Square COO Rabois steps down; CFO to fill in
Keith Rabois helped the mobile payments startup grow into the surprisingly large company it is today, processing over $10 billion in annualized transactions.
Square Chief Operating Officer Keith Rabois has stepped down from his post.
Rabois issued a statement Thursday saying that "it is better at this point for me to be doing something different every day," adding that he "will have more to share" about his future plans "soon." The statement was obtained by All Things Digital.
Then on Friday afternoon, the Wall Street Journal reported that Rabois' resignation came "amid accusations from a Square employee of sexual harassment," with Square failing to take appropriate action. Rabois told the Journal that he denies the allegations, is confident he will be vindicated, and resigned to avoid causing a distraction to the company.
Square had already announced that CFO Sarah Friar will temporarily fill in for Rabois until a final replacement is hired.
Rabois joined Square in August 2010. At that time, the mobile-payment-processing company had less than 30 employees and fewer than 1,000 participating merchants. During his tenure, Rabois helped Square grow into the surprisingly large company it is today, processing over $10 billion in annualized transactions.
Square CEO Jack Dorsey told All Things Digital in a statement that while he "accepted Keith's resignation from Square," his company couldn't have achieved its growth without his help.
Though Rabois says he wants to try out new things in his career, All Things Digital had earlier reported, citing a person who claims to have knowledge of the situation, that he and Dorsey might have had disagreements that led to the resignation.
CNET has contacted Square for comment. We will update this story when we have more information.
Update 1:14 p.m. PT: Added information about allegations of sexual harassment.