PayPal Names Former Walmart Executive Srini Venkatesan as CTO

PayPal has appointed Srini Venkatesan, the former head of Walmart’s U.S. Omni Platforms and Tech organization, as chief technology officer (CTO), effective Monday (June 24).

Venkatesan will succeed PayPal’s current CTO, Archie Deskus, who has decided to leave PayPal, the company said in a Thursday (June 20) press release.

“After my extraordinary time at PayPal, I have made the decision to start a new chapter,” Deskus said in a Thursday post on LinkedIn.

In his new position, Venkatesan will lead the development and implementation of technology across the PayPal ecosystem, according to the PayPal press release.

“Srini is a seasoned technologist and leader with a successful track record of building and scaling technology organizations, from early-stage startups to the world’s largest retailer,” PayPal President and CEO Alex Chriss said in the release. “As we execute our mission to revolutionize commerce globally, Srini’s experience leading technology, digital transformation and AI [artificial intelligence] personalization from inside some of our largest customers and partners will be invaluable.”

At Walmart, Venkatesan led a team that built platforms, features and capabilities to support the retailer’s global operations, according to the release.

Before joining Walmart, he oversaw display and video ad technology at Yahoo, led product and technology teams at eBay, and served as CTO at StubHub and Marketo, the release said.

As CTO at PayPal, Venkatesan will lead the development and implementation of analytics and data science, AI and machine learning (ML), information security, infrastructure operations and product engineering, per the release.

“I’ve spent my career innovating to create new and improved ways for customers to discover, shop and buy the goods they want and need,” Venkatesan said in the release. “I’m incredibly excited about joining PayPal and bringing together my experiences across tech and retail to personalize customers’ shopping experiences.”

Venkatesan is one of several executives who have joined PayPal in recent months. Others include Chief Enterprise Services Officer Aaron J. Webster, Chief Corporate Affairs and Communications Officer Amy Bonitatibus, Chief Marketing Officer Geoff Seeley, Global Markets President Suzan Kereere, and a slew of other executives appointed when PayPal divided its business into three new units.