Carta vs Fiserv: Founders, CEOs and History
Carta was founded in 2012 by Henry Ward, Manu Kumar and is led by Henry Ward. Fiserv was founded in 1984 by Leslie M. Muma, George D. Dalton and is led by Takis Georgakopoulos.
Company facts
Founders
Carta
Henry Ward
Henry Ward is the co-founder and CEO of Carta. He has led the company since founding it as eShares in 2012, through its 2017 rebrand, a $7.4 billion Series G in 2021, and expansion into fund administration, private equity, private credit, and legal services.
Manu Kumar
Manu Kumar co-founded eShares (now Carta) with Henry Ward in 2012 after suggesting Ward build software to replace the paper stock certificates Kumar received as an angel investor.
Fiserv
Leslie M. Muma
Leslie M. Muma is a co-founder of Fiserv. He led the company's Florida operations after the 1984 merger, served as president for many years and later succeeded George Dalton as CEO, leading Fiserv until Jeff Yabuki took over in 2005.
George D. Dalton
George D. Dalton co-founded Fiserv in 1984 and served as its first CEO and chairman.
CEOs and their tenures
Carta
- Henry Ward2012–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Co-founded eShares in 2012 and has served as CEO since; led the 2017 rebrand, the 2021 Series G at $7.4B, the 2024 exit from secondary trading, and the 2025-2026 expansion into private credit and legal services.
Source - Manu Kumar2012–present
Co-Founder
As Co-Founder, he recognized that the entire Silicon Valley ecosystem was running on broken, manual Excel spreadsheets, heavily guiding Henry Ward's early product strategy before stepping back.
Source
Fiserv
- Jeff Yabuki2005–2020
Chief Executive Officer
Serving as CEO from 2005 to 2020, he generated absolutely massive shareholder returns (the stock rose over 900% during his tenure) by ruthlessly acquiring and integrating hundreds of smaller fintech companies.
Source - Frank J. Bisignano2020–2025
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
As CEO of the combined Fiserv, he aggressively pushes the 'Clover' point-of-sale hardware to directly combat Square (Block) and Toast in the fiercely competitive restaurant and small business sector.
Source - Paul Todd2025–present
Chief Financial Officer
As CFO, he manages the massive capital return program (billions in share buybacks) that keeps the stock price highly elevated despite severe competitive threats to the core business.
Source - Michael P. Lyons2025–2026
President and Chief Executive Officer
As a key segment president, he defends the incredibly sticky, highly lucrative bank technology division from modern, cloud-based core banking upstarts like nCino and Mambu.
Source - Takis Georgakopoulos2026–present
Chief Executive Officer
Appointed as a senior executive in 2024, he oversees the absolutely critical merchant acceptance business, attempting to modernize the legacy infrastructure that powers millions of global transactions daily.
Source
Timeline: Carta and Fiserv side by side
1984Fiserv
Fiserv founded
George Dalton's Milwaukee data processing operation and Leslie Muma's Sunshine State Systems combined to form Fiserv.
1986Fiserv
Nasdaq IPO
Fiserv went public on Nasdaq under the ticker FISV.
2005Fiserv
Jeffery Yabuki Becomes CEO
Jeffery Yabuki became chief executive of Fiserv in December 2005.
2007Fiserv
CheckFree acquisition
Bought online bill payment company CheckFree for about $4.4 billion.
2012Carta
eShares founded by Henry Ward and Manu Kumar
Started to replace paper stock certificates with electronic shares.
2013Carta
$1.8M seed round
K9 Ventures, Draper, and Scott Banister backed the company.
2013Fiserv
Open Solutions Acquired
Fiserv bought the banking-software company Open Solutions in January 2013.
2017Carta
Renamed Carta
eShares rebranded as Carta in November 2017.
2018Fiserv
Fiserv Forum Naming Rights
Fiserv bought the naming rights to the Milwaukee Bucks arena, Fiserv Forum, in 2018.
2019Carta
$300M Series E at $1.7B valuation
Led by Andreessen Horowitz.
2019Fiserv
First Data merger
Completed the all-stock acquisition of First Data, valued around $22 billion, adding Clover and merchant acquiring.
2020Fiserv
Frank Bisignano becomes CEO
Former First Data CEO Frank Bisignano succeeded Jeff Yabuki.
2021Carta
$500M Series G at $7.4B valuation
Led by Silver Lake and Lightspeed in August 2021.
2022Carta
Acquires Vauban and Capdesk
Two London-based platforms expanded Carta in Europe.
2022Fiserv
Acquired Finxact
Fiserv acquired Finxact for $650 million.
2023Fiserv
Move to NYSE as FI
Fiserv transferred its listing to the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FI.
2024Carta
Exits secondary trading
Shut down its secondary trading business after a January 2024 customer controversy.
2025Carta
Acquires Sirvatus and Accelex
Added private credit loan operations and AI document extraction in October 2025.
2025Fiserv
Mike Lyons becomes CEO; stock crashes
Lyons took over in May 2025 when Bisignano became Social Security Commissioner. On October 29, 2025, shares fell 44% after a guidance cut; Paul Todd became CFO and the company returned to Nasdaq as FISV.
2026Carta
Launches Carta Law; Pulley winds down
Acquired Avantia in May; rival Pulley announced in September it will close on December 8 and migrate customers to Carta.
2026Fiserv
Takis Georgakopoulos named CEO
Lyons left in June 2026 to run Truist; Georgakopoulos was appointed CEO. In August, Fiserv cut 2026 guidance after a 4% Q2 revenue decline.
Acquisitions
Carta
- Avantia2026Undisclosed
- Sirvatus2025Undisclosed
- Accelex2025Undisclosed
- Vauban2022Undisclosed
- Capdesk2022Undisclosed
Fiserv
- Finxact2022$650M
- First Data Corporation2019$22B
- CheckFree Corporation2007$4.4B
Questions about Carta vs Fiserv
Who is the CEO of Carta, Inc. and Fiserv, Inc.?
Carta, Inc. is led by Henry Ward and Fiserv, Inc. is led by Takis Georgakopoulos. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Carta, Inc. founded vs Fiserv, Inc.?
Fiserv, Inc. was founded in 1984 — 28 years before Carta, Inc., which was founded in 2012. Fiserv, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Carta, Inc..
How many employees does Carta, Inc. have compared to Fiserv, Inc.?
Carta, Inc. employs approximately 1,900 people, while Fiserv, Inc. employs approximately 38,000. Fiserv, Inc. has the larger workforce at 38,000 employees, compared to Carta, Inc.'s 1,900. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Carta, Inc. and Fiserv, Inc. headquartered?
Both Carta, Inc. and Fiserv, Inc. are headquartered in United States. Their local rules and tax obligations may still differ.
Who founded Carta, Inc. and Fiserv, Inc.?
Carta, Inc. was founded by Henry Ward, Manu Kumar. Fiserv, Inc. was founded by Leslie M. Muma, George D. Dalton.
Which company has a longer operating history — Carta, Inc. or Fiserv, Inc.?
Fiserv, Inc. has been operating for approximately 42 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Carta, Inc. has been in operation for around 14 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Carta vs Fiserv overview