President-Elect Donald Trump has tapped Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano to run the Social Security Administration, the company said in a news release Thursday. Bisignano will remain in his Fiserv post until the Senate confirms his appointment, if it’s confirmed, for the commissioner role at the federal agency.
Bisignano is the latest of Trump’s cabinet appointments and fits squarely into the model of players that the President-Elect is surrounding himself with for his second term in office. In the final months leading up to election day, billionaire Elon Musk became an inextricable and inexplicably vital part of the Trump campaign’s efforts, literally paying people to vote for Trump.
Since Trump’s win in early November, Musk has continued to be a looming presence on Trump’s shoulder. Musk referred to himself as the “first buddy,” and Trump said of Musk, “I can’t get him to go home.” Musk has even played a role in choosing Trump’s cabinet, which up until now has been comprised almost exclusively of TV personalities, Fox News Hosts, and men accused of sex crimes.
To this end, Bisignano’s appointment is very much in keeping with Trump’s demonstrable motivations thus far in fleshing out his cabinet picks: anyone who gave money to the Trump campaign has a decent chance at having a seat at the table. This was very much true for Musk, who essentially bought his position on Trump’s side, and it is also true for Bisignano.
Bisignano’s History of Work
Bisignano is a long-time Republican and Trump donor. According to Federal Election Commission records, he gave $125,000 to Trump’s re-election campaign in May 2019, though he doesn’t appear to have contributed this year.
However, Bisignano donated to two Republican candidates this year, including Pete Ricketts, who won a Senate race in Nebraska, and Miriam Flisser, who lost a House race in New York.
The Milwaukee-based company said that Fiserv’s board of directors will pursue a CEO replacement in keeping with its long-term succession plan. “Succession planning has always been a priority for the Board, and we will follow our well-established succession planning process to select a new CEO to continue to build on this momentum,” Fiserv Director Doyle R. Simons said in the release.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that when he announced the nomination of Bisignano on Wednesday, the Fiserv CEO had a track record of transforming large corporations. Bisignano became CEO of Fiserv in 2020.
Before 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 JPMorgan Chase, where he was promoted to co-chief operating officer in 2012.
During a Thursday morning conference call with investors, Bisignano declined to answer questions about a possible successor, but he said the company has always had a succession plan.
A Surprise Appointment Made via Social Media
“Sorry for not having the answer,” Bisignano told an investor who asked if Fiserv would consider internal or external candidates. “I don’t have details.”
The CEO said he would retain his ownership stake in the company. “I own stock, and I’m not thinking about divesting that stock,” Bisignano said during the conference call.
Analysts singled out Fiserv Executive Vice President Takis Georgakopoulos as a possible CEO replacement, noting that he was hired as a senior adviser in June 2024, not long after Trump won the Republican nomination.
“Georgakopoulos previously served as global head of payments at J.P. Morgan, which grew revenues at a 16% compound annual clip from 2019-2023, reaching $18.3 billion,” William Blair analysts wrote in a note to investors Thursday.
The appointment surprised TD Cowen analyst Bryan Bergin, who wrote a note to investors Wednesday evening. Still, he wasn’t concerned about the CEO’s potential departure. Fiserv “has demonstrated a deep bench of talent, and the underlying momentum is solid,” he wrote.
