Alameda Research named Caroline Ellison and Sam Trabucco co-chief executive officers on Oct. 12, 2021, the firm said in a press release1. The firm called itself "a global cryptocurrency quantitative trading firm and liquidity provider." It had booked a $1 billion profit the prior year, CoinDesk reported, citing Forbes2. Ellison called the appointment a chance to lead a firm she helped build. "In many ways, Alameda is a first of its kind," she said. “I'm not only excited to be part of such a dynamic team, but also to have an opportunity to lead this firm into the future alongside Trabucco”.
Two leadership moves at Alameda Research on the record since 2021
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Oct. 12, 2021 | Ellison became Co-CEO. Caroline Ellison was named Co-Chief Executive Officer of Alameda Research |
| Aug. 24, 2022 | Trabucco left as Co-CEO. Sam Trabucco left as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Alameda Research |
27 executive hires on the record in 2021
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2021: 27
- 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
The move
Founder Sam Bankman-Fried had already moved his attention elsewhere. Trabucco told CoinDesk that Bankman-Fried had been fully dedicated to running his exchange, FTX, since it launched in 2020. He gave a specific estimate of the split. "2% on Alameda; 98% on FTX," Trabucco said2. He called the new titles a formalization rather than a shake-up. “Once FTX got started, it was sort of using all his time,” Trabucco said.
Why hand two traders the keys to a firm that had just booked a billion-dollar profit? Both arrived through Bankman-Fried's earlier career. Ellison joined Alameda as a trader in March 2018, after working with Bankman-Fried at Jane Street. The two built out Alameda's trading floor and back-office operations into a 25-person team, the release said1. She holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Stanford University. Trabucco joined Alameda in 2019 as a trader, after working the bond ETF desk at Susquehanna International Group. He graduated MIT in 2015 with a degree in mathematics and computer science. “We have seen Alameda evolve over the past few years as the crypto market has become increasingly intertwined with traditional finance,” Trabucco said in the release.
Alameda before and after
As co-CEOs, Ellison and Trabucco together would oversee all of Alameda's operations, the release said, including its trading desk and its push into traditional finance through potential business development1. CoinDesk compared Alameda's role in crypto to that of Citadel and Susquehanna in traditional equities, a behind-the-scenes quant trading and market-making giant2. Those older firms stayed away from crypto over regulatory concerns, while Alameda embraced it, CoinDesk noted. Trabucco said he felt less worried about that landscape. CoinDesk reported he is based in Hong Kong. He described the firm's approach to any single trading strategy in plain terms. “Everything we do is because we think it will make us money,” he said.
What came next
The co-CEO arrangement lasted less than a year. CoinDesk reported on Aug. 24, 2022, that Trabucco was stepping down from his role, leaving Ellison as Alameda's sole chief executive3. Trabucco told CoinDesk he had reduced his role at the firm over the prior months and had reached a point where he needed to "prioritize other things," including his personal life. He left his next crypto project an open question at the time, saying, “I wouldn't rule anything out in the future once I feel more 'recovered'”.
Sources
- Alameda Research, "Alameda Research Appoints Caroline Ellison And Sam Trabucco As Co-Chief Executive Officers," PR Newswire, Oct. 12, 2021, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alameda-research-appoints-caroline-ellison-and-sam-trabucco-as-co-chief-executive-officers-301397894.html
- Danny Nelson, "Sam Bankman-Fried Hands Control of Crypto Trading Firm Alameda to Two Deputies," CoinDesk, Oct. 12, 2021, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/10/12/sam-bankman-fried-hands-control-of-crypto-trading-firm-alameda-to-two-deputies/
- Nelson Wang, "Co-CEO of Crypto Trading Firm Alameda Research Sam Trabucco Steps Down," CoinDesk, Aug. 24, 2022, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/08/24/co-ceo-of-crypto-trading-firm-alameda-research-sam-trabucco-steps-down