BlockFi named Ellen-Blair Chube to its board of directors on September 1, 20211. Chube was a managing director at William Blair, the Chicago investment bank, BlockFi's own announcement said. The Crypto Times reported on September 2, 2021, that she replaced Christopher Giancarlo, the former CFTC chairman known as "Crypto Dad"2.
Three of BlockFi's 6 leadership moves on the record came in 2021, its busiest year
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at BlockFi, by year
- 2021: 3
- 2022, 2023, 2024
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 |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 |
10 board appointments on the record in 2021
Board appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2021: 10
- 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 | 3 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 |
| 2025 | 20 |
The move
Chube's own statement, printed in BlockFi's release, named what drew her to the company. “I was immediately struck by the caliber of leadership and strength of retail and institutional product offering at BlockFi,” she said. “So many of the crypto-firsts have been pioneered by this organization, and I am excited to count myself as part of the Board that will support BlockFi's mission of financial inclusion, continued innovation and the next tranche of industry firsts that are to come”1.
Founder and chief executive Zac Prince spoke to her fit for the role. The Crypto Times quoted him crediting Chube's “strong financial services experience married with her deep knowledge of the public sector”2. Prince also said Giancarlo would keep contributing "in an informal capacity as an advisor," the outlet reported.
BlockFi before and after
Chube came from Ariel Investments. She had run its chief of staff office there, serving as vice president to its chairman and chief executive, before William Blair, BlockFi's announcement said1. William Blair hired her in 2015. Her career, the release said, spanned nearly two decades of leadership across government and the private sector, on both the buy and sell sides. She also sat on two public boards at the time, Equity Commonwealth and Oil-Dri Corporation of America, both on the New York Stock Exchange. BlockFi's announcement said Directors & Boards had named her one of its "2020 Directors to Watch". Giancarlo, by contrast, had chaired the CFTC, and his BlockFi tenure ran four months2.
What came next
Eight affiliated companies joined BlockFi in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in New Jersey on November 28, 2022. FTX's collapse had frozen money the exchange owed the lender, Banking Dive reported3. Mark Renzi, the Berkeley Research Group managing director advising BlockFi through the case, said that “with the collapse of FTX, the BlockFi management team and board of directors immediately took action to protect clients and the Company”. The filing came 14 months into Chube's board term. Banking Dive's report leaves open which directors held seats when the case opened.
Sources
- BlockFi, "BlockFi Welcomes Ellen-Blair Chube to Board of Directors," Sept. 1, 2021, https://web.archive.org/web/20230329043658/https://blockfi.com/blockfi-welcomes-ellen-blair-chube-to-board-of-directors
- Dhara Chavda, "Ellen-Blair Chube Joins The Board of Directors at BlockFi," The Crypto Times, Sept. 2, 2021, https://www.cryptotimes.io/2021/09/02/ellen-blair-chube-joins-the-board-of-directors-at-blockfi/
- "BlockFi files for bankruptcy amid FTX contagion," Banking Dive, Nov. 28, 2022, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMikgFBVV95cUxNY1VTQW40bl9hLWxRWnNablpPelJCYm9tOWczOW9XNUpQZVh0SFdrdE1sRC1kQ2VkZU94ZlZwWnhVeHd1X2RrZ1ZwN0pJU0lZYXJPaUxsSmVtYmxMSElmMS1iU2l6S2ZZU3NUQkk5ZDhCN2RUQVV0cUpCTlZYY2szTnI1X0dTVlV4LWIyOWx4Nmx0dw?oc=5