Enrique Lores

Enrique Lores
Lores in 2024
Enrique Lores
Born	Enrique José Lores Obradors 1965
Birthplace	Madrid, Spain
Nationality	Spanish-American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	CEO of PayPal
Known for	President and CEO of HP Inc. (2019–2026); CEO of PayPal (2026–present)
Education	Polytechnic University of Valencia (BEE) ESADE Business School (MBA)

Enrique José Lores Obradors (born 1965) is a Spanish-American business executive who served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of HP Inc. from November 2019 to February 2026. In February 2026, he was appointed CEO of PayPal Holdings Inc., succeeding Alex Chriss. Born in Madrid, Spain, Lores built his career over more than three decades at Hewlett-Packard and its successor company HP Inc., rising from an engineering intern to the company's top leadership position. During his tenure at HP, he held senior roles across the company's Personal Systems, Printing, Industrial, and Services businesses at both regional and global levels. He played a central role in the 2015 split of Hewlett-Packard into two independent publicly traded companies—Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc.—and led major strategic initiatives including the acquisition of Samsung's printer business. His appointment as CEO of PayPal in early 2026 marked a significant transition from the hardware and printing technology sector to digital payments and financial technology.

Early Life

Enrique José Lores Obradors was born in 1965 in Madrid, Spain. He grew up in Spain during a period of significant economic and political transformation in the country, as it transitioned from the Franco era toward democracy and eventual membership in the European Economic Community.

Details about Lores's upbringing and family background have remained largely private. He pursued his higher education in Spain, studying electrical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, one of the country's leading technical universities, located on the eastern coast of Spain in the Valencia region. After completing his undergraduate degree, he went on to earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, one of Europe's top-ranked business schools.

Lores's educational background—combining a technical foundation in electrical engineering with graduate-level business training—positioned him for a career that would span both the engineering and management sides of the technology industry. Shortly after completing his engineering degree, he joined Hewlett-Packard in 1989 as an engineering intern, beginning a career at the company that would last more than three decades.

Education

Lores earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain. The Polytechnic University of Valencia (Universitat Politècnica de València) is one of Spain's premier technical institutions, known for its engineering and technology programs.

He subsequently obtained a Master of Business Administration from ESADE Business School in Barcelona. ESADE, part of Ramon Llull University, is consistently ranked among the top business schools in Europe and globally, and is known for its programs in management and executive education. The combination of technical and business education informed Lores's approach throughout his career, enabling him to operate at the intersection of engineering, product development, and corporate strategy in the technology sector.

Career

Early Career at Hewlett-Packard (1989–2015)

Lores began his career at Hewlett-Packard in 1989, joining the company as an engineering intern shortly after graduating from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Over the next two and a half decades, he advanced through a series of increasingly senior leadership positions across multiple divisions of the company, gaining experience in engineering, product management, sales, and customer services.

During his rise through the organization, Lores held several notable positions. He served as general manager of HP's commercial personal computer business, a role in which he oversaw one of the company's core product lines in the competitive PC market. He also held the position of senior vice president of worldwide customer support and services, responsible for HP's global after-sales operations and service delivery. Additionally, Lores served as senior vice president of worldwide sales and solutions, overseeing the company's global sales infrastructure and go-to-market strategy.

Lores's career at HP spanned roles in the company's Personal Systems, Print, Industrial, and Services businesses, and he gained operational experience at both regional and worldwide levels. This breadth of experience across HP's major business segments gave him an unusually comprehensive understanding of the company's operations, products, and markets.

Hewlett-Packard Split (2015)

One of the most significant events during Lores's career at HP was the 2015 split of Hewlett-Packard into two independent publicly traded companies: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, focused on enterprise technology solutions, servers, and cloud computing; and HP Inc., which retained the personal computing and printing businesses.

Lores played a key role in this complex corporate restructuring, leading the Separation Management Office (SMO) that oversaw the operational and organizational aspects of dividing a company that had been unified for decades. The separation, which was formally completed on November 1, 2015, was one of the largest corporate splits in U.S. technology history at the time and required the disentanglement of shared infrastructure, supply chains, customer relationships, and corporate functions. Lores's leadership of the SMO was considered a significant factor in his subsequent ascent to the top of HP Inc.'s leadership hierarchy.

President of Imaging, Printing and Solutions

Following the 2015 split, Lores served as President of HP Inc.'s Imaging, Printing and Solutions business, the company's largest product segment. In this role, he was responsible for HP's entire printing portfolio, including consumer and commercial printers, printing supplies, and related services and solutions. The printing business was a critical revenue and profit driver for HP Inc., and Lores oversaw efforts to steer growth and innovation in printing technologies during a period of significant market change as the industry grappled with declining print volumes and the shift toward digital workflows.

During his time leading the printing division, Lores oversaw strategic initiatives including the acquisition of Samsung's printer business, a deal that expanded HP's product portfolio and strengthened its position in the laser printer market. The Samsung printer acquisition, completed in 2017, added Samsung's extensive portfolio of printing patents and products to HP's offerings, enhancing its capabilities in multifunction printers and managed print services.

