Intuit executive Alex Chriss to become PayPal’s new CEO

PayPal named Intuit senior executive Alex Chriss as president and CEO of the company.

“He is an experienced and highly successful business leader, with a rich set of skills in technology and product areas. Since January 2019, he has served as the executive vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Small Business and Self-Employed Group, overseeing more than half of the firm’s revenues,” PayPal introduced the new leader.

Chriss will succeed Dan Schulman on September 27. According to the press release, the board had been seeking a suitable candidate for several months.

Representatives of the payments company noted that during his 19 years at Intuit Chriss grew the customer base by 20% and revenue by 23%, respectively. In 2021 he led the deal to acquire Mailchimp for $12 billion.

“PayPal is a remarkable company that plays a pivotal role in the lives of consumers and merchants around the world. I am proud to take the baton from Dan and very excited to have the opportunity to work with a talented and dedicated team,” Alex Chriss said.

In turn, Schulman will remain on PayPal’s board of directors until the next annual shareholders’ meeting in May 2024.

On August 7, the company announced the launch of a US dollar-pegged stablecoin PYUSD on the Ethereum-based blockchain. The issuer of the coin was the infrastructure blockchain company Paxos.

The asset has sparked a mixed reaction among crypto-community participants. Some said PYUSD would drive broad adoption of digital assets, while others pointed to centralization risks.

PayPal announced a crypto hub for select users. It will be a service for storing and interacting with digital assets on the platform’s account.