Anyone who knows John David Rainey wasn't surprised when he was targeted by Walmart for its C-suite in 2022. Rainey is a well-respected CFO and played a key role in building the modern day PayPal with CEO Dan Schulman over the past several years. Furthermore, when looking at his career, it's clear that he's always up for new challenges.
Rainey, who received an MBA from Baylor University, began his career with two years in management consulting for Ernst & Young in Houston. One of his clients was Continental Airlines, who later offered him a job.
In 2010, Continental and United merged, forming one of the world’s largest airlines. Rainey stayed with the company and by 2012 he'd risen through the ranks all the way to CFO and EVP of United Continental Holdings, headquartered in Chicago. Along the way, he gained extensive experience in corporate finance, treasury, financial planning and analysis, tax, investor relations, strategic planning, and risk management.
In summer 2015, PayPal split off from eBay and recruited Rainey to take its CFO role. So after nearly two decades' worth of experience in the airline business, he opted for a leadership role in the emerging world of fintech. At PayPal, Rainey was instrumental in taking the company from just a button on the eBay site to one of the most dominant players in the fintech space.
His experiences, especially when considering his successes in starkly different industries, drew significant attention to Rainey, who joined Walmart's C-suite in May 2022. As an Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant, Rainey is responsible for accounting and controls, corporate strategy and development, business planning and analysis, global procurement, internal audit, treasury, tax, and investor relations.
Growing up in a small Texas town, Rainey is a strong advocate of remaining connected with the well-being of his community. The numerous charitable causes he has donated his time and expertise to over the years include serving on the March of Dimes National Board of Trustees and the Baylor Leadership Council and serving as the 2015 national chair of the March for Babies walk. Additionally, he has been on the CNBC Global Chief Financial Officer Council.