Digital Asset named AG Gangadhar its chairman and acting chief executive on December 18, 20181. The company said Blythe Masters, chief executive since 2015, had requested to step down for personal reasons. Gangadhar had joined Digital Asset's board in April 2018, eight months before taking the top job, Crowdfund Insider reported2.
Five of Digital Asset's 9 leadership moves on the record came in 2018, its busiest year
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 |
Four CEO appointments on the record in 2018
CEO appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2018: 4
- 2016, 2017, 2019, 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
Masters framed the handoff as a vote of confidence in Gangadhar. “We are fortunate to have a deep bench of accomplished executives on the management team and Board, including AG, who have the requisite experience to take the company to the next level,” Masters said in Digital Asset's announcement1. She added a personal note about him. “Having come to know and trust AG as an advisor and Board member, I am convinced that he brings what's needed to guide the company through its next phase,” Masters said.
Gangadhar answered with his own account of the transition. “Blythe has built an impressive foundation with incredible progress to date, helping the company emerge as an industry leader. I'm honored to lead Digital Asset and work alongside the talented management team during this transition until a new CEO is appointed, at which point I will focus on my responsibilities to lead the Board,” he said1. Masters kept a role at the company as a board member, strategic adviser and shareholder, Digital Asset's announcement said.
Who backed the move
Mike Bodson, a Digital Asset board member and the president and chief executive of DTCC, praised Masters on the record. “On behalf of the Digital Asset Board, I would like to thank Blythe for her leadership and vision, which has propelled the company from a promising startup to a globally recognized leader in DLT,” Bodson said1. Bodson also welcomed Gangadhar by name. “We are excited to have a world-renowned technologist like AG to help take the company forward,” he said. Gangadhar's engineering background spanned Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cruise and Uber, Digital Asset's announcement said.
What came next
Gangadhar's acting title lasted three months. Digital Asset announced on March 19, 2019, that its board had voted to name co-founder Yuval Rooz chief executive, with Gangadhar moving into the role of executive chairman3. Gangadhar wrote to employees about the choice. “I have had the privilege of working very closely with Yuval over the past year. Along with the rest of the Board, I feel very strongly that Yuval's strategic agility, business acumen, missiondriven orientation and deep belief in our people and products make him uniquely qualified to lead Digital Asset successfully into the future,” Gangadhar wrote.
Sources
- "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/
- JD Alois, "Blythe Masters, CEO of Digital Assets, Hands Over CEO Role to AG Gangadhar," Crowdfund Insider, December 18, 2018, https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2018/12/142531-blythe-masters-ceo-of-digital-assets-hands-over-ceo-role-to-ag-gangadhar/
- "Digital Asset names company co-founder Yuval Rooz as CEO," Digital Asset (via Finextra), March 19, 2019, https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/77713/digital-asset-names-company-co-founder-yuval-rooz-as-ceo