Paul Atkins has been confirmed as the next Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He is a business leader and former government official with extensive experience in financial regulation. Atkins served as SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, and from 1990-94 as chief of staff and counsellor to SEC Chairmen Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt, respectively. He was a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP from 2009-10. His work at the SEC included overseeing the implementation of policies to ensure transparency and fairness in capital markets. Following his time at the SEC, Atkins became the CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm specializing in regulatory compliance and strategic advisory services for financial firms and crypto companies.
Grayscale Investments has appointed Diana Zhang as Chief Operating Officer, effective Tuesday, May 6. In this role, Zhang will report to CEO Peter Mintzberg. Zhang succeeds Hugh Ross, who has served as Grayscale’s COO since 2021. A veteran asset management executive with 18+ years of experience holding leadership positions at prominent asset management firms, Zhang has a proven ability to shape and execute strategy, run company-wide operations, drive business development, and cultivate teams. For more than a decade, Zhang held multiple executive roles at Bridgewater Associates, a globally recognized asset management firm, including as a Deputy to the co-CEO and as COO of Investment Research. Most recently, Zhang was the COO of BlockTower Capital.
CoinShares International has announced the departure of Frank Spiteri, Head of Asset Management, and member of the executive committee, from the Group. He joined in 2020 as chief revenue officer before being promoted to head of asset management in November 2022. Before, he spent two years as head of European distribution at WisdomTree, having joined the firm following its acquisition of ETF Securities.
John Massey was promoted to Senior Managing Director for the Northern Trust’s Foundation & Institutional Advisors (FIA) practice in the East Region. Previously, Massey served as a Senior Institutional Investment Advisor for the FIA practice. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2012, Massey worked for the State of Connecticut’s Pension Fund Management division as a Principal Investment Officer.
GoldenSource has welcomed Marc Mallett as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) to spearhead the company’s global growth. Mallett has assumed responsibility for GoldenSource’s revenue and commercial functions. Prior to joining GoldenSource, Mallett was Chief Strategy Officer at Northern Trust Asset Servicing.
Acrisure has made two new executive appointments: Mark Wassersug as Chief Technology Officer and Shawn Pelsinger as Chief Administrative Officer, effective later this month. Both Wassersug and Pelsinger will report to Greg Williams, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Acrisure. Wassersug spent 22 years at Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), most recently as Chief Operating Officer. Pelsinger joins from Palantir Technologies, where he served as Global Head of Corporate Development.
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