Coinbase Taps Execs from Amazon Web Services and Pershing LLC

Cryptocurrency exchange operators, Coinbase has hired former executives at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Pershing LLC for key roles in the exchange. The exchange has been on a recruitment drive since 2018 and has targeted top talents from tech firms.

AWS Veteran joins Coinbase

Monday, Aug. 7, Coinbase announced that Tim Wagner, former general manager at Amazon Web Services, was joining the firm as its new Vice President of Engineering. Before trading places, Wagner spent five years at AWS and oversaw its API gateway as well as its serverless app repository. He also gained experience working several years with Microsoft and served as director for Visual Studio Ultimate.

In the post welcoming Wagner, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted the importance of having the right man for its engineering department:

“Engineering is central to our mission of creating an open financial system for the world. It is core to our strategy to deliver the most trusted and easiest to use cryptocurrency products and services. We have built an amazing engineering team at a Coinbase, one which Tim [Wagner] will now lead and expand.”

Former Pershing Exec Joins Coinbase as CCO

Last week, Jeff Horowitz joined the company as its Chief Compliance Officer. Before his appointment at Coinbase, Horowitz was serving as on a similar capacity at Pershing LLC, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon. He boasts a wealth of experience having lead compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) programs at Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and notably was a former banking regulator with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

In a blog post, President and Chief Operating Officer, at Coinbase, Asiff Hirji, noted that hiring Jeff Horowitz was part of a “concerted, cross-functional effort” to navigate compliance complexities on a global scale.

Coinbase Focus on Expansion and Recruitments 

The crypto exchange has in 2018 embarked on a drive of high-level recruitments, which aligns with the expansion efforts of the firm. Apart from the launch of Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Prime and Custody products, the company has launched several other sections while also making some notable acquisitions. Recently it created a Political Action Committee (PAC) which may allow it to handle campaign donations.

Some top-level recruitments since the turn of 2018 include: Tina Bhatnagar (VP of Operations and technology), Eric Soto (VP of finance), Rachael Horwitz (VP of Communications), Emilie Choi (VP of Corporate and Business Development), and Alesia Haas (Chief financial officer).

Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.

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