Editor’s note: This story is developing and will be updated.
Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano has been tapped by President-Elect Donald Trump to run the Social Security Administration, the company said in a news release Thursday.
Bisignano will remain in his Fiserv post until his appointment is confirmed by the Senate, if it’s confirmed, for the commissioner role at the federal agency.
Fiserv's board of directors will pursue a CEO replacement in keeping with its long-term succession plan, the Milwaukee-based company said. “Succession planning has always been a priority for the Board, and we will follow our well established succession planning process to select a new CEO to continue to build on this momentum,” Fiserv Director Doyle R. Simons said in the release.
The Fiserv CEO has a track record of transforming large corporations, Trump said in a post on Truth Social when he announced the nomination of Bisignano on Wednesday.
Bisignano became CEO of Fiserv in 2020. Prior to that he was CEO of First Data, a position he took in 2013 and held when that company was acquired by Fiserv in 2019. He previously worked for JPMorgan Chase, where was promoted to co-chief operating officer in 2012.
Bisignano declined to answer questions about a possible successor during a conference call with investors Thursday morning, but he said the company has always had a succession plan.
“Sorry for not having the answer,” Bisignano told an investor who asked if Fiserv would consider internal or external candidates. “I don't have details.”
The CEO said he would retain his ownership stake in the company. “I own stock, and I’m not thinking about divesting that stock,” Bisignano said during the conference call.
Analysts singled out Fiserv Executive Vice President Takis Georgakopoulos as a possible CEO replacement, noting that he was hired as a senior adviser at the company in June 2024, not long after Trump won the Republican nomination.
“Georgakopoulos previously served as global head of payments at J.P. Morgan, which grew revenues at a 16% compound annual clip from 2019-2023, reaching $18.3 billion,” William Blair analysts wrote in a note to investors Thursday.
The appointment surprised TD Cowen analyst Bryan Bergin who wrote a note to investors Wednesday evening. Still, he wasn’t concerned about a potential departure of the CEO. Fiserv “has demonstrated a deep bench of talent and the underlying momentum is solid,” he wrote.
Bisignano is a long-time Republican and Trump donor. He gave $125,000 to Trump's re-election campaign in May 2019, according to Federal Election Commission records, though he doesn’t appear to have contributed to the campaign this year. However, Bisignano donated to two other Republican candidates this year, including Pete Ricketts who won a Senate race in Nebraska and Miriam Flisser who lost a House race in New York.
Nonetheless, Bisignano had also given money to Democrats, including to Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona in 2019 when he ran for that post. This year, Kelly was considered a running mate by Trump rival Kamala Harris.
