Jared Isaacman, who heads the Allentown, Pennsylvania-based payments and technology company Shift4, has been tapped as President-Elect Donald Trump's pick to run NASA.
In a letter to employees Wednesday with the subject line “Jared Isaacman’s Acceptance of Nomination for NASA Administrator,” Isaacman said he will remain Shift4’s CEO until he is confirmed as the administrator of NASA. He noted that he would remain at least through the company’s investor day in February (no specific date was specified).
“After nearly 26 years leading Shift4, the time has come for me to embark on a new journey,” the letter reads. The new role “reflects my passion for advancing humankind’s reach among the stars, unlocking the secrets of the universe, and improving life on Earth along the way.”
The Shift4 CEO has experience in the final frontier. He funded and commanded two missions for the private space flight company SpaceX, which is owned by billionaire Trump supporter and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Isaacman was also the first civilian astronaut to perform a space walk.
Isaacman dropped out of high school after he founded Shift4 in 1999. Today, the company processes over $260 billion in annual transactions for some 200,000 customers in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. Some of the firm's major clients include sports venues and professional sports teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Shift4 is “highly dependent” on Isaacman’s expertise, the company said in a regulatory filing in February. However, analysts said they are not concerned about the transition to a new CEO.
“We contend that the company has a deep bench,” William Blair analysts Andrew Jeffrey, Joel Riechers and Adib Choudhury wrote in a note to investors Wednesday.
In his letter to employees, Isaacman pointed to president, Taylor Lauber, and “the team” continuing to lead the company. William Blair analysts suggested Lauber will head the company, saying that transition should be “relatively seamless.” However, a Shift4 spokesperson didn’t confirm that Lauber has been designated as the CEO successor.
“Taylor Lauber has been at the heart of our evolution, leading our IPO and Strategy, and navigating the opportunities and challenges of being a public company,” Isaacman wrote to employees. “I am confident that Taylor and the team will continue to execute our ambitious growth plans with precision and passion.”
Lauber has held the president role for nearly seven years, starting in 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In selecting Isaacman to run NASA, the incoming president’s choice echoed some of his other picks that have included corporate chieftains who are billionaires.
For example, Musk — who falls into both camps — will lead the fledgling Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), although the incoming administration has provided few details on how the department will work and what authority it will have.
If confirmed by the Senate, Isaacman would take the reins of a sizable government agency with 18,000 employees.
