Digital Asset named Stephan Leithner to its board of directors on July 18, 20181. Leithner sat on the executive board of Deutsche Börse Group, where he ran the exchange's post-trade business, Clearstream, along with its data and index units, Crowdfund Insider reported2. Two more directors joined that same day: Blackstone's Tony James and former Google engineering executive AG Gangadhar.
The third board appointment at Digital Asset on the record since 2018
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Digital Asset, by year
- 2018: 5
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 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 | 5 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 |
Three board appointments on the record in 2018
Board appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2018: 3
- 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 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 |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 |
The move
Digital Asset's chief executive at the time, Blythe Masters, tied the three hires to growth plans. “Digital Asset is on an ambitious path to deliver the first DLT solution to power systemically consequential marketplaces. It is now time to scale access to our technology to meet rising demand,” Masters said1. She named Leithner among the directors bringing “unparalleled experience in driving scale in private equity, technology and financial industries”.
Leithner spoke to the technology's reach rather than his own appointment. He told Crowdfund Insider that blockchain had "enormous potential"2. Tony James, who joined the board on July 18, 2018, too, put a finer point on that promise. “Digital Asset has both the leadership and the technology it needs to deliver. I'm delighted to play a role in guiding the company,” James said.
Leithner's finance record
Leithner had joined Deutsche Börse's executive board shortly before Digital Asset named him, Crowdfund Insider reported2. Before that post, he worked as a partner at the firm EQT. Leithner also served on Deutsche Bank AG's management board from 2012 until 2015. Earlier still, he worked as a partner at McKinsey and Company, the outlet reported.
What came next
The board Leithner joined chose a new chief executive in December 2018, five months later. Digital Asset announced on December 18, 2018, that Blythe Masters had requested to step down as chief executive for personal reasons3. In the same announcement, the board named fellow director AG Gangadhar chairman and acting chief executive. Mike Bodson, a Digital Asset board member and the chief executive of DTCC, praised Masters publicly in the announcement. He said she had “propelled the company from a promising startup to a globally recognized leader in DLT”.
Sources
- "Blackstone's Tony James, Ex-Googler Gangadhar and Deutsche Börse Group's Leithner join Digital Asset Board," Digital Asset, July 18, 2018, https://web.archive.org/web/20200804112834/https://blog.digitalasset.com/press-release/blackstones-tony-james-ex-googler-gangadhar-and-deutsche-b%C3%B6rse-groups-leithner-join-digital-asset-board
- JD Alois, "DLT Provider Digital Asset Adds Big Names To Board Including Blackstone, Former Google, And Deutsche Börse Execs," Crowdfund Insider, July 18, 2018, https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2018/07/136633-dlt-provider-digital-asset-adds-big-names-to-board-including-blackstone-former-google-and-deutsche-borse-execs/
- "Blythe Masters Steps Down As CEO Of Digital Asset," Digital Asset (via Mondo Visione), December 18, 2018, https://mondovisione.com/media-and-resources/news/blythe-masters-steps-down-as-ceo-of-digital-asset-20181219/