Fiserv President Dhivya Suryadevara Resigns After Less Than a Month

Dhivya Suryadevara resigned as president of Fiserv less than a month after assuming the role, according to an 8-K filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 7. The filing states Suryadevara resigned for "good reason" as defined by her employment agreement and Fiserv's executive severance policy, which could qualify her for severance benefits. Her resignation as president became effective on Tuesday, but she will continue as a non-executive officer employee until July 31 to aid in the transition, receiving her base salary and benefits during this period.

Suryadevara was appointed president on June 15, with Takis Georgakopoulos named CEO, following the departure of former CEO Mike Lyons, who moved to lead Truist Financial Corp. Also on July 7, Andrew Gelb, executive vice president and chief operating officer for financial solutions, and Srini Krish, head of technology and operations for financial solutions, were appointed as interim leaders for Fiserv’s Financial Solutions business.

This resignation occurs amid reports from The Wall Street Journal indicating that several major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and PNC Financial Services, have engaged in preliminary discussions regarding the potential acquisition of one of Fiserv’s debit payment networks. Owning such a network could allow these banks to bypass federal interchange fee caps imposed by the Durbin amendment, potentially increasing their revenue from debit transactions. However, regulatory scrutiny has deterred similar deals in the past.

Fiserv confirmed Suryadevara's departure in a statement to HousingWire but declined to comment on the discussions about a potential acquisition. The company thanked Suryadevara for her contributions.