Marqeta appoints its CPO Simon Khalaf as new CEO

Founder Jason Gardner will transition into the role of executive chairman after 13 years as CEO.

Global card issuer Marqeta has appointed its current chief product officer (CPO) Simon Khalaf as its new CEO.

The company’s founder and current CEO Jason Gardner will step into the role of executive chairman when Khalaf takes on the role at the end of the month.

Khalaf joined Marqeta as CPO last June, and according to the company has taken on leadership of the go-to-market organisation since last August.

“I’m humbled by the opportunity to build upon Jason’s vision for modern card issuing and continue to redefine what cards can do for leading innovators globally,” Khalaf said.

“Together with Jason as Executive Chairman and a skilled and accomplished executive team, I believe we have the recipe in place to unlock the next level of growth and scale for Marqeta.”

Khalaf brings more than 30 years of experience in technology, both as an executive and an entrepreneur, to the position.

He has been a CEO four times, most recently at Flurry, a mobile analytics company, before it was acquired by Yahoo.

According to Marqeta, his appointment comes as it expands its platform to capitalise on the fast-growing embedded finance market segment.

“There is tremendous opportunity in front of us to enable the brands we serve with our innovative, flexible platform and grow the ubiquity of digital payments globally,” Khalaf added.

Having served as CEO of Marqeta since founding it in 2010, Gardner will now act as executive chairman.

“After an extensive search, the board and I strongly believe Simon is the clear choice to lead Marqeta through its next era,” Gardner said.

“Simon’s diverse experience leading companies over a long career, the strong customer orientation and product vision he has shown in his time at Marqeta thus far, and his ability to build great teams, make him the right person to lead Marqeta into the next chapter.”

Another change to the executive team is the addition of Todd Pollack who will be Marqeta’s new chief revenue officer.

Pollack previously spent four years at Ancestry as chief commercial officer and prior to that spent 13 years at Google as managing director in the financial and retail sectors.