Franz Paasche

Franz W. Paasche is the senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications at PayPal, where he leads the company’s global external and internal communications functions along with its global government relations and public policy activities which contribute to the company’s overall Business Affairs mandate. He also is responsible for leading PayPal’s Social Innovation efforts to drive positive social impact and make a difference for consumers, businesses and communities around the world. In this role, Paasche brings more than 25 years of experience extensive expertise in corporate, communications, government, legal and public affairs domains to PayPal’s expanding global network. Before joining PayPal, Paasche served as head of external relations for North America for McKinsey & Company, where he was responsible for external relations, public affairs, strategic communications and reputation risk, and oversaw issues management, thought leadership initiatives and knowledge relationships across McKinsey’s Americas region. In addition, he served on the firm’s Global Communications and Publishing Executive Committee and provided counsel to McKinsey’s senior leadership and practice leaders. Prior to McKinsey, Paasche was a senior partner at Communications Consulting Worldwide, Fleishman Hillard’s multi-disciplinary strategic communications firm. Head of the firm’s leadership communications practice, he provided counsel to a wide range of global and national companies and institutions on reputation management, strategic leadership communications, brand development, public affairs and crisis communications.

In addition, Paasche was a managing director of the New York strategic communications firm Clark & Weinstock; general counsel and executive vice president at the real-time financial information and technology company Market Data Corporation; and a litigator with the international law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. He was a former staff member for Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and served as a lecturer on Leadership in Communications at Columbia University’s School of Continuing Education. Paasche was included in the Holmes Report’s Influence 100 list of the industry’s most influential corporate communications executives in 2016 and 2017, and was recognized as The Holmes Report’s Innovation Excellence, Brand Professional SABRE Award recipient in 2018. He was named PR Professional of the Year in the Corporate and Nonprofit category by PRNews in 2017. He is also a member of the Arthur Page Society.