Charlie Scharf surprised the business world in October when he announced he was leaving Visa after a highly successful four years as CEO. Scharf said he wanted to spend more time with his family on the East Coast. A former protege of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Scharf became Visa's CEO in 2012. During the next four years, the credit card company's stock surged 137%, and the firm reached a market value of about $170 billion. Scharf oversaw the launch of a new design lab in San Francisco, where engineers devised new ways to serve consumers. The goal was to compete in the race toward faster payments against PayPal and virtual currencies. Visa board member and former American Express president Alfred Kelly succeeded Scharf as CEO on December 1.