Daniel H. Schulman (born January 19, 1958) is an American business executive. He is president and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
, formerly serving as group president of enterprise growth at
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
. Schulman was responsible for
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
' global strategy to expand alternative mobile and online payment services, form new partnerships, and build revenue streams beyond the traditional card and travel businesses. Earlier, he served as president of
Sprint's prepaid group and the founding CEO of
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a wireless communications brand used by seven independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Mobile branded wireless communications services are available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Ara ...
.
Early life
Schulman was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.[Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...]
parents, and grew up in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
with two siblings, a brother Joel Schulman, and a sister, the late Amy Adina Schulman, who died in 1986. He was captain of the tennis and lacrosse teams at
Princeton High School, and went on to receive a bachelor's degree in economics from
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
, and an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from
New York University Stern School of Business
The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business (commonly referred to as NYU Stern, The Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. I ...
.
His mother, S. Ruth Schulman, was associate dean of
Rutgers' Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) from 1974 to 1999. His father, Mel Schulman, was a chemical engineer.
Schulman once told ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "I was born with social activism in my DNA. My grandfather was a union organizer in the garment district in New York City. My mother took me to a civil rights demonstration in Washington in my stroller."
Business background
Schulman began his business career at
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
, working more than 18 years there and becoming the youngest member of the company's senior executive team.
Schulman started at an entry-level account management position; when he left AT&T, he was president of the $22 billion consumer long-distance business, managing 40,000 employees.
He then became president and COO, and then CEO of
Priceline.com
Priceline.com is an online travel agency for finding discount rates for travel-related purchases such as airline tickets and hotel stays. The company facilitates the provision of travel services from its suppliers to its clients. Priceline.com ...
. During his two years there, Priceline's annual revenues grew from a reported $20 million to about $1 billion.
In 2001, Richard Branson invited Schulman to become the founding CEO of
Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. Schulman led the company from its national launch in 2002 to it becoming a public company in 2007, and ultimately its sale to
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The co ...
in 2009.
His tenure at the company was noted by the company's growth as the "no hidden fees" carrier.
By the time Schulman left
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a wireless communications brand used by seven independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Mobile branded wireless communications services are available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Ara ...
, it had become one of the nation's top wireless carriers, with more than 5 million customers and $1.3 billion in annual sales. Following the sale of Virgin Mobile to Sprint Nextel, Schulman served as President of Sprint's Prepaid group until he moved to American Express.
On September 30, 2014, it was announced that Schulman would become CEO of
PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
, which would continue as a separate legal entity, split from
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
in 2015. His tenure was also marked by the $2.2 billion acquisition of European payment provider iZettle, PayPal's second largest purchase to date. He has stated that his goals at PayPal include giving financial tools to the 70 million Americans underserved by the U.S. financial system.
During the
2018–19 United States federal government shutdown, Schulman initiated the idea for PayPal to offer $500 in interest-free cash advances to furloughed U.S. government workers, committing to provide up to $25 million in interest-free loans. In April 2019, Schulman announced PayPal's plans to invest $500 million in
Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...
to connect the two marketplaces. In November 2020, Schulman oversaw the launch of
cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...
purchasing and selling on PayPal.
In 2019, Schulman unveiled
PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
's Employee Financial Wellness initiative to help struggling workers by lowering healthcare costs, and creating avenues for employees to receive equity in the company to promote long-term saving. In 2020 he announced PayPal's $535 million commitment to support Black-owned businesses and minority communities in the U.S. in an effort to help close the racial wealth gap.
Schulman prohibited
hate group
A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race (human classification), race, Ethnic group, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any o ...
s from using PayPal's platform from accepting payments or donations for activities that promote "hate, violence or racial intolerance".
PayPal had its strongest financial results ever in the first quarter of 2021. Schulman has announced plans to build on PayPal's successful quarter with a PayPal "digital wallet".
Board service
Schulman previously served as Non-Executive Chairman of
NortonLifeLock
Gen Digital Inc. (formerly Symantec Corporation and NortonLifeLock) is a multinational software company co-headquartered in Tempe, Arizona and Prague, Czech Republic. The company provides cybersecurity software and services. Gen is a Fortune 50 ...
(formerly Symantec Corporation). In September 2018, he was elected as a member of the Verizon Board of Directors. Schulman also served on the advisory committee of
Greycroft Partners
Greycroft is an American venture capital firm. It manages over $2 billion in capital with investments in companies such as Bird, Bumble, HuffPost, Goop, Scopely, The RealReal, and Venmo. Greycroft was founded in 2006 by Alan Patricof, Dana Set ...
, a private equity company focused on early-stage new media and technology companies.
Schulman was on the Board of Governors of
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
from April 2008 to June 2013.
He also serves on the board at
Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, an ...
, an advocacy group dedicated to advancing research into causes and treatments for individuals on the autism spectrum. Schulman serves as a Board of Directors member on the
Business Roundtable
The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, BRT ...
and
The Economic Club of New York
The Economic Club of New York is a U.S. nonprofit and non-partisan membership organization dedicated to promoting the study and discussion of social, economic and political questions.
History
Founded in 1907, the Economic Club of New York is t ...
