Intercontinental Exchange named Mike Blandina chief executive officer of Bakkt on December 23, 2019. The appointment took effect December 20, the exchange operator said in its own press release1. Blandina moved up from chief product officer, a post he had held at Bakkt since joining the company earlier that year. The Motley Fool reported the seat opened when founding CEO Kelly Loeffler stepped down. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had appointed her to the U.S. Senate2.
Two of Bakkt's 8 leadership moves on the record came in 2019
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Bakkt, by year
- 2019: 2
- 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
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 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 | 2 |
Eight CEO appointments on the record in 2019
CEO appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2019: 8
- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
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 |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 17 |
The move
Jeffrey Sprecher is founder, chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange. He set out what the new chief executive would own. “As CEO, Mike will chart Bakkt's strategic direction, payment products and markets, as well as overseeing the regulatory and financial performance of the company,” Sprecher said. “His more than 25 years of experience in payments across product, engineering, strategy and operations will continue to serve us well.”2 The same announcement named Adam White president of Bakkt. Sprecher said the role would let White focus on digital asset markets, custody and trading1.
Before and after the announcement
Blandina arrived at Bakkt in April 2019, The Motley Fool reported2. Before that he held roles at OneMarket, Westfield, PayPal, Google and the Blackhawk Network, the release said1. White had joined Bakkt as chief operating officer after its 2018 launch, from a role at Coinbase. The release credited Bakkt's first full year with the first fully regulated bitcoin futures market. In the week of the December 23, 2019 release, Bakkt set a volume record of 6,226 bitcoin futures contracts. The count beat its prior record by more than 25 percent.
What came next
Blandina's tenure ran four months. Intercontinental Exchange said on April 23, 2020, that Blandina was leaving Bakkt "to pursue a new opportunity." The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported he would join JPMorgan Chase3. On April 23, 2020, Intercontinental Exchange named David Clifton, its vice president of mergers and acquisitions and integration, interim CEO of Bakkt. The Atlanta paper reported that Bakkt had raised an additional $300 million the month before Blandina's exit, from backers that included Microsoft's M12, PayU and Pantera Capital.
Sources
- Intercontinental Exchange, "Intercontinental Exchange Appoints Mike Blandina as CEO of Bakkt and Adam White as President of Bakkt," Intercontinental Exchange, Dec. 23, 2019, https://ir.theice.com/press/news-details/2019/Intercontinental-Exchange-Appoints-Mike-Blandina-as-CEO-of-Bakkt-and-Adam-White-as-President-of-Bakkt/default.aspx
- Joe Tenebruso, "Intercontinental Exchange Names New Bakkt CEO and President," The Motley Fool, Dec. 24, 2019, https://www.fool.com/news/2019/12/24/intercontinental-exchange-names-new-bakkt-ceo-and.aspx
- David Allison, "Mike Blandina, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange subsidiary Bakkt, leaving after four months on job," Atlanta Business Chronicle, Apr. 23, 2020, https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2020/04/23/ceo-of-intercontinental-exchange-subsidiary-bakkt.html