Klarna’s longtime chief marketing officer (CMO), David Sandström, is poised to leave at the start of 2027 after nearly a decade in the role. The payments company confirmed Sandström's departure in a press release, describing his departure as a "planned transition." Niclas Neglén, who has been chief financial officer (CFO) at Klarna for six years, will also exit early next year. In a statement, Klarna said Sandström will continue to lead marketing through the transition to "prepare the brand and the team for the next phase of Klarna's development." When asked by ADWEEK, Klarna declined to comment on whether Sandström's CMO position will be directly replaced or when a successor could be appointed. Per MarketScreener, the company is already looking for a New York-based successor to Neglén. The leadership dovetails with Klarna's Q2 earnings update, following its $19 billion September 2025 debut on the New York Stock Exchange. In the three months to June, the fintech business grew revenue by 27% ‌to $1.04 ⁠billion. A bold legacy Under Sandström's watch, Klarna's brand has evolved from that of a functional finance platform to a consumer-facing lifestyle business, known for its pink-tinted, playful marketing. Major campaigns from the last nine years have included campaigns featuring talent like A$AP Rocky, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, and Paris Hilton, as well as a Maya Rudolph-fronted Super Bowl debut in 2021. More recently, Sandström has been at the forefront of Klarna's AI marketing transformation. Last September, he told ADWEEK the tech is now embedded across workflows and is helping drive $1 million in revenue per employee. In a statement about the leadership reshuffle, Klarna's co-founder and CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, said Sandström was leaving the business in better shape than he found it. "David has given Klarna a voice; he took a Nordic payments company and has built one of the most recognized brands in global finance," he said. Sandström's statement described his Klarna tenure as the "defining chapter of my working life." "Building this brand with an extraordinary team has been a privilege," he said.