Jito Foundation named Thomas Uhm chief commercial officer on April 7, 2025, bringing in a trader who had spent more than two decades at Jane Street Capital. The nonprofit's own release announced the hire and described his mandate: deepen the Solana staking protocol's ties to institutional finance. “Jito Foundation, the organization that oversees ecosystem growth and adoption of Jito protocols under the direction of the Jito DAO, today announced the hiring of Thomas Uhm as Chief Commercial Officer,” the release said1.
The second executive hire at Jito Labs on the record since 2025
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 |
|---|---|
| Jan. 16, 2025 | Rettig became CLO. Rebecca Rettig was named Chief Legal Officer of Jito Labs |
| April 7, 2025 | Uhm became Chief Commercial Officer. Thomas Uhm was named Chief Commercial Officer of Jito Labs |
59 executive hires on the record in 2025, the most of any year
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 59
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 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 |
Uhm most recently ran Jane Street's institutional crypto desk, a post that put him between the firm's traders and the outside banks and crypto companies it worked with. “Uhm joins the Jito Foundation following more than two decades at Jane Street Capital, where he most recently served as the firm's Head of Institutional Crypto,” the release said, adding that he had helped open the firm's London office1. Lucas Bruder, chief executive of Jito Labs, tied the hire to a wider shift in who trades Solana's staking tools. “As institutional participation in crypto markets continues to accelerate, it's critical that the Jito ecosystem meets the needs of sophisticated stakeholders,” Bruder said. “Thomas brings a deep understanding of both traditional finance and digital asset market structure, and I'm thrilled to have him on board at the Jito Foundation as the protocol's footprint is expanded across the institutional landscape”.
What Uhm said about the move
Uhm pointed to his years watching crypto shift from a niche desk to a mainstream one at Jane Street. “During my time at Jane Street, I saw firsthand how rapidly financial markets can evolve—and how crypto has shifted from the fringes to a core pillar of the global financial system. Institutional interest isn't just growing—it's accelerating. I'm joining the Jito Foundation because its mission, exceptional team, and the unique role it plays within the Solana ecosystem positions the protocol to drive the next wave of institutional adoption,” Uhm said1. The Block logged the hire in its monthly roundup of crypto personnel moves, confirming Uhm's Jane Street background and linking it to Jito's focus on Solana staking and the value extracted from transaction ordering known as MEV2.
What came next
Uhm was still describing the Jito Foundation as his employer nine months later, in a January 28, 2026, interview with eFinancialCareers about his career path. He told the outlet he had left Jane Street "last year" to join "the Jito Foundation, a non-profit supporting infrastructure on the Solana blockchain"3. Uhm said the role reshaped how he saw his own value after years of feeling out of place among his Jane Street colleagues. “I'm more valuable than I realised, and, what's more, that others see me that way too,” he said of what working at Jito taught him.
Sources
- "Jito Foundation Appoints Jane Street Capital Veteran Thomas Uhm As Chief Commercial Officer," Jito Foundation, April 7, 2025, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jito-foundation-appoints-jane-street-capital-veteran-thomas-uhm-as-chief-commercial-officer-302421289.html
- "50 key crypto hires, exits and moves: April 2025," The Block, May 2, 2025, https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2025-05-02-50-key-crypto-hires-exits-and-moves-april-2025-352903
- "Jane Street crypto pioneer: 'imposter syndrome quietly weighed on me for years'," eFinancialCareers, January 28, 2026, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMixwFBVV95cUxPRF96a2c2bHlzeVdXWHh2LU1OOTkzaHdDczd5UHVvNW9jMUVYeHZfQXAyVXhsX2JlbVZZTWhXV01ZTmVzR21jRFUtNC02NUdzYXpiNzdVQndOakFOOTNHbnNHaHoyYWk4MFNpMklmR0JvTE1QNVVFY2ItVU5VVkVDYzllaXRjci14S0ZKMlZJYkNKcHQ3b1UzU2xxT2tSSVdfWFNtU2xNWDFtVi1RdTZBdEdrU3F2aEtMR1kwYnoxaWc3OGl0TjhF?oc=5