, and is an International Advisory Council member of the
Singapore Economic Development Board. He is a life member of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
.
Politics
Schulman denounced the North Carolina
Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act
The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, commonly known as House Bill 2 or HB2, was a North Carolina statute passed in March 2016 and signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory. The bill amended state law to preempt any anti-discrimination o ...
that mandated people in
public facilities use bathrooms in accordance to their
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
at birth.
He stated that "The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal's mission and culture."
Schulman also cosigned an opposition letter with about 120 executives from major corporations.
In protest at the new law in North Carolina, Schulman announced that the company was canceling its expansion to hire 400 people in the state.
Dan Schulman wrote in the PayPal statement, "While we will seek an alternative location for our operations center, we remain committed to working with the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
community in North Carolina to overturn this discriminatory legislation, alongside all those who are committed to equality."
In 2018, to support
Dreamers
Dreamers or The Dreamers may refer to:
Books
* "Dreamers", a 1918 war poem by Siegfried Sassoon
* "The Dreamers" (play), a 1982 play by Jack Davis
* ''The Dreamers'' (novel series), a 2003–06 fantasy series by David Eddings and Leigh Eddings ...
– people who entered the U.S. as children and currently live, work, and contribute to the United States – Dan signed his name to a letter calling on U.S. Congress to take swift action on the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In 2020, he opposed President Trump's visa ban to limit foreign workers in the U.S.
Awards
Schulman was named by ''
Business Week
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
'' as one of the top 20 people to watch in media,
and was named the
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...
2009 Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2009 he was named one of the top 25 most powerful people in the global wireless industry. In 2017, the
Council for Economic Education
The Council for Economic Education (the new name, since 2009 January, of the National Council on Economic Education) is an organization in the United States that focuses on the economic and financial education of students from kindergarten throug ...
honored Schulman with its Visionary Award for promoting economic and financial literacy to create a better informed society.
Fortune included him in the top ten in its 2017 Businessperson of the Year list, its 2018 list, and its 2019 list. In 2017, Schulman was recognized by the Brennan Center for Justice with its Brennan Legacy Award, named after the Supreme Court justice, for his contributions to democratize financial services and build a more inclusive global economy. Schulman was named to Fortune's 2021 list of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders, which recognizes those who in unprecedented times "stepped up to make the world better, and inspired others to do the same." Schulman debuted in 2021, ranking #3 and the highest-ranked business leader.
In 2018, the Center for Financial Services Innovation awarded Schulman the first-ever Financial Health Network Visionary Award for his contributions to a "more accessible and inclusive" financial system.
In 2018, Rutgers University awarded him an honorary doctorate, and he delivered the University's 252nd anniversary commencement speech.
In 2019, Schulman was recognized by Endeavor Global with the High-Impact Leader of the Year Award for his work to support entrepreneurs around the globe. He was also named one of Glassdoor's Top 50 CEOs in 2019.
In 2020, the
Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (formerly the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, or RFK Center) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit human rights advocacy organization. It was named after United States Senator Robert F. Kenned ...
honored Schulman with the
Ripple of Hope Award, which recognizes those who have demonstrated a commitment to social change and a passion for equality, justice and basic human rights.
Under his leadership, PayPal was named to ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' inaugural 100 Most Influential Companies, an honor that recognizes companies making an extraordinary impact around the world.
Schulman was awarded the New York Urban League's 2021 Frederick Douglass Award for his commitment, dedication, and influence to advance the rights of generations of underserved Black Americans.
In December 2021, Schulman was presented the "Voices of Solidarity" award by Vital Voices for his work advocating on behalf of women and girls around the world.
He also delivered the 2022
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
commencement address, received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the same,
and was awarded the 2022 Excellence in Economic Empowerment Award by
100 Black Men of New York.
Personal life
When he was CEO of Virgin Mobile, Schulman led a partnership with
StandUp For Kids, a nonprofit that distributes survival kits and a hotline number to homeless youth. To get a truer sense of what homeless kids experience, Schulman once spent 24 hours on the streets of New York City, unshaven, wrapped in a blanket, and without money, a watch, or a cell phone.
Schulman has practiced
Krav Maga
Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli martial art. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situation ...
since his teens has stated that he adheres the same philosophy in business. He said in an interview, "there's a philosophy in martial arts which is, 'Never stand still.' Standing still is asking to be hit. You always have to be willing to take some risks going forward. You can't stand still".
He has been a resident of
Warren Township, New Jersey
Warren Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The township is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the much larger New York metropolitan area, located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United State ...
, US.
"Daniel H. Schulman, Virgin Mobile USA CEO, Inducted to Rutgers Board of Governors"
''Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
'', 6 July 2009, backed up by the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
as of 7 January 2010. Accessed 21 October 2015. "Schulman, who lives in Warren, N.J., remains a trustee through 2013."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schulman, Dan
20th-century American Jews
American chief executives
Living people
Middlebury College alumni
1958 births
New York University Stern School of Business alumni
Gen Digital people
People from Warren Township, New Jersey
PayPal people
People associated with cryptocurrency
People from Newark, New Jersey
People from Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni
21st-century American Jews