CEO of HP Inc. (2019–2026)

In August 2019, HP Inc.'s board of directors unanimously appointed Lores as the company's next President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Dion Weisler, who stepped down for family health reasons. Lores's appointment became effective on November 1, 2019.

Shortly after his appointment was announced and before he formally took office, HP Inc. revealed a restructuring plan in October 2019 that included the elimination of 7,000 to 9,000 jobs, approximately 16 percent of the company's workforce, as part of an effort to reduce costs and streamline operations. The restructuring signaled the scope of the challenges facing HP at the time, including declining demand in certain printing market segments and competitive pressures in the personal computing business.

As CEO, Lores focused on positioning HP Inc. for future growth through a strategy emphasizing portfolio expansion, digital transformation, and talent development. Under his leadership, HP navigated significant industry challenges, including the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020, which initially created supply chain difficulties but also drove increased demand for personal computers and printers as remote work and distance learning became widespread.

Lores led HP through a period of market volatility in the personal computing sector, which saw a dramatic surge in PC demand during the pandemic followed by a subsequent decline as the initial wave of pandemic-driven purchases subsided. HP's printing business also faced ongoing shifts as enterprise and consumer printing patterns continued to evolve.

During Lores's tenure, HP Inc. maintained its position as one of the world's largest personal computing and printing companies, competing with rivals such as Dell Technologies, Lenovo, and Canon across its various product segments.

Lores's tenure as CEO of HP Inc. came to an end in early 2026, when he departed to take the CEO role at PayPal.

Board Membership at PayPal

Prior to being named CEO, Lores had served as chairman of the board of PayPal Holdings Inc. His position on the PayPal board gave him familiarity with the company's operations, competitive challenges, and strategic direction ahead of his appointment as CEO.

CEO of PayPal (2026–present)

On February 3, 2026, PayPal Holdings Inc. announced that Lores had been appointed as the company's Chief Executive Officer and President, replacing Alex Chriss, who had served as CEO for approximately two years. Concurrent with Lores's appointment, David W. Dorman was named independent board chair.

The leadership transition came during a period of significant challenge for PayPal. According to reporting by Fortune, Chriss had "lasted barely two years after failing to halt a massive slide in PayPal's share price." The announcement coincided with PayPal flagging expectations for lower earnings, contributing to initial negative market reaction, with shares declining following the news.

Reporting by Semafor indicated that the CEO change at PayPal came as a surprise to HP Inc.'s board of directors, suggesting the transition was arranged without advance coordination with Lores's then-employer.

The appointment represented a significant career shift for Lores, moving from the hardware and printing technology sector, where he had spent his entire career, to the financial technology and digital payments industry. PayPal, one of the largest digital payments platforms globally, faced competitive pressures from rivals including Apple Pay, Block (formerly Square), and Stripe, as well as broader shifts in the payments landscape.

In the weeks following the appointment, PayPal's stock showed signs of recovery, with shares trading up amid reports of strategic business enhancements under the new leadership.

Personal Life

Lores was born in Madrid, Spain, and holds both Spanish and American citizenship. He has maintained a relatively private personal life throughout his career. While he rose to prominence as a corporate executive in the United States, his roots in Spain and his education at Spanish universities reflect a transatlantic background that informed his career in global technology companies.

Throughout his career at HP, Lores was based in the United States, where HP Inc. is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. His career at the company involved roles that required engagement with HP's operations across multiple regions worldwide.

Lores has been associated with The Conference Board, a business-focused research organization.

Recognition

Lores's career has been marked by his steady rise through one of the world's largest technology companies and his eventual appointment to lead two major publicly traded corporations. His selection as CEO of HP Inc. in 2019 was notable as it placed a Spanish-born executive at the helm of one of Silicon Valley's most storied companies, a successor to the original Hewlett-Packard founded in a Palo Alto garage in 1939.

His appointment as CEO of PayPal in 2026 was covered extensively by major financial and technology media outlets, including Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, TechCrunch, and Yahoo Finance, reflecting his prominence in the business world.

As a Spanish-born executive leading major American technology companies, Lores has been one of the more prominent European-born leaders in the U.S. technology industry.

Legacy

As of early 2026, Lores's legacy remains in active development as he transitions into his new role at PayPal. His tenure at HP Inc. spanned more than six years as CEO and more than thirty years at the company overall, during which he was involved in defining moments in the company's history.

His leadership of the Separation Management Office during the 2015 Hewlett-Packard split was a formative contribution to the creation of HP Inc. as an independent entity. The separation resulted in two distinct companies—HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise—each focused on different segments of the technology market, and Lores's role in executing this complex division positioned him as a key architect of HP Inc.'s independent identity.

As CEO, Lores guided HP Inc. through the volatile period surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, managing both the surge in demand for computing equipment driven by remote work and the subsequent market correction. His strategy of focusing on portfolio expansion, digital transformation, and organizational streamlining reflected an effort to adapt the company to changing market conditions in both the personal computing and printing sectors.

His move to PayPal in 2026 represented one of the more unusual CEO transitions in the technology industry, as it involved a shift from a hardware-focused company to a digital payments platform. The outcome of this transition, and its implications for both HP Inc. and PayPal, will shape the assessment of Lores's career in the years to come.