After four years as Capital One Financial Corp.'s senior vice president and chief financial officer, James M. Zinn said he will leave the company Jan. 31.
Mr. Zinn, 46, said his decision was voluntary, based on his wish to pursue a different career at a younger company.
"I'm interested in a new organization that's either public and in need of some management attention in the financial area or a company that expects to go public in the not-so-distant future, like Capital One was four years ago," Mr. Zinn said in an interview.
"It's a timing issue for me," he added. "I feel very good about what I've accomplished at Capital One, and I'm at an age where I feel it's a good time to make a switch."
Mr. Zinn joined Capital One in September 1994, six months before its spinoff from Signet Bank.
Capital One said it has begun a search for a chief financial officer, including in-house candidates. David M. Willey, senior vice president and treasurer, will take over many of Mr. Zinn's responsibilities in the interim.
Since Mr. Zinn said a few months ago that he wanted to leave, Mr. Willey has been working closely with him to "ensure a seamless handoff," said Richard D. Fairbank, chairman and chief executive officer of Capital One.
Mr. Willey, 38, who has worked 10 years at Capital One, was promoted recently to senior vice president of finance and accounting. While filling in for Mr. Zinn, he will be responsible for the company's financial and treasury functions.
"Dave has been an important part of Capital One since our early days 10 years ago," Mr. Fairbank said. "Since our IPO Dave has been a key member of our senior executive team, helping to drive our company strategy."
Mr. Zinn spent 17 years at Ernst & Young and became a partner there before joining Capital One.
Colleagues at the Falls Church, Va., card issuer give Mr. Zinn credit for helping build a fledgling company into the ninth-largest in its industry.
"Jim has been an important part of our team for more than four years," said Nigel Morris, president and chief operating officer of Capital One. "In that time, our market capitalization has increased sevenfold, from $1 billion to more than $7 billion."
Ironically, Mr. Zinn cites Capital One's success-which has enriched its top managers-as the primary reason for his departure. After he leaves, he said, he will start looking for a job with a growing company in the Washington area.
"I learned a lot here and am eager to start again with another growth organization and help them grow like I did here," he said.
Under a noncompete agreement, Mr. Zinn will not be able to work for another company in Capital One's businesses, he said, but he hopes to find a small technology company that has ties to the financial industry.
SAN FRANCISCO-A survey of 1,012 adults who use the Internet found that 46% plan to do some holiday shopping on-line this year.
Of those who plan to do so, 60% will be making their first Internet purchase during the holiday season. The survey found that 86% of shoppers have a specific product in mind when they buy on-line.
The survey was sponsored by Visa U.S.A. and done in September by NFO Research Inc. of Greenwich, Conn.
