CEO

Feb. 3 (UPI) — Enrique Lores will be the new chief executive officer of PayPal Holdings Inc., and David Dorman is the digital payment processor’s new independent board chairman, the company announced Tuesday.

Lores previously was the tech firm’s chairman and served on the independent board for five years, and he replaces Alex Chriss as its chief executive officer, PayPal announced.

Lores won’t immediately take the reins as PayPal’s top executive. Instead, Chief Financial and Operating Officer Jamie Miller will serve as interim chief executive until Lores is ready to take the helm.

While Lores won’t immediately become PayPal’s chief executive, Dorman immediately becomes chairman of its independent board.

“Enrique is widely recognized as a visionary leader who prioritizes customer-centric innovation with demonstrable impact,” Dorman said.

“His strong track record leading complex transformations and disciplined execution on a global basis will ensure PayPal maintains its leadership of the dynamic payments industry now and into the future,” Dorman said of Lopes.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the board and supporting Enrique as he takes on the CEO role,” he added.

“We will further strengthen the culture of innovation necessary to deliver long-term transformation and balance this with near-term delivery, executing with greater speed and precision and holding ourselves accountable for consistent delivery quarter on quarter to further assert PayPal’s industry leadership position,” Lores said.

“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,” he explained.

“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 said.

PayPal’s board of directors evaluated Lores’ qualifications for the new position before appointing him as the new chief executive.

PayPal officials said the change is needed to enable the company to better address industry-wide changes and competition.

Lores has more than 30 years of technology and commercial experience and “is widely recognized as a visionary leader who prioritizes customer-centric innovation with demonstrable impact,” Dorman said.

“His strong track record leading complex transformations and disciplined execution on a global basis will ensure PayPal maintains its leadership of the dynamic payments industry now and into the future,” he added.

PayPal’s board said the company’s future success will be as a global services provider whose strengths are its consumer, merchant and partner relationships.

The chief executive position opened when Chriss vacated the position after 2.5 years.

Walt Disney Co. named a new chief executive this week, tapping theme parks veteran Josh D’Amaro as its new leader.

D’Amaro succeeds Bob Iger, who is expected to retire on Dec. 31 when his contract expires after nearly two decades on the job.

The issue of corporate succession has been a fraught one at Disney — and the subject of intense speculation across Hollywood in recent years.

Here’s a look at key developments in the succession drama:

Bob Chapek Named Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company

(Business Wire)

Feb. 25, 2020: Chapek named CEO

Disney announces that Bob Chapek, a 27-year Disney veteran who led the company’s massively important parks and consumer products business, would succeed Iger.

Chapek, 60, was one of several top Disney executives who were potential successors, including Disney direct-to-consumer chairman Kevin Mayer, who oversaw the successful launch of streaming service Disney+.

But the announcement contained a wrinkle: Iger wasn’t leaving the company — at least not right away. He would assume the role of executive chairman, leading the company’s creative endeavors, while guiding the leadership transition until the end of his contract on Dec. 31. 2021.

In this Sept. 11, 2015, file photo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Bob Chapek poses with Minnie Mouse during a ceremony at the Hong Kong Disneyland, as they celebrate the Hong Kong Disneyland’s 10th anniversary.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Nov. 20, 2022: Chapek fired, Iger returns

Disney’s board fires Chapek after less than three years on the job and asks Iger to serve two additional years as chief executive, postponing his exit.

The stunning announcement came after a series of missteps and miscalculations by Chapek, Iger’s hand-picked successor, that raised questions about his leadership.

Directors were said to be increasingly impatient with the company’s shaky financial performance and organizational changes Chapek made at the Mouse House.

“The board came to the conclusion they were losing the heart and soul of the company,” one longtime Disney observer who was not authorized to comment publicly said at the time.

(Jim Cooke/Los Angeles Times; Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

July 12, 2023: Board extends Iger’s contract amid challenges

Disney’s board decides to keep Iger in the top job through December 2026, once again delaying his retirement.

The decision is a recognition of the serious challenges facing the company. Among them: struggles in animated movies, steady subscriber losses at sports giant ESPN and political and cultural battles with conservatives in Florida.

Iger moves swiftly to cut costs and eliminates thousands of jobs across the company. He also directs the company to slow down production of films and TV shows to focus on quality.

James Gorman, then chairman and chief executive of Morgan Stanley, in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.

(Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Oct. 21, 2024: Board taps Gorman to lead succession

After the fiasco with Chapek, Disney turns to someone with a track record of successful succession planning at Morgan Stanley: James Gorman.

Gorman is named the new chairman of the company’s board of directors, replacing Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker, who leaves after nine years.

Facing pressure from critics such as the activist investor Nelson Peltz, Disney also announces it will pick Iger’s successor by early 2026.

Josh D’Amaro, who previously ran Disney’s theme parks division, was named Disney CEO.

(Paul Morse)

February 3, 2026: Disney picks Josh D’Amaro as new CEO

Disney selects Josh D’Amaro as its new leader. D’Amaro, 54, beat out three other internal candidates for the job and was a Wall Street favorite.

The charismatic 28-year Disney veteran had the edge because of his deep affinity with company’s corporate culture and his success in growing the all-important theme parks business, which is in the midst of an ambitious 10 year, $60-billion parks and cruise line expansion. He was also a Wall Street favorite, which didn’t hurt.

Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden was named the company’s president and chief creative officer.

Jan. 31 (Asia Today) — Harold Rogers, interim chief executive of Coupang Korea, was questioned for more than 12 hours by police over allegations that the company destroyed evidence during an internal probe into a massive personal data leak.

Rogers arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at about 2 p.m. Thursday and left around 2:22 a.m. Friday. He declined to answer reporters’ questions, including whether he acknowledged the evidence destruction allegations, how the company determined that about 3,000 users were affected, and why he had not appeared for questioning earlier.

Before entering police headquarters, Rogers said Coupang had “fully cooperated with all government investigations and will continue to do so,” adding that the company would also cooperate with the police probe.

Police are investigating whether Coupang conducted an unauthorized “self-investigation” after the data breach and destroyed evidence in the process. The company allegedly analyzed a suspect’s laptop without prior consultation with authorities and publicly announced its own findings, including the estimated scope of the leak.

Investigators reportedly questioned Rogers about Coupang’s actions, including allegedly contacting the data leak suspect in China without police knowledge, retrieving the laptop, and conducting forensic analysis independently.

Attention has also focused on whether Rogers will leave South Korea. Police applied for a travel ban against him after his entry on Jan. 21, but prosecutors rejected the request. Rogers previously left the country earlier this month after completing a two-day schedule of National Assembly hearings.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260131010014003

Reporting from New York, NY — Media outlets are reporting that federal prosecutors have granted immunity to the executive in charge of the National Enquirer amid an investigation into hush-money payments made on behalf of President Trump.

Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, were first to report Wednesday’s development involving David Pecker, CEO of the tabloid’s publisher, American Media Inc., and a longtime friend of the president.

Court papers connected to ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s guilty plea Tuesday say Pecker offered to help Trump squash negative stories during the 2016 campaign.

The Journal said Pecker shared details with prosecutors about payments Cohen says Trump directed to buy the silence of two women alleging affairs with him.

Trump’s account has shifted. He said recently he knew about payments “later on.”