Dive Brief:
- Adyen has hired outgoing Klarna CFO Niclas Neglén as its next chief financial officer, according to a Tuesday press release. The Dutch digital payments processor also named Neglén to its management board.
- The move ties up two loose strands at C-suites of major fintechs: It reveals the landing spot for Neglén, whom Klarna in August announced would be exiting in early 2027. It also gives Adyen a permanent successor to Ethan Tandowsky, the company’s previous CFO, who left Aug. 31.
- Hwa Tsao, who has been serving as Adyen’s interim CFO since Tandowsky’s departure, will continue in that role until Neglén arrives, the Dutch fintech said. Thereafter, Tsao will serve as Adyen’s senior vice president of group finance, according to Tuesday’s release.
Dive Insight:
Neglén will take over as Adyen’s CFO on Feb. 1, the fintech said.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Ramsey El Assal noted the “somewhat unorthodox nature of Mr. Neglén's long transition period” but said in a Tuesday note to clients “his appointment is not surprising, given extensive experience in finance and payments.”
In a statement Tuesday, Adyen CEO Pieter van der Does said Neglén’s experience “lines up exactly with where Adyen is in its growth journey.”
“Niclas understands a company like ours,” Van der Does said. “That’s what gives us confidence he’s the right fit for our business, our strategy, and our culture.”
Before joining Klarna in 2021, Neglén was CFO and chief operating officer for Europe, the Middle East and Asia at HSBC’s private bank. Neglén also held various senior financial positions at General Electric over 13 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“Adyen has built an exceptional business, and I believe there is tremendous opportunity still ahead,” Neglén said in a statement. “I’m excited to join the team and contribute to the next phase of its growth.”
Van der Does, meanwhile, credited Tsao’s “dedicated leadership,” adding that it “keeps our finance organization operating at full strength.”
Adyen also reaffirmed its financial guidance Tuesday, noting in its release that there were no changes to its “standing financial objectives.”
Adyen has been battling a host of digital processing competitors, including legacy companies like Fiserv, as well as fintechs like Stripe and Shift4 Payments, all of which are seeking to scale operations in the U.S.
At the same time, Adyen has been experiencing upheaval in its leadership ranks. Apart from Tandowsky’s exit, Adyen named Shepherd “Shep” Smith as the head of North America in June, after Davi Strazza left that role the prior year. And in July, Adyen appointed Gayathri Rajan as its new chief product officer.
The company is also pursuing acquisitions to boost growth. In June, Adyen said it would purchase San Francisco-based enterprise billing company Orb for $335 million in cash. In April, Adyen agreed to buy merchant services firm Talon.One, which manages loyalty programs and incentives, for €750 million (about $870 million).
Upon Klarna’s announcement last month of Neglén’s pending departure, the Swedish buy now, pay later behemoth said it had begun a search for a New York-based CFO. A spokesperson for Klarna didn’t have an update on that effort.
Neglén’s exit was announced on the same day Klarna gave a bleaker view of growth prospects for the year. Klarna revised gross merchandise volume for 2026 to between $149 billion and $151 billion, below its prior view of more than $155 billion, as part of its second-quarter earnings report.
El Assal, the Cantor analyst, described Klarna’s stock performance as “underwhelming” since the company’s initial public offering last year. The value of Klarna’s shares have declined nearly 70% in that time.
