from e-commerce firm eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) in 2015, with analysts noting his appointment could signal an increased focus on M&A.
«We believe (Chriss's) experience sounds highly relevant to PayPal as it reemphasizes focus on small merchants and launches PayPal Complete Payments,» William Blair analysts wrote in a note.
PayPal Complete Payments is a payments processing solution for small and medium-sized businesses.
According to Wolfe Research, the biggest accomplishment of Chriss at Intuit was the company's $12-billion acquisition and integration of Mailchimp in 2021.
He has been with Intuit for around two decades and is currently executive vice president and general manager of its Small Business and Self-Employed Group.
«We see this (appointment) as a key positive, given a main concern from investors about PayPal is the company's lackluster record with acquiring and integrating assets in recent years,» Wolfe Research analyst Darrin Peller said.
NO «DRAMATIC» CHANGES
Weak margins at PayPal have brought cost-cutting measures to the forefront of conversations among investors,
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