Sebastian Siemiatkowski stepped down as CEO of Klarna to make way for… A$AP Rocky

In Klarna’s most recent tie-up with famous American rappers, CEO and founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski stepped aside as CEO to let A$AP Rocky sit in the top job for a day.

The rapper, real name Rakim Mayers, assumed the CEO role yesterday and became a shareholder of the buy-now-pay-later fintech.

“A$AP Rocky defies categorization; a musician, actor, philanthropist, an opinion leader in style, and fundamentally someone who understands what the public wants from so many vantage points,” Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and founder of Klarna said.

“He challenges the status quo each day. As the consumer experience in retail now demands discovery, curation and sustainability, we at Klarna have a lot to learn from him. Besides, after sixteen years since founding Klarna, I think I deserve a day off.”  

A$AP Rocky will also help to curate content for the fintech to help consumers “rediscover the joy of getting dressed,” specifically promoting upcycling and vintage fashion.

“Klarna is a company that looks ahead and challenges the status quo, which makes partnering with them so appealing to me,” added one-time Klarna CEO, A$AP Rocky. 

“I’m excited to begin working with Klarna in a number of ways, including jointly creating a space for people to rediscover style as we emerge from a global fashion hibernation.”

As well as being acting CEO for a day, A$AP Rocky also pledged one per cent of his investment to impactful planet health projects focusing on climate change and biodiversity.

The rapper picked the Miti Alliance in Kenya and its founder Michael Waiyaki, who is fighting to slow down climate change due to reforestation, as the recipient of his contribution.

A$AP Rocky is not the first American rapper to partner with Klarna,Snoop Dogg teamed up with the fintech back in 2019 to help broaden his European tech investment strategy.

Last week, Klarna found itself in a spot of bother after its app had a bug that saw customers able to access other Klarna users’ account details. 

The BNPL fintech is also reportedly eyeing up London as the destination of its hotly-anticipated IPO.

While no details are set in stone yet, a spokesperson for the firm said that London was one destination that it was considering for its stock market debut, which is still one to two years down the line.