The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is on course to start the week with a disappointing decline.
In morning trade, the buy now pay later provider's shares are down over 3% to $7.04.
Why is the Zip share price dropping lower?
There have been a couple of catalysts for the weakness in the Zip share price on Monday.
The first is general weakness in the tech sector following a poor end to the week on Wall Street's technology-focused Nasdaq index. The world-famous index fell 2% on Friday, bringing its weekly decline to over 3%.
This is weighing on the local tech sector, leading to the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) falling 2.4% this morning.
In addition to this, this morning Zip announced that its Chair, Philip Crutchfield, will step down from the role after more than five years with the company. Mr Crutchfield is exiting the role with immediate effect but will remain on the board until the end of March in order to support an orderly transition.
New Zip Chair
Zip has announced the appointment of Ms Diane Smith-Gander AO as its next Chair.
According to the release, Ms Smith-Gander is a seasoned professional non-executive director with chair experience. The company believes she is ideally placed to lead Zip as it forges ahead as with its global expansion.
It notes that Ms Smith-Gander will bring her extensive governance and international experience to Zip, with the ambition of guiding the business in the coming years, as well as bringing to millions of new customers a fairer and more transparent way of managing their money.
Ms Smith-Gander had a long career in banking, technology, and strategic and management consulting. She spent time with Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) as a Group Executive and McKinsey & Company as a US-based partner.
Zip's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Larry Diamond, said: "I would like to thank Philip Crutchfield for his incredible service at Zip. When he joined us in December 2015, Zip had less than 30 staff and worked out of a tiny office with a ping pong table. From then to now, he has steered us with a steady hand on our journey to the place we are in today. Personally, he has been a wise mentor and a good friend. On behalf of Zip, I would like to thank Philip and wish him all the best for the future."
"I would also like to welcome Diane Smith-Gander to Zip. Diane is an experienced leader with a diverse background across finance, technology and banking. She will be an important part of Zip's future as we strive to become the first payment choice everywhere and every day," he concluded.
