Visa names next CEO

Visa is getting a new CEO. Ryan McInerney, who has been president at the card network since 2013, will become CEO on Feb. 1, 2023, taking over from Al Kelly, who has been in the position since 2016.

After the transition, Kelly, who has been chairman of the board since 2019, will assume a full-time position as executive chairman of the board, Visa said Thursday.

McInerney, 47, joined Visa nine years ago from JPMorgan Chase, where he was CEO of consumer banking for three years. Before that he was a principal at McKinsey & Co.

"I cannot think of a finer leader to continue to position Visa at the center of money movement in increasingly innovative ways," Kelly, 64, said in a press release. Noting that McInerney has been his close partner in running the business for the last six years, Kelly said McInerney has "boundless energy" for the job.

"We are extremely grateful for Al's leadership over the past six years. His deep expertise and eye for the future have positioned Visa as a leader in payments in an evolving and increasingly challenging external environment, John Lundgren, lead independent director on Visa's board, said in the release.

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The move is part of an established successful plan, according to Visa. That was not the case when Al Kelly was appointed CEO in 2016 following the unexpected exit of Visa CEO Charlie Scharf. At the time he resigned, Scharf, who had been on the job for four years after stints at Chase, cited difficulties balancing his job and his family on opposite coasts. Scharf subsequently became CEO of Bank of New York Mellon, before he was tapped for his present role as CEO of Wells Fargo in 2019.

"I am honored and humbled to become the newest CEO of Visa," McInerney said in the release.