CFO on the Move: Chris Suh

Visa has announced their new CFO. Chris Suh from Electronic Arts will be taking on this role in the beginning of July, but will take full responsibility on August 1^st.

As reported by Wall Street Journal on June 20^th, 2023 by Mark Maurer.

Visa Picks Electronic Arts CFO Chris Suh as Finance Chief

Visa appointed an Electronic Arts executive to take the helm of its finances as the payments company works to expand its merchant services and better monetize its platform through cybersecurity, analytics and other offerings.

San Francisco-based Visa on Tuesday said Chris Suh will serve as chief financial officer-designate beginning July 10 before assuming full responsibility for the role on Aug. 1. Suh succeeds Vasant Prabhu, whom Visa in February said would step down after about eight years as CFO. Prabhu will leave the company Sept. 30, after assisting in the transition, Visa said.

Suh has served as CFO at Redwood City, Calif.-based videogame publisher Electronic Arts since March 2022. Before that, he worked for over 25 years at Microsoft, serving in several senior finance roles, including leading investor relations.

“His deep experience in finance and technology, plus his leadership in growing and scaling businesses, will be extraordinarily valuable to us as we continue to drive growth and better serve our clients around the world,” Visa Chief Executive Ryan McInerney said in a statement. Visa declined to comment beyond its announcement of the move.

Suh will receive a $900,000 base salary and a target bonus of 175% of his salary, along with a maximum bonus opportunity of 350% of his salary, based in part on his and the company’s performance at the end of the year ending Sept. 30, a filing showed.

Visa in recent months has experienced a rise in payments volumes and processed transactions. The company reported an 11% increase in revenue to $8 billion for the quarter ended March 31, compared with the prior-year period. Its net income climbed 16.7% to $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared with the prior-year period.

Suh will likely focus on helping to expand Visa’s offerings to card issuers, ranging from cybersecurity to network security to analytics, said Moshe Katri, managing director of equity research at financial-services firm Wedbush Securities. Suh will also need to navigate investments in providing merchants with different payment options amid a possible recession, he said.

“You have to find a balance between investing in innovation versus potentially reducing discretionary expenses,” Katri said. “That’s probably the biggest challenge or focus area that he’s probably going to have in this environment.”

Electronic Arts on Tuesday said its senior vice president of finance, Stuart Canfield, will become executive vice president and CFO, succeeding Suh. Canfield will receive an annual base salary of $625,000 and be eligible for an annual cash bonus with a target bonus opportunity equal to his base salary, a filing said.