Lores, who served decades at HP, was also PayPal’s board chair since 2024.
HP was apparently caught off guard, according to reports, after PayPal snatched the company’s CEO Enrique Lores to replace Alex Chriss.
In a statement, PayPal said that the switch-up had to come because the “pace of change and execution [under Chriss] was not in line with the board’s expectations”. Lores is expected to overhaul the payments company and ensure it maintains its leading position in the industry in the long-run, the company said.
Chief financial and operating officer Jamie Miller will serve as interim CEO at the company until Lores assumes the role of president and CEO. Meanwhile, David Dorman has been appointed as independent board chair.
“We will further strengthen the culture of innovation necessary to deliver long-term transformation and balance this with near-term delivery”, commented Lores.
“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.”
Chriss was appointed as PayPal’s CEO and president in 2023, a challenging post-pandemic period when trading volumes were low, but large tech companies and newer fintech rivals were adding competitive pressure on PayPal’s core businesses.
At the time of his appointment, PayPal described him as a “next generation leader” capable of driving growth across the company, but less than three years later, that seems to not have worked out. Lores, meanwhile, is familiar to PayPal, serving on the company’s board for nearly five years, and as board chairperson since July 2024.
However, the executive switch-up did not sway investor confidence after the company missed revenue expectations in the quarter past. In its fourth quarter results for 2025, PayPal posted $8.68bn in revenue, lower than London Stock Exchange Group analysts’ average estimates, but marginally higher than this quarter last year.
The dim quarter and change of leadership sent share prices at PayPal plummeting by 20pc. Company shares have dropped more than 80pc over the last five years.
Lores had come into HP as an intern nearly four decades ago. He orchestrated the split from HP Enterprise and took on the role of CEO in 2019. Semafor reported that Lores’ sudden move sent HP executives scurrying for a replacement.
In a statement yesterday (3 February), HP said that Lores stepped down as both board president and CEO to “pursue another professional opportunity”.
Bruce Broussard, a HP board member since 2021, has been appointed as interim CEO until a search committee identifies a successor. Broussard most recently served as the president and CEO of healthcare company Humana.
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