Galaxy Digital Holdings named Damien Vanderwilt co-president and head of global markets on September 29, 2020, a seat alongside existing co-president Christopher Ferraro1. Vanderwilt had most recently run Goldman Sachs' FICC execution services business, a unit he relocated to New York and built starting in 2016.
One of Galaxy's 6 leadership moves on the record came in 2020
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Galaxy, by year
- 2020: 1
- 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
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 |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 | 1 |
12 executive hires on the record in 2020
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2020: 12
- 2017, 2018, 2019, 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 | 2 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
The move
Michael Novogratz, Galaxy's founder, chief executive and chairman, framed the hire around scale. “As a seasoned manager who has operated effectively at scale, Damien's extensive knowledge of global sales motions, electronic trade execution, and capital market structure greatly enhances our efforts to institutionalize the digital asset and blockchain technology sector, offer new services, and drive forward our technology roadmap,” Novogratz said in the release1. Ferraro, who would share the co-president title with Vanderwilt, said he was “excited to partner with Damien to lead Galaxy into the next phase of our growth as the nexus for financial services in the digital asset sector”. Vanderwilt answered in his own words. “Galaxy Digital's role as a pioneer in the digital assets space makes this opportunity very compelling. I share the firm's ambition to establish cryptocurrencies and digital assets as a broadly-adopted alternative asset class and portfolio diversifier,” he said.
A second appointment rode alongside the news. Rhonda Medina, a Netflix business and legal affairs director, joined the board of managers of Galaxy's holding company the same day1. citybuzz's report the next day added a start date. Vanderwilt planned to join Galaxy in January 2021, working alongside Ferraro once he arrived2.
Galaxy before and after
Ferraro was already co-president1. The two-decade Goldman veteran brought "strong, long-standing relationships with many of Goldman's largest clients," the release said. He had rebuilt Goldman's Marquee Trader platform and built its eAron commodities system. Novogratz tied the hire to his push to bring big institutions into crypto.
What came next
Vanderwilt's run as co-president lasted roughly two years. eFinancialCareers reported on July 3, 2023, that Galaxy announced his exit in late November 2022, calling it a "transitioning" out of his executive role. The outlet added that “he left in mid-January 2023 and is now an advisor and member of the board”3. A second exit followed, the outlet reported. Danielle Johnson, a former Goldman managing director Vanderwilt had hired as global head of distribution, left inside a year. Galaxy's only account, per the outlet, called her exit "by mutual agreement".
Sources
- Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., "Galaxy Digital Appoints Damien Vanderwilt as Co-President and Head of Global Markets Rhonda Medina to Board of Managers," Canada Newswire, September 29, 2020, https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/galaxy-digital-appoints-damien-vanderwilt-as-co-president-and-head-of-global-markets-rhonda-medina-to-board-of-managers-803535764.html
- citybuzz, "Galaxy Digital Appoints Damien Vanderwilt as Co-President," citybuzz, September 30, 2020, https://newyork.citybuzz.co/article/630933/galaxy-digital-appoints-damien-vanderwilt-as-co-president
- Sarah Butcher, "Goldman Sachs MDs quietly disappearing from Galaxy Digital," eFinancialCareers, July 3, 2023, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMihgFBVV95cUxNSnNFdVpLTjZiSFZ0VndDS0J6TERERGtaWUJicDdCc1hIS051MmhlOXgzUGM1em0ycGRmeU1sVUNxTENCWGF3RjZ0SzM0SEt3X25lYUxTUGVqblFXQkIyQ0EwXzAzYzE5LW5RQ05rSjFDRG1Oc2cxS0htOHpCckg3RXFQZmVwZw?oc=5