Veteran technology executive Anthony Soohoo has been appointed chief executive officer at Dallas-based money transfer giant MoneyGram International, effective immediately.

Soohoo succeeds Alex Holmes, who’d served as MoneyGram chairman and CEO since 2016.

“With the rate of digitization 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,” Brendan Barrett, MoneyGram board director and managing director at private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners—which owns MoneyGram—said in a statement. “We are grateful for Alex’s many contributions to MoneyGram, and we look forward to supporting Anthony as he assumes leadership of the company.”

MoneyGram experienced a cyberattack causing a systemwide shutdown in September, but a company spokesperson said the CEO change was unrelated to the data breach.

Soohoo will be responsible for executing MoneyGram’s focused digital innovation strategy, while strengthening and expanding its global partner network, the company said. To ensure a smooth transition, Holmes will remain an adviser to the MoneyGram board of directors.

Successful digital transformations

Soohoo, who has years of experience working for global Fortune 50 companies, most recently was executive vice president of Walmart’s Home Division. There, he spearheaded a digital transformation enhancing all of the business segment’s sales channels and solidifying Walmart Home’s position as the nation’s largest retailer of home goods.

Previously, Soohoo held various executive roles at CBS, Yahoo, and Apple, and successfully founded and sold multiple technology businesses.

He has more than 30 years of combined experience at the intersection of technology, business, and artificial intelligence, the company said.

MoneyGram is a “great company with an incredible global team, and I look forward to connecting with our leaders across the organization, as well as our partners around the world, to identify MoneyGram’s greatest opportunities,” Soohoo said in a statement. “By keeping the customer at the center 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.”

In a statement, Holmes said, “It has been my privilege to lead MoneyGram over the past eight years, and I’m proud of our remarkable transformation as we digitized the business and reinvigorated the brand to better serve our customers around the world. I’m confident in the future of MoneyGram and look forward to seeing all that this team will accomplish.”

MoneyGram spans the globe with over 2,000 employees across 36 countries, representing more than 75 nationalities, it says. It serves more than 50 million people each year and processes more than $200 billion annually. 

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