Fiserv Finds a Successor As CEO Bisignano Prepares to Leave

Fiserv Inc. early Thursday announced Michael P. Lyons will take over as chief executive at Fiserv Inc., replacing Frank Bisginano. Lyons, who is also taking on the office of president at the Milwaukee-based company, arrives from PNC Financial Services Group, a Fiserv client, where he was president and a key player in the bank’s mergers-and-acquisitions strategy.

Bisignano in December accepted a nomination by the incoming Trump Administration to take on the role of Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. He assured equity analysts at the time that he had formed a succession plan and intended to run Fiserv at least until February. The company’s announcement Thursday refers to Lyons as “CEO-elect,” and says Bisignano is prepared to continue as CEO and chairman until June 30, though he may leave earlier if confirmed sooner by the U.S. Senate.

Speaking for Fiserv’s board, lead independent director Doyle R. Simons in a statement called Lyons “the right choice to guide Fiserv into the next chapter of unrivaled innovation and service to financial institutions, businesses, and communities around the world and continue to drive shareholder value.” Simons will become non-executive chairman of the board when Lyons assumes the office of CEO, according to Fiserv’s announcement.

Observers note that Bisignano’s performance at the helm of Fiserv sets a high bar for his successor. “You can’t quibble with Fiserv’s stock performance,” says Eric Grover, principal at the consulting service Intrepid Ventures. “It’s performed better than most of its peers. In his four and half years and change at the helm, it’s up a whopping 110%.” Bisignano took over as CEO in July 2020, a year after Fiserv’s $22-billion, all-stock acquisition of First Data Corp., where Bisignano had been serving in the same role.

As president, Lyons ran all of PNC’s lines of business, according to Fiserv’s announcement, and also played a role in major deals such as the bank’s acquisition in 2021 of BBVA USA. He also serves as chairman of Early Warning Services LLC, the owner and operator of the Zelle peer-to-peer payments system and the Paze e-commerce payments platform. PNC is one of seven major banks that own Early Warning.

Lyons joined PNC in October of 2011 and became president in February last year, according to his LinkedIn profile. In a statement, Bisignano praised Lyons as “an exceptional leader” and as someone he is well-acquainted with as a key executive at a client institution.

Now Lyons has big shoes to fill at Fiserv, observers note, given the company’s growth since Bisignano’s arrival nearly six years ago. For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2024, Fiserv logged $20.12 billion in revenue, up 24% from the intake in 2021. Much of this growth has been driven by acquisitions. Lyons’s “paramount challenges,” says Grover, will include “boosting organic growth, which has to include a broader and deeper presence overseas, and realizing synergies across Fiserv’s portfolio of related processing and network businesses.”