Klarna’s New CFO: Chris Koegel to Replace Niclas Neglen

Current VP and Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations at Robinhood, Chris is moving over to a different branch of financial services as he takes the top finance position at Klarna. 

The Swedish neobank best known for starting out with buy-now-pay-later services says that the new finance chief will start in January 2027, as Niclas is scheduled to hand over all duties at the end of 2026. 

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and Co-Founder of Klarna, says: “Chris’s experience as a Finance leader at a US-listed consumer fintech business with a strong track record of growth and shareholder value creation will be invaluable as we enter the next phase in Klarna’s growth story.”

A new era of leadership for Klarna 

Chris brings experience in scaling and growth to Klarna from his days at Robinhood. 

After joining the crypto firm in 2022, Chris helped grow the company’s valuation from under US$10bn to over US$100bn in four short years. 

Prior to Robinhood, he was Head of Investor Relations for LPL Financial LLP, which he took on shortly after a 13-year stint at Bain & Co. 

Chris holds an MBA and a BA in Mathematics. 

Incoming Klarna CFO Chris Koegel says: “Klarna has built a large-scale global network that customers love. 

“I’m excited to join Sebastian and the Klarna team as we work to deliver innovative products and value for customers, a productive and rewarding experience for employees, and long-term profitable growth for shareholders.” 

Departing executives

Earlier in the year, Niclas Neglen announced his intention to step down as the company sought a replacement. 

At the time, Niclas said: “It's been an extraordinary six years and I'm deeply proud of what we have built together. I am very pleased we've been able to plan the transition in a way that gives Klarna plenty of continuity.”

Additionally, Klarna announced that its CMO was also stepping down after nine years. 

David Sandström has been instrumental to the company’s growth for almost a decade, but Klarna is yet to announce a successor. 

At the time of the announced departures of Niclas and David, CEO Sebastian announced his gratitude to the pair, saying: “David has given Klarna a voice; he took a Nordic payments company and has built one of the most recognised brands in global finance.

“Both will leave Klarna a stronger company than the one they joined.”

Klarna key partners:

Visa: Issued through WebBank, the Klarna Card operates via Visa Flexible Credential to offer immediate or deferred payment flexibility on a single card, reaching 6.5 million active users by Q2 2026.

Google: Building upon previous integrations with Google Pay, Chrome autofill, Google Play and Google Cloud, Klarna adopted Google's Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) following its unveiling in October 2025.

Stripe: Expanding their partnership in March 2026, Klarna and Stripe introduced flexible payment options for transactions driven by AI agents at US merchants via Stripe's Shared Payment Tokens, eliminating additional integration steps.

J.P. Morgan Payments: Launched on J.P. Morgan Payments' Commerce Platform in August 2026, Klarna enabled merchants across the largest US acquirer, which handles US$2.6tn annually, to offer its checkout options seamlessly without requiring distinct integration.

Marqeta: Having supported Klarna's virtual cards in the US since 2018, Marqeta expanded its role in June 2025 to process the US Klarna Card utilising Visa Flexible Credential.