• by Tanya Gazdik , February 26, 2024

PayPal has a new CMO for its family of brands, including Venmo, effective immediately. 

Geof Seeley, who previously served as global CMO and communications officer at Block subsidiaries Cash App and Afterpay, is replacing Leanne Sheraton, who has worked at PayPal since April 2013, most recently serving as CMO since May 2022.

“In a LinkedIn post, Sheraton shared that she’s stepping down to take a career break,” according to PRWeek. “Cash App and Afterpay didn’t respond to requests for comment in time for publication.”

In October, it chose GroupM as its global media agency of record after a year-long review, per PRWeek.  

The company has been on a hiring blitz. 

“PayPal named longtime Intuit executive Alex Chriss as its new president and CEO in August 2023, following a months-long search for a successor to Dan Schulman, who joined PayPal in 2014 and led it since it separated from eBay and became an independent public company,” according to pymnts.com. “In November 2023, PayPal named three new executives and divided its business into three new units.”

In September, the company chose Rachel Kobetz as its first chief design officer. 

“Seeley's immediate focus will be on clarifying and simplifying the value propositions of PayPal and Venmo, aiming to reinvigorate the brands and continue building consumer trust,” according to investing.com. “His experience in leveraging digital marketing tools and his history of enhancing brand engagement are anticipated to be valuable assets in his new role.”

Seeley reports to Diego Scotti, executive vice president and general manager, consumer group and global marketing & communications, PayPal. 

"Geoff brings over 25 years of expertise in transforming global consumer and B2B brands by leveraging cutting-edge digital and performance marketing,” Scotti says in a release. 

Seeley previously worked on Airbnb's Homes business, where he had responsibilities across regional brand marketing, product marketing, global media, brand partnerships, marketing analytics, and research. 

He also worked with Unilever as global communications planning director, where he helped legacy brands transform their marketing models and technology, per the release. 

“His appointment is not just a personnel change, it's a beacon for what's on the horizon for PayPal and its subsidiary, Venmo,” per BNNBreaking.com. “The digital payment space is crowded, with both established players and nimble startups vying for consumer attention. Seeley's challenge will be to distinguish PayPal and Venmo from the competition, making a compelling case for their unique value propositions in a way that resonates with a global audience."