Flexa announced on Sept. 29, 2021 that Michelle Gitlitz would join the company as general counsel, effective Oct. 11. The company's release called Gitlitz a "blockchain and digital assets veteran" and said she "brings over 20 years of experience to Flexa," adding she “has been actively working on matters driving the digital assets industry since 2018”. Citybiz reported the appointment the same day under a headline naming her full name, "Michelle Ann Gitlitz"2.
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 |
Capital Markets & Treasury led executive hires in 2021, with four
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified in 2021, by the sector of the company
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 |
|---|---|
| Capital Markets & Treasury | 4 |
| Wallets & Consumer Apps | 4 |
| Bitcoin & Mining | 3 |
| Trading Venues & Brokerage | 2 |
| Institutional Custody & Asset Management | 1 |
| Layer 1s & Infrastructure | 1 |
| DeFi Protocols | 1 |
The move
Citybiz's report described the scope of the new role directly: Gitlitz would be “responsible for advising Flexa on legal, regulatory and risk management matters surrounding payments, digital assets and blockchain technology, and helping the company continue its rapid growth trajectory”2. Flexa's own release skipped her prior employer, naming only her years of experience and her 2018 start in digital assets work1.
Tyler Spalding, Flexa's co-founder and chief executive officer at the time, spoke to the company's growth stage. “We are thrilled to welcome a professional of Michelle's caliber to Flexa as we continue to help merchants navigate the complex realities of a nascent industry,” Spalding said in the announcement1.
Flexa before and after
Flexa's own release called the company "the leading pure-digital payments network." The business runs on its AMP token and targets merchant acceptance of digital assets1. The Oct. 1 start date gave Gitlitz two days between the announcement and her first day. Flexa and citybiz both published before she had begun the job2. Spalding's statement called digital assets a "nascent industry," a general description that skipped any single regulatory pressure Flexa faced.
What came next
By June 18, 2026, the general counsel seat Gitlitz had filled in 2021 belonged to someone else. Flexa's own leadership announcement that day named Upneet Teji as the company's "chief legal officer," elevating Teji to president while keeping the legal title3. That same release named Flexa's then-outgoing CEO, Daniel McCabe, as the company's "first general counsel," a title he held before Gitlitz's 2021 hire. It said Flexa had gone on to secure 40 state money transmission licenses under the leadership that followed. The release left the date and reason for Gitlitz's exit from the role unstated.
Sources
- Flexa, "Flexa Hires Blockchain And Digital Assets Veteran Michelle Ann Gitlitz As General Counsel," PR Newswire, Sept. 29, 2021, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flexa-hires-blockchain-and-digital-assets-veteran-michelle-ann-gitlitz-as-general-counsel-301387446.html
- citybiz, "Flexa Appoints Michelle Ann Gitlitz As General Counsel," Sept. 29, 2021, https://www.citybiz.co/article/150540/flexa-appoints-michelle-ann-gitlitz-as-general-counsel/
- Flexa, "Flexa Announces Leadership Transition to Advance Next Phase of Regulated Money Movement," June 18, 2026, https://flexa.co/newsroom/leadership