PayPal hires Amex veteran Lawrence Chan in regional VP, GM roles

Based in Singapore, Chan replaces Brad Paterson, previous regional head of New Ventures, and Elias Ghanem, former GM for Southeast Asia and India. Ghanem is now the general manager of PayPal Middle East and North Africa.

In his new role reporting to Asia VP Rohan Mahadevan, he will lead the regional business strategy, sales, partnerships and merchant adoption of PayPal’s payment innovations. He will also be responsible for developing PayPal into an online and mobile payments leader, as well as expanding the company’s geographic reach in the domestic and cross-border trade markets of Southeast Asia and India.

Chan has over 17 years of financial services industry experience. Most recently, he was the senior vice-president and general manager of Global Payment Option (Asia, Europe & Africa) at American Express International, where he spent the last 10 years in various regional and international leadership roles. He has also worked for global MNCs including American International Assurance, Bank of America and Visa International.

Chan has extensive experience in developing new business models and payment products, forming strategic partnerships with banks and payment networks, and engaging with regulators and merchants in the largest commerce markets in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, China, India and Japan.

“I’m excited to join PayPal at a time when new innovative online and mobile payment technologies are revolutionising the way people shop and pay,” said Chan. “My passion has always been to develop new market opportunities and game-changing products to allow Asian consumers and merchants to connect in safer, more convenient ways.”