Dive Brief:

• Former Fiserv Chief Executive Frank Bisignano, who left the payments processor earlier this year after President Donald Trump tapped him to lead the Social Security Administration, has been appointed as CEO of the Internal Revenue Service as well.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is acting commissioner for the IRS, announced Bisignano’s appointment in a department press release Monday, saying that Bisignano was a “natural choice” for the role. In his new position at the tax agency, Bisignano will report to Bessent.
• Another former payments CEO also landed a new job Monday, with telecom giant Verizon Communications naming Dan Schulman, the former head of digital payments company PayPal Holdings, as its chief executive, effective immediately, according to a press release.

Dive Insight:

In naming Bisignano to the IRS position, the Trump administration is handing the former Fiserv leader more responsibility, tasking him with oversight of two of the federal government’s most important agencies.

Both the Social Security Administration and IRS have been in the spotlight because of broad public impacts Trump policy changes are ushering in.

Bessent pointed to Bisignano’s ability to drive “growth and efficiency” as reasons for his appointment to the new role. “The IRS and SSA – two of the most public-facing and broadly impactful federal agencies – also share many of the same technological and customer service goals,” the Treasury press release said. “This makes Mr. Bisignano a natural choice for this role.”

Bisignano led Milwaukee-based Fiserv for about five years before winning Senate confirmation to his leadership of the Social Security Administration in May. 

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 the largest U.S. bank, JPMorgan Chase, where was promoted to co-chief operating officer in 2012.

Bisignano’s father worked for the Treasury Department for 46 years, giving him an appreciation for public service, according to a biography offered by Congress.

Schulman, another prominent former payments, will take on leadership at Verizon as that company’s exiting CEO, Hans Vestberg, transitions to an advisory role for a year. Schulman has been the lead independent director on Verizon’s board since December after joining the board in 2018.

Chief among Schulman’s tasks will be overseeing the integration of Verizon’s $20 billion acquisition of fiber optic internet service provider Frontier Communications. The Federal Communications Commission approved that deal in May.

“Dan is a seasoned and decisive leader with a unique set of experiences, and a proven record of transformative leadership and operational excellence,” Verizon Chair Mark Bertolini said in the release. “He is the right leader to chart Verizon's next phase of increased customer focus and financial growth.”

Schulman exited PayPal in 2023 after the San Jose, California-based company struggled to kick-start expansion following a surge in growth during the COVID-19 pandemic when consumers and businesses shifted to digital payments. In 2022, Schulman also blamed macro-economic conditions for the slowdown.