As PayPal’s stock drops by 80%, finance chief Jamie Miller takes on the role of interim CEO

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Good morning. Turnover persists in the 500, with PayPal presenting the latest instance of boards turning to financial leadership during pressured periods.

The payments behemoth announced on Tuesday that CEO Alex Chriss is leaving after two and a half years. Enrique Lores, the CEO of Inc., is slated to take over on March 1. PayPal’s chief financial and operating officer, Jamie Miller, will act as the interim CEO.

This move comes after continuous shareholder dissatisfaction. PayPal’s stock has dropped by approximately 80% compared to five years ago, and the company on Tuesday forecasted lower earnings for 2026, . In announcing the change, the board mentioned that the pace of execution had fallen short of expectations—a statement that often foreshadows leadership changes focused on operational discipline and capital performance.

Miller’s appointment mirrors a broader governance trend. According to Crist Kolder Associates’ 2025 , the promotion rate of CFOs to CEOs among 500 and S&P 500 companies reached a decade – high of 10.26% last year, up from 6.15% in 2015. All these promotions were internal, highlighting boards’ increasing preference for leaders with in – depth institutional knowledge and financial credibility.

At PayPal, Miller’s responsibilities had already expanded in 2025 to encompass the chief operating officer role, a combination that is increasingly used to assess CFOs for broader enterprise leadership. Appointed CFO in 2023, she previously served as the global CFO of and the CFO of , and spent over a decade at , including serving as the CFO and CEO of GE Transportation.

Lores, who has led HP for more than six years and has been on PayPal’s board since 2021, has experience in driving complex transformations and disciplined execution, David W. Dorman, the newly appointed independent board chair at PayPal, stated in a press release.

For CFOs observing, PayPal’s transition is yet another reminder that during volatile times, boards often first look to financial leadership, either on an interim or permanent basis, to stabilize the enterprise and reset performance expectations.

Sheryl Estrada