PayPal replaces CEO Chriss with HP’s Lores

PayPal Announces CEO Change as Board Seeks Faster Execution

PayPal Holdings announced Tuesday that it will replace CEO Alex Chriss with HP Inc. executive Enrique Lores, citing dissatisfaction with the company’s pace of change and execution over the past two years.

The leadership shakeup comes as the digital payments giant faces increasing competition and rapid technological change in the financial technology sector. Lores, who has served as a PayPal board member for almost five years and became board Chair in July 2024, will assume the CEO position on March 1. In the interim, Chief Financial and Operating Officer Jamie Miller will lead the company, while David Dorman takes over as independent board chair effective immediately.

“The payments industry is changing faster than ever, driven by new technologies, evolving regulations, an increasingly competitive landscape, and the rapid acceleration of AI that is reshaping commerce daily,” Lores said in a statement. “PayPal sits at the center of this change, and I look forward to leading the team to accelerate the delivery of new innovations and to shape the future of digital payments and commerce.”

Lores brings significant executive experience to the role, having spent more than six years as president and CEO of HP Inc. His appointment signals the board’s desire for stronger leadership to navigate PayPal through an increasingly complex competitive landscape.

While acknowledging Chriss’s contributions, particularly his efforts to monetize the Venmo platform and expand the company’s Buy Now Pay Later business, the board’s decision underscores growing concerns about PayPal’s strategic direction and execution velocity in a rapidly evolving fintech environment.

The leadership change coincides with disappointing fourth-quarter results that fell short of analyst expectations. PayPal reported an adjusted profit of $1.23 per share on revenue of $8.68 billion, missing the $1.29 per share on $8.77 billion revenue projected by analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research. The San Jose, California-based company also provided a lower-than-expected profit forecast for the first quarter.

Investors reacted negatively to the news, with PayPal shares sliding 16% in pre-market trading following the announcement.

The leadership transition comes at a critical juncture for PayPal, which faces intensifying competition from traditional financial institutions, tech giants expanding into financial services, and nimble fintech startups. The company has been working to diversify beyond its core payment processing business, with initiatives in cryptocurrency, buy-now-pay-later services, and expanded merchant solutions.

Industry analysts have noted that while PayPal maintains a strong market position with over 430 million active accounts globally, the company has struggled to maintain its growth trajectory amid rising competition from competitors like Square (now Block), Stripe, and Apple Pay. The board’s decision to install new leadership suggests an urgency to accelerate innovation and strategic execution.

Lores will face immediate challenges upon taking the helm, including revitalizing growth, improving operational efficiency, and articulating a clear strategic vision that differentiates PayPal in an increasingly crowded digital payments landscape. His experience at HP, where he navigated significant business transformation, may prove valuable as PayPal seeks to redefine its position in the evolving fintech ecosystem.

The appointment also comes amid broader economic uncertainty and shifting consumer payment behaviors following the pandemic, which initially accelerated digital payment adoption but has since seen some normalization of growth rates across the sector.

As PayPal enters this new chapter under Lores’ leadership, industry observers will be watching closely to see how the company addresses these challenges and capitalizes on opportunities in digital commerce, cryptocurrency integration, and artificial intelligence applications in financial services.