Sebastian Siemiatkowski Has Led Klarna Since 2005
Sebastian Siemiatkowski co-founded Klarna in Stockholm in 2005 and is its chief executive. The company began as a way to pay for online purchases after delivery and now calls itself a digital bank and flexible payments provider. Klarna’s shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker KLAR.
| Role | Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer |
|---|---|
| Company | Klarna Group plc |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Industry | Finance and Banking |
| In role since | 2005 |
| Education | Stockholm School of Economics (2007) |
| Company website | www.klarna.com |
A Sales Job, Business School and a Payments Startup
- Head of sales at Djuice before Klarna
- 2005: co-founded Klarna
- 2007: graduate degree from the Stockholm School of Economics
- 2010: founded Double Sunday AB
- 2013: founded Flat Capital AB, where he is now chairman
In August 2026 Klarna said its CFO and CMO would step down, staying through the first quarter of 2027. Niclas Neglén had been CFO for six years and David Sandström had led marketing for nine, and Klarna began looking for a New York-based CFO. Siemiatkowski remains CEO.
Klarna’s Revenue and Users in Early 2026
Klarna describes itself as a digital bank and flexible payments provider, used online, in stores and through Apple Pay and Google Pay. In the first quarter of 2026 it reported revenue of $1.0 billion, up 44% from a year earlier.
It had 119 million active consumers, up 21%, and more than 1 million merchants, up 49%. Gross merchandise volume reached $33.7 billion, and Klarna processes about 3.4 million transactions a day. Adjusted operating profit for the quarter was $68 million. Merchants using Klarna include Uber, H&M, Sephora, IKEA, Nike and Airbnb.
