Square Taps Blizzard Veteran Amrita Ahuja as New Chief Financial Officer
Square names former Blizzard Entertainment executive Amrita Ahuja as its new CFO, replacing Sarah Friar who departed for Nextdoor. The hire comes as the mobile payments company looks to maintain financial discipline amid growth.
Square officially names Amrita Ahuja as its new chief financial officer, bringing her over from Blizzard Entertainment to lead the finance team. Ahuja steps into the role roughly three months after former CFO Sarah Friar leaves the mobile payments company to become the CEO of Nextdoor. Founder and CEO Jack Dorsey expresses high confidence in Ahuja, praising her as a multidimensional business leader.
Before joining Square, Ahuja spends eight years at Blizzard Entertainment and also builds an impressive resume with previous roles at Fox Networks Group, the Walt Disney Company, and Morgan Stanley. Dorsey highlights her unique ability to balance opportunities across the entire business, noting that she helps strengthen the company's financial discipline as Square continues to invest, build, and scale its various services.
Despite the positive news regarding the executive hire, Wall Street shows immediate skepticism about the leadership transition. Shares of Square drop more than 8 percent on Thursday as investors process the change at the top of the financial department. Ahuja faces the significant challenge of proving her fit for the fintech space after spending the better part of a decade in the gaming industry.