PayPal announced on Thursday that Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman has decided to leave the company at the end of 2023. His decision was followed by the slowing growth of PayPal across its platforms. Schulman is set to leave the company at the end of December this year.
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 01: PayPal Chairman and CEO Dan Schulman participates in a panel discussion during the Financial Inclusion Forum December 1, 2015 at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) held the forum to discuss "ways to foster greater access to safe and affordable financial services for everyone." Alex Wong/Getty Images
(Photo : Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 01: PayPal Chairman and CEO Dan Schulman participates in a panel discussion during the Financial Inclusion Forum December 1, 2015 at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) held the forum to discuss "ways to foster greater access to safe and affordable financial services for everyone."
Leaving PayPal After 9 Years
As of now, CNBC reported that Schulman will continue to work with the board as the company decides who will be his successor. He would be helping with the leadership transition as he remains in the company for a moment, especially since he reminded the board to have enough time to conduct a thorough search for his replacement.
During his interview, the executive stated that there is so much that he wants to do outside the company since he's getting older. "I also want to spend more time on the things I'm passionate about outside of work - that could be from politics to nonprofits to traveling more to academia," he added.
Since 2022 was a difficult year of PayPal, Schulman stated that he wanted to make sure that the company is in good shape before he leaves. This 2023, he sees PayPal in a good position to deliver a strong year.
Looking Back
The executive led the company during its separation from eBay Inc. in 2015. During his early days, Bloomberg reported that he worked with different banks and credit card networks in an effort to broaden the usage of the platform.
Billions were spent on several acquisitions during his time to become the checkout button on retailers' websites and a more diversified financial-tech company.
But PayPal recently boomed in e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the posted record payments volume and profit in 2020, it resulted in Schulman received a stock award the next year in 2021. The award was valued at $31.3 during that time.
That was the same year when the company announced a strategy to become a super app. He targeted doubling Paypal's customer count by 2025, as the company's stock price reached an all-time high of $308.
But as pandemic restrictions became lenient, shoppers returned to physical stores in 2021. Wall Street Journal reported that this started Paypal's struggle in the market. Stocks were sold off sharply after forecasting slower growth in the past quarters.
Adding to this, Paypal recently announced laying off 7% of its workforce, affecting almost 2,000 employees globally. Schulman commended the employees for the meaningful contributions that they made to the company during their stay.
"We will treat our departing colleagues with the utmost respect and empathy, provide them with generous packages, engage in consultation where required, and support them with their transitions," he stated.
