The embattled CEO of PayPal, Dan Schulman, plans to retire at the end of the year, after the digital payments pioneer has struggled in recent years to meet growth goals and beat back mounting competition.

Schulman said he spoke multiple times with PayPal’s board about the company’s succession plan and informed the directors recently that he intended to exit at yearend to give them enough time to find his replacement, he told analysts on an earnings call today. He noted that his decision comes shortly after he turned 65, and said he would be flexible if the board asked him to stay longer.

There recently had been speculation from analysts that he might retire soon. Schulman also said that he looks forward to continuing to be on the company’s board. “I will remain fully focused on maintaining our momentum and executing on our plan,” he told analysts on the call.

Schulman took the top post at the payments behemoth as CEO-designee in 2014, and added CEO and president titles formally in July 2015. Nike CEO John Donahoe has served as PayPal’s board chair for that period.

“It’s never a good time to retire because it’s always a bittersweet moment,” Schulman said. But he went on to say he has a lot of interests outside of work that he’d like to pursue.

He also noted it seemed to be an appropriate time to leave the company. “We feel that 2023 is shaping up to be a strong year,” he said.

By Lynne Marek on Feb 9, 2023
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