West Realm Shires Services runs FTX.US. That company named Brett Harrison as the exchange's first president on May 13, 20211. Harrison came from Citadel Securities, where he had led a team of more than 100 engineers. Before that he worked at Jane Street alongside FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried for three years. FinanceFeeds reported on May 14, 2021, that Harrison's job would be to help FTX.US "become the leading US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange"2.
Four leadership moves at FTX on the record since 2021
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 13, 2021 | Harrison became President. Brett Harrison was named President of FTX |
| Sept. 27, 2022 | Harrison left as President. Brett Harrison left as President, FTX US of FTX |
| Nov. 11, 2022 | Bankman-Fried left as CEO. Sam Bankman-Fried left as CEO of FTX |
| Nov. 11, 2022 | Ray became CEO. John J. Ray III was named CEO of FTX |
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 |
The move
Bankman-Fried's statement in the announcement named the specific history behind the hire. “When we were at Jane Street, Brett was always the best developer to call when you absolutely had to get something online,” Bankman-Fried said. “He combined great technical skills (way better than mine!) with a clear view of the business needs and priorities. And most importantly, he's just a great guy. I'm really excited to work with him to help massively scale out FTX.US”1.
Harrison answered in kind. “Working with Sam at Jane Street was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I'm beyond excited to have the opportunity to do it again,” Harrison said. “I've been blown away by everything he and his teams have built over the last couple years. I'm honored to join them at this pivotal moment and help drive FTX.US's rapid growth”1.
FTX.US before and after
West Realm Shires' own release named Harrison the exchange's "first President," a seat FTX.US had left open before the hire1. His engineering background spanned two of Wall Street's most technical trading shops. He led Jane Street's trading systems development group. Harrison started there as a Harvard University intern. At Citadel Securities he rose to lead its ETF technology group, then its semi-systematic technology group. That group covered options, ETFs, over-the-counter trading and American depositary receipts.
What came next
Harrison stepped down as FTX.US president on September 27, 2022, Blockworks reported, moving to an advisory role at the exchange he had helped build3. “I have deep gratitude for my experiences at FTX in the last year and a half,” Harrison wrote on Twitter, the outlet reported. Blockworks noted that FTX had spent recent months buying crypto firms hurt by the bear market. The deals included BlockFi for up to $240 million and Voyager Digital's assets for $1.4 billion.
Sources
- West Realm Shires Services Inc., "FTX.US Appoints Brett Harrison As President," PR Newswire, May 13, 2021, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ftxus-appoints-brett-harrison-as-president-301291096.html
- Karthik Subramanian, "FTX.US appoints its first President in push to US business," FinanceFeeds, May 14, 2021, https://financefeeds.com/ftx-us-appoints-first-president-push-us-business/
- Bessie Liu, "Brett Harrison Leaving FTX US, Moving Into Advisory Role," Blockworks, Sept. 27, 2022, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiiwFBVV95cUxPRW5oNi1DV3lTNGFIcGc2SF8zcEU2alVzNVBQblBkeEgzamEwTjZEa09wYktaLTVWWkhSQlRIaDFNZXBHRjlBaWNqbWxsdGxXN2lwRUlKQ0J3Qnczdk9WbVA5SGhRWGp1RnJTelVjSHFudzVKTWJQYnhKSU5tbUxOd0hsdFBJeW5TTWtz?oc=5