MoneyGram has announced Anthony Soohoo will replace Alex Holmes as the company’s CEO with immediate effect.
In his role, Soohoo will be responsible for executing the company’s digital innovation strategy, while bolstering MoneyGram’s global partner network. The US-based company stated that Holmes will remain an advisor to its Board of Directors to ‘ensure a smooth transition’.
Brendan Barrett, MoneyGram Board Director and Managing Director at Madison Dearborn Partners, commented: “MoneyGram is an iconic leader in cross-border, digital payments with a strong global network and foundation for growth.
“With the rate of digitisation accelerating faster than ever, MoneyGram is at a pivotal moment in its journey to make secure and reliable financial services accessible for more customers across the globe, and Anthony is the right leader with the unique expertise needed to oversee the Company’s next chapter of growth.
“We are grateful for Alex’s many contributions to MoneyGram and we look forward to supporting Anthony as he assumes leadership of the Company.”
Before joining MoneyGram, Soohoo held the role of Executive Vice President of Walmart’s Home Division, where he led a digital transformation that enhanced all of the business segment’s sales channels.
With over 30 years of experience, MoneyGram’s new CEO also held various executive roles at CBS, Yahoo and Apple.
Commenting on his new position, Soohoo said: “Through a unique and diversified global payments network encompassing digitally enabled solutions and retail locations, MoneyGram plays a critical role in providing essential support and strengthening connections for so many customers around the world, and I am honoured to lead the Company through its next chapter of growth while championing its longstanding mission.
“This is a great company with an incredible global team, and I look forward to connecting with our leaders across the organisation, as well as our partners around the world, to identify MoneyGram’s greatest opportunities.
“By keeping the customer at the centre of everything we do, I am confident that we can enhance our market position and shape a brighter future for MoneyGram, our customers, and our partners.”
This senior leadership change follows a challenging period for the company. In September, MoneyGram took its systems offline for several days due to a cyberhack. This security issue was a deciding factor in the UK Post Office’s decision to not renew its partnership.
An investigation later found that hackers stole names, contact information, dates of birth, national identification numbers, copies of government-issued identification documents, and other identification documents.
Not commenting on this hack in its latest announcement, Holmes added: “It has been my privilege to lead MoneyGram over the past eight years, and I am proud of our remarkable transformation as we digitised the business and reinvigorated the brand to better serve our customers around the world.
“I am confident in the future of MoneyGram and look forward to seeing all that this team will accomplish.”
