Kelly Loeffler left as Bakkt's founding chief executive on December 20, 2019, after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her to the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson23. Intercontinental Exchange, Bakkt's majority owner, announced her exit on December 23, 2019, in the press release that named Mike Blandina CEO in her place1.
Two of Bakkt's 8 leadership moves on the record came in 2019
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Bakkt, by year
- 2019: 2
- 2020, 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 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 | 2 |
Seven CEO exits on the record in 2019
CEO exits CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2019: 7
- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
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 |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 11 |
The move
Intercontinental Exchange's announcement named Loeffler's exit only in passing, inside a sentence about the appointments that followed it. “The appointments took effect December 20, following the departure of founding CEO Kelly Loeffler, who has been appointed to the United States Senate to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson,” the release said1. Jeffrey Sprecher is Intercontinental Exchange's founder, chairman and CEO. He used the same release to name what her successor would own, rather than to explain her exit. “As CEO, Mike will chart Bakkt's strategic direction, payment products and markets, as well as overseeing the regulatory and financial performance of the company,” Sprecher said2.
Before and after the announcement
Loeffler led Bakkt from its launch in 2018 until she left on December 20, 2019, CoinDesk reported3. In that time Bakkt offered physically delivered bitcoin futures, a design The Motley Fool set against rival CME Group's cash-settled contracts2. Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, led Intercontinental Exchange the whole time, a tie CoinDesk flagged later in its report on her exit pay. Blandina had joined Bakkt as chief product officer earlier in 2019. He succeeded Loeffler. The same announcement named Adam White president1.
What came next
CoinDesk reported on May 7, 2020, that Loeffler got stock and other awards worth more than $9 million when she left Bakkt3. The outlet cited filings The New York Times had cited on May 6, 2020. Intercontinental Exchange changed the terms of her award so she kept the full sum, the outlet reported. That sum included a stake in Bakkt worth roughly $7.8 million, the kind of award departing executives typically give up. CoinDesk also reported that Loeffler had faced criticism earlier in 2020 for stock sales worth $1.3 million to $3.2 million. She and Sprecher made those trades after a private Senate briefing on COVID-19. Intercontinental Exchange said in a statement that financial advisers, acting alone, had executed the trades.
Sources
- Intercontinental Exchange, "Intercontinental Exchange Appoints Mike Blandina as CEO of Bakkt and Adam White as President of Bakkt," Intercontinental Exchange, Dec. 23, 2019, https://ir.theice.com/press/news-details/2019/Intercontinental-Exchange-Appoints-Mike-Blandina-as-CEO-of-Bakkt-and-Adam-White-as-President-of-Bakkt/default.aspx
- Joe Tenebruso, "Intercontinental Exchange Names New Bakkt CEO and President," The Motley Fool, Dec. 24, 2019, https://www.fool.com/news/2019/12/24/intercontinental-exchange-names-new-bakkt-ceo-and.aspx
- Sebastian Sinclair, "Ex-Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler Got $9M Payout as She Left for US Senate: Report," CoinDesk, May 7, 2020, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2020/05/07/ex-bakkt-ceo-kelly-loeffler-got-9m-payout-as-she-left-for-us-senate-report/