PayPal Holdings, Inc. announced that John Kim will join the company as Executive Vice President (EVP), Chief Product Officer (CPO), effective September 26, 2022. Kim brings unique skills and experience building foundational consumer products and marketplaces from the ground up. Throughout his career, he has driven innovative product development to compete and win in rapidly evolving and competitive markets. Kim succeeds current CPO, Mark Britto, who will remain with PayPal for a transition period, before retiring at the end of this year.
Kim joins PayPal following a decade-long tenure with Expedia Group, where he served most recently as President of Expedia Marketplace. In this role, he oversaw strategy, product, technology and operations for all of Expedia Group’s lines of business – including lodging, air, car, cruise and activities – bringing Expedia’s products to life for its customers and suppliers. Previously, Kim served as President of Platform & Marketplaces where he led the development of artificial intelligence, user experience, research, ecommerce, marketplaces and yield management, and oversaw the data and development platforms that power Expedia Group’s two-sided marketplace platform.
Previously in his career, Kim served as President of HomeAway/Vrbo after it was acquired by Expedia Group, then as President of Vrbo. At Vrbo, Kim led the company’s transformation from a subscription-based advertising model to a modern ecommerce business powered by data science and technology. Before Vrbo, Kim served as Expedia’s Chief Product Officer. He has more than two decades of experience across venture-backed startups, medium-sized companies and globally known brands including Yahoo!, Overture, Accenture, Bank of America and Pelago.
In his role as PayPal’s EVP, CPO, Kim will lead the consumer and merchant product and engineering teams. Together with his product and engineering leadership teams, he will work to advance PayPal’s position as a leader in digital payments and commerce for consumers and merchants around the globe.
“I’m thrilled to welcome John Kim to the PayPal team,” said Dan Schulman, PayPal President and CEO. “John is an outstanding leader with a proven ability to build and lead high performing global teams that drive new and innovative product development. Developing new products at scale that engage customers and merchants through an exceptional user experience requires a unique combination of talents, and we’ve truly found these in John.”
Schulman continued, “Mark Britto had an indelible impact on PayPal. We have all benefited from Mark’s leadership and his deep commitment to creating value for our customers. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
“I am incredibly excited to join the passionate and dynamic team at PayPal,” said Kim. “PayPal stands alone at the intersection of technology, digital payments, financial services and commerce. The scale of its two-sided global platform and reputation as one of the most trusted consumer brands in the world are true differentiators. I have been inspired by conversations with Dan, Mark and other members of PayPal’s leadership team. I am eager to work alongside the PayPal team to help drive the next phase of growth and enable future generations of global digital payments and commerce.”
Kim’s appointment marks the most recent addition to PayPal’s Executive Leadership Team amongst several key hires this year, including Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen in August and Chief Information Officer Archana (Archie) Deskus in March. Blake joined PayPal from Electronic Arts and has extensive experience driving operational excellence and shareholder value. Previously CIO of Intel, Archie is a highly accomplished technology executive who is working to optimize PayPal’s internal technology processes and systems, ensuring PayPal has the most modern, secure, reliable and scalable technology foundation to drive meaningful innovation and serve customers.
