Kraken Strengthens Leadership Team with Two Key Appointments

Gilles BianRosa appointed COO and CPO, Marcus Hughes named Global Head of Regulatory Strategy

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kraken, one of the world’s longest-standing and most secure crypto platforms, today announced it is further strengthening its leadership team with two key appointments that will help position the Company for continued growth amid evolving regulatory environments globally. With the appointment of Gilles BianRosa as Chief Operating and Product Officer (COO/CPO) and Marcus Hughes as its Global Head of Regulatory Strategy, Kraken is gearing up to double down in its core markets, increase product innovation, and further diversify its global footprint.

“As we get ready for the next phase of growth in crypto markets, we need to ensure we can quickly adapt to rapidly changing market trends while navigating an increasingly complex and divergent regulatory landscape,” said David Ripley, CEO of Kraken. “We will be innovating, launching new products, entering new markets and continuously improving our offering, all while ensuring compliance with applicable regulatory requirements across the many markets we operate in.”

With more than two decades of entrepreneurship and product leadership experience, Gilles brings a deep understanding of product development and operational excellence to Kraken. Most recently, Gilles was CPO at leading European neobank N26, where he was responsible for defining, leading and implementing the global product strategy. He also launched crypto trading in the neobank’s core markets. Prior to N26, Gilles was the CPO of SoundCloud and led Samsung Electronics’ content and services division. Gilles reports to David Ripley, CEO of Kraken.

“I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Gilles to the Kraken team during a pivotal moment of growth for our company,” said David Ripley. “Gilles has a proven track record of delivering innovative products across global organizations with velocity. Combined with his strategic insight this will enable us to continue carrying out our mission of making crypto accessible to the next billion people through Kraken’s leading products and services.”

Gilles will lead Kraken’s strategy, global business operations, product and design, to drive the next generation of crypto products and services that will enable clients to seamlessly transact in crypto.

“I’m thrilled to join Kraken in a role that blends my passions for product strategy, innovation and operational optimization,” said Gilles BianRosa. “I understand the importance of running cohesive and aligned product and operations functions and I’m looking forward to working with teams across the company to build and deploy innovative products that expand access to crypto globally.”

With Marcus, Kraken gains a seasoned professional that brings a wealth of legal, commercial and regulatory expertise across traditional finance and crypto. Marcus was previously Managing Director of Coinbase’s European business and General Counsel for its international operations. With nearly a decade of traditional finance experience at Morgan Stanley before that, he is well positioned to drive Kraken’s regulatory strategy and expansion efforts around the globe.

“As a global player we need to adapt to changes in regulation across the markets we operate in, while ensuring we are efficient and effective when building out our footprint to best serve our clients. There’s no one better equipped to help Kraken navigate the complexities of a fragmented and fast evolving regulatory landscape than Marcus,” said David Ripley. “He will be instrumental in ensuring our offering meets the highest regulatory standards so we can offer our products and services across the globe.”

In his role, Marcus will collaborate with Kraken’s leadership to craft a strategy that takes into account the complex global nature of operating in crypto today. He will lead a team of legal regulatory experts across the markets Kraken operates in. He will work closely with the company’s government affairs team to inform our advocacy efforts and work with leaders across the organization to ensure the ongoing compliance of Kraken’s offering. Marcus reports to Marco Santori, Chief Legal Officer at Kraken.

"I'm proud to be chosen to represent Kraken in our engagements with regulators across the world and help grow the company in this next phase of Kraken’s journey," said Marcus Hughes. "Kraken's mission of accelerating crypto adoption through a relentless focus on client satisfaction and security is contingent upon giving as many people as possible access to our product offering. I couldn’t be more motivated to help the company unlock the opportunities crypto creates for as many people as possible across the globe.”

About Kraken

Kraken is one of the world’s longest-standing and most secure digital asset exchanges, and is on a mission to empower people with new ways to connect and transact. Globally, Kraken clients trade more than 200 digital assets and 6 different fiat currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF and AUD.

Kraken was founded in 2011 and was one of the first exchanges to offer spot trading with margin, parachain auctions, staking, regulated derivatives and index services. Trusted by over 11 million traders and institutions around the world, Kraken offers professional, 24/7/365 customer support and one of the fastest, most performant trading platforms available. Kraken was the first company to conduct a Proof of Reserves audit and has committed to undergoing these audits on a regular basis.