Riot Blockchain, Inc. named board member Jason Les chief executive officer on Feb. 8, 2021, the company said in a release carried by GlobeNewswire. Jeff McGonegal, who had served as CEO since early 2019, returned to the chief financial officer post he held from 2003 until that appointment1.
One of Riot Platforms' 11 leadership moves on the record came in 2021
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Riot Platforms, by year
- 2021: 1
- 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 |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2026 | 2 |
Six CEO appointments on the record in 2021
CEO appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2021: 6
- 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
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 |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 17 |
| 2024 | 26 |
| 2025 | 35 |
A Board Seat Became the Top Job
Les had served as an independent director on Riot's board since 2017, and the Feb. 8 release said he would keep that board seat alongside his new title. Benjamin Yi, Riot's chairman, named the reasoning behind the pick. “Strengthening our management team to take advantage of these opportunities has been a high priority for the Board, and we are pleased to appoint Jason to lead the Company,” Yi said. “Having worked closely with Jason as a Board colleague for the past two years, the Board is confident that he will continue to leverage his unique skill set and background in Bitcoin to drive the Company's continued growth”1.
A statement from the new chief executive followed. “It is a privilege to be asked to serve as Riot's CEO,” Les said. “We are at an exciting and critical juncture in our industry, with Bitcoin positioned to disrupt the global financial system. In addition, there continues to be a large shift in mining capacity to the United States, creating significant opportunity for the Company. With its fleet of next-generation miners, unique industry relationships, and strong balance sheet, Riot is extremely well-positioned to capitalize on these opportunities that we see in front of us”1.
McGonegal Returns to Finance, Cho Joins the Board
The outgoing chief executive moved back to the finance seat he had held at Riot from 2003 forward, the release said1. Riot's release also named Hannah Cho, then a vice president of marketing communications at BMC Software, to the board as an independent director. BlockTribune, in a report on Feb. 9, 2021, confirmed both moves and described Les as an engineer who had studied Bitcoin's protocol development and contributed to open-source projects since 20132.
What came next
Les stayed in the job. Riot Platforms, the renamed company, reported its second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 10, 2026, and Jason Les signed that release as CEO, more than five years after the February 2021 appointment3. That release named a 20-year, 191-megawatt data center lease as the quarter's main capital commitment, ahead of new mining hardware.
Sources
- Riot Blockchain, Inc., "Riot Blockchain Announces Appointment of Jason Les as CEO and Appointment of New Director," GlobeNewswire, Feb. 8, 2021, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/02/08/2171416/0/en/Riot-Blockchain-Announces-Appointment-of-Jason-Les-as-CEO-and-Appointment-of-New-Director.html
- David Pimentel, "Bitcoin Mining Firm Riot Blockchain Appoints Jason Les As Chief Executive Officer," BlockTribune, Feb. 9, 2021, https://blocktribune.com/bitcoin-mining-firm-riot-blockchain-appoints-jason-les-as-chief-executive-officer/
- Riot Platforms, "Riot Platforms Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Strategic Highlights," GlobeNewswire via StockTitan, Aug. 10, 2026, https://www.stocktitan.net/news/RIOT/riot-platforms-reports-second-quarter-2026-financial-results-and-fx1xzeaonjf5.html