Galaxy Digital Holdings named Leon Marshall Chief Executive Officer of Europe on September 21, 20231. The role was new, covering the firm's European expansion across every business line. Marshall kept his existing title, global head of sales, while taking on the regional post. CoinDesk reported the same day that Marshall had joined Galaxy in June 2023 as global head of sales, and was now the firm's "first European CEO"2.
The second executive hire at Galaxy on the record since 2020
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Galaxy, by year
- 2023: 1
- 2020, 2021, 2022, 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 |
20 executive hires on the record in 2023
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2023: 20
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 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 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
The move
Michael Novogratz, Galaxy's founder and chief executive, tied the appointment to a region he called central to growth. “We are thrilled to name Leon as the CEO of Europe, a region that is critically important to our growth strategy,” Novogratz said in the release. “Leon's tremendous leadership skills and strong track record of developing and scaling digital asset products for European institutional investors will be invaluable to us as we continue to scale our operations in the U.K. and continental Europe aggressively,” he said1. Marshall answered with his own read of the opportunity. “Galaxy has firmly established itself as the world's pre-eminent digital asset financial services platform, thanks to its innovative institutional-grade investment solutions and deep bench of talented and experienced professionals,” Marshall said, adding that he had “the utmost confidence that we are well-positioned to remain at the forefront of the digital asset space for years to come”.
CoinDesk's report placed the timing against a wider pattern. Several crypto companies, including exchange Coinbase, had been looking to expand in Europe, the outlet wrote2. Clearer rules in the European Union and the U.K. were part of the reason, CoinDesk said.
Galaxy before and after
Marshall joined Galaxy in June 2023. He had spent more than four years before June 2023 as managing director and global head of sales at Genesis, Galaxy's release said1. Earlier still, he spent a decade as a portfolio manager in energy and metal markets at Trafigura and Apollo Global Management. He began his career as a commodities derivatives trader at UBS. The release tied his new title to Galaxy's recent strategic alliance with DWS, built to bring digital asset exchange-traded products to Europe. CoinDesk called him Galaxy's "first European CEO," a title layered on top of the sales job he already held2.
What came next
Marshall still held the Europe CEO title on October 21, 2024, more than a year later. CNBC's video report identified him as "CEO of Galaxy Europe," discussing the asset class's prospects under a potential second Trump administration3. Galaxy's own April 2, 2025 announcement of a UK derivatives license from the Financial Conduct Authority still quoted him as CEO of Galaxy Europe and global head of sales4. By March 29, 2026, he had left the post. Pulse 2.0 listed "Leon Marshall, former CEO Europe at Galaxy Digital" on the advisory board of M1X Global, a company that helps governments issue bonds on blockchains5.
Sources
- Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd, "Galaxy Appoints Leon Marshall Chief Executive Officer of Europe," Canada Newswire, September 21, 2023, https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/galaxy-appoints-leon-marshall-chief-executive-officer-of-europe-868518409.html
- Jamie Crawley, "Galaxy Digital Eyes European Expansion With New Regional CEO," CoinDesk, September 21, 2023, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/09/21/galaxy-digital-eyes-european-expansion-with-new-regional-ceo
- CNBC, "Trump will be more friendly environment for crypto: Galaxy Europe CEO," CNBC, October 21, 2024, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisAFBVV95cUxPR0MzbFBFRzJtV0JOenllZGIzX1ZXRGpRcy11aV9GUHpRdmI4RnQtWC1nM2YzM0RPdWVpZ0dUQUdfVHBueEh1NUFjOGNuclFGemFseVBJbUFxZnh2eXlmZ0NndFo1ZWpaRjdRTUZPX05fcGI5RVpyUEVRaDM2QzNmLXpVUXk0UHRlaWRMMW96ZFkwOWNqLWJSMnozakFUY2NPWEdNLWZraWhJUHRHei1GdA?oc=5
- Galaxy, "Galaxy Digital UK Secures FCA License, Expanding Derivatives Trading Capabilities in London," Galaxy, April 2, 2025, https://www.galaxy.com/newsroom/galaxy-digital-uk-secures-fca-license
- Amit Chowdhry, "M1X Global: $3 Million Raised For On-Chain Sovereign Finance Platform Launch," Pulse 2.0, March 29, 2026, https://pulse2.com/m1x-global-3-million-raised-for-on-chain-sovereign-finance-platform-launch/