Green Dot taps new CEO, ousts former top leader

Green Dot has named a new CEO as the fintech concurrently terminated its previous leader.

The prepaid card and digital banking company promoted its chief financial and operating officer, George Gresham, to chief executive and president on Friday. Gresham has been CFO and COO since October 2021. 

"The board is confident that George is the right person to lead Green Dot through its next phase of growth, and we are grateful to have a proven leader of George's caliber and experience to step into the role of chief executive," William I. Jacobs, chairman of the board, said in a prepared statement. "As Green Dot's chief financial and operating officer and a member of the board, George has deep experience with Green Dot and its strategy and an appreciation for the strengths of its dedicated team members."

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dan Henry, who had been chief executive since March 2020, will be entitled to the payments and benefits payable upon termination without cause outlined in the terms of his employment agreement. No further details about his termination were provided. Henry also resigned from Green Dot's board of directors.

Green Dot said in an email to American Banker that it has been navigating a highly complex transformation with aggressive goals and timelines, but is "in a solid financial position, with a sound growth strategy." The company's board decided the CEO needed a deeper level of operational expertise, and picked Gresham to execute Green Dot's long-term growth plan. 

Green Dot, which specializes in prepaid cards for underserved consumers and banking-as-a-service products, operates in an increasingly competitive market. The fintech said in its Monday release that it expects preliminary financial results for the third quarter to be near the high end of guidance ranges from its second-quarter release. Last quarter, Green Dot reported a 2% drop in revenue from the previous year, bringing in $362.8 million. The Austin, Texas, company projected full-year revenue to land between $1.39 billion and $1.43 billion, up 2% year over year. 

Gresham will continue to serve as chief financial and operating officer until a successor is appointed.

Gresham is a 20-year payments and fintech industry veteran, previously serving as CFO at NetSpend Holdings from 2010 to 2013, CFO at Global Cash Access before that and CFO at EFD (eFunds Corp., which ultimately was sold to FIS). He previously served on the board of Green Dot from 2016 to 2019.

"I look forward to continuing to work closely with the Green Dot board and management team to advance our objectives — enhancing shareholder value and building Green Dot into one of the leading fintech companies with a digital bank," Gresham said in a prepared statement.

In June, Green Dot paid $13 million to Republic Bank & Trust to settle a lawsuit after the fintech pulled out of a $165 million proposed acquisition. Green Dot agreed last year to acquire Republic's tax-refund business, but claimed it had "been unable to obtain" approval or nonobjection from the Federal Reserve.

Green Dot offers debit, checking, credit, prepaid and payroll cards, along with money processing services, tax refunds and cash deposits and operates its digital bank GO2bank, which launched early last year.