Jason Gardner

Jan 27, 2023

21 minutes ago Marqeta has tapped technology executive, Simon Khalaf, as its new CEO, effective January 31st. Khalaf joined the card-issuing giant in June 2022 as CPO, and with over 30 years of experience in scaling up large companies such as Flurry, Twilio, Verizon, Yahoo, and Novell, Khalaf succeeds founder and chairman Jason Gardner. Gardner will be taking on the role of executive chairman moving forward. Along with the incoming CEO, Marqeta newcomer Todd Pollak has been named chief revenue officer. Pollak joined the company this month and has previous experience working at Google and Ancestry. Khalaf stated on the appointment: “I’m humbled by the opportunity to build upon Jason’s vision for modern card issuing and continue to redefine what cards can do for leading innovators globally. Together with Jason as executive chairman and a skilled and accomplished executive team, I believe we have the recipe in place to unlock the next level of growth and scale for Marqeta. There is tremendous opportunity in front of us to enable the brands we serve with our innovative, flexible platform and grow the ubiquity of digital payments globally.” Gardner commented: “After an extensive search, the board and I strongly believe Simon is the clear choice to lead Marqeta through its next era. Simon’s diverse experience leading companies over a long career, the strong customer orientation and product vision he has shown in his time at Marqeta thus far, and his ability to build great teams, make him the right person to lead Marqeta into the next chapter. I look forward to supporting Simon and the rest of our executive team in delivering the next generation of Marqeta.” Pollak added: “Marqeta has an A-list customer base, a product with proven scale and clear product-market fit. I am excited to lead the team in capturing new opportunities in embedded finance and enabling our customers to offer solutions that upend how consumers and businesses can access their money and make payments.” Marqeta recently launched a web offering that allows merchants to accept mobile wallet payments without needing to download an app.