Visa Appoints Charles Scharf as CEO
Visa’s board of directors has elected Charles Scharf, formerly chief executive officer (CEO) of retail financial services for JP Morgan Chase, to succeed Joseph Saunders as CEO from 1 November.
Scharf, a former director of Visa and its predecessor Visa USA, is currently managing director at One Equity Partners, which manages US$10bn of investments and commitments for JPMorgan Chase. He previously spent nine years at JP Morgan Chase and its predecessors as CEO of retail financial services, one of the bank’s six lines of business, and a major issuer of Visa branded cards. The business generated revenue of US$30bn annually with 130,000 employees.
He was previously chief financial officer (CFO)of Bank One from 2000 to 2002 and spent 13 years at Citigroup and its predecessor companies, serving as chief financial officer (CFO) for Citigroup’s global corporate and investment bank prior to joining Bank One. Scharf served on the board of Visa USA from 2003 to 2007 and the Visa board from 2007 to January 2011.
Saunders, who has served as the company’s CEO since 2007, will continue his duties as executive chairman of the company during the period of his employment, which extends to 31 March 2013. After he retires, the board intends to appoint a new non-executive independent chairperson. The board has also expanded from 10 to 11 directors, and Scharf has been appointed a director from 1 November.