HashKey Group named David Leahy chief operating officer of its exchange business, the company said in a release dated May 13, 20221. The same release named WK Chim senior advisor to the board for risk management. Leahy joined from J.P. Morgan in Hong Kong. He was most recently managing director and head of the bank's financial sponsors group for Asia. HashKey said Leahy would oversee core operations for the exchange business and build out its longer-term growth strategy.
Two leadership moves at HashKey Group on the record since 2022
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, 2022 | Leahy became COO of the Group's Exchange Business. David Leahy was named Chief Operating Officer of the Group's Exchange Business of HashKey Group |
| Dec. 5, 2024 | Weng left as COO. Livio Weng left as Chief Operating Officer, HashKey Group and Chief Executive Officer, HashKey Exchange of HashKey Group |
37 executive hires on the record in 2022
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2022: 37
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 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 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
The move
Leahy had earlier served as head of prime finance distribution for Asia at J.P. Morgan. He also held senior financing roles in alternative investments at Credit Suisse, across Hong Kong, Sydney, and London, IT Brief Asia reported2. Michel Lee, HashKey Group's executive president, named both hires in the release. “We are very pleased to welcome David and WK to the HashKey team. Their combined experience, strong business acumen and deep market insights will be invaluable to the Group as we continue to grow and expand our businesses across Asia,” Lee said1. Chim brought more than 30 years of international banking experience in risk management. He had served as an independent director outside management for Standard Chartered Bank China. The same role took him to HDR Global Trading, the owner and operator of the BitMEX trading platform.
Before and after at HashKey Group
HashKey Group's release tied the hires to a licensing push underway in May 2022. The company said it had secured an approval-in-principle from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission1. That approval covered a bid to run a virtual asset trading platform. It needed two licenses: Type 1, for dealing in securities, and Type 7, for automated trading services. HashKey said it sought registered trading licenses in three places at once. Those were Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan. Leahy's mandate put him at the center of the exchange business during that push.
What the record shows
HashKey Group's May 13, 2022 release named Leahy chief operating officer of its exchange business. The company was pursuing trading licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan at the time1. IT Brief Asia's report on May 20, 2022 confirmed the hire, along with Leahy's background financing trading desks at J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse2.
Sources
- HashKey Group, "HashKey Group Strengthens Leadership with Key Senior Hires in Exchange Business and Risk Management," PR Newswire, May 13, 2022, https://www.koreaherald.com/article/2865651
- Zach Thompson, "HashKey appoints David Leahy as chief operating officer," IT Brief Asia, May 20, 2022, https://itbrief.asia/story/hashkey-appoints-david-leahy-as-chief-operating-officer