Crypto hiring: Dfns lands former Gemini, Genesis execs

Dfns, a Web3 wallet infrastructure and security firm, landed a pair of former Genesis and Gemini executives this week. 

John Conneely, who previously headed Genesis’ institutional custody, was brought onto the Dfns roster under the title of vice president of business development and sales. Genesis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January.

Conneely also spent time at Bakkt as the company’s institutional custody head. Dfns’ goal with the hire, the company said in a statement, is to tap Conneely’s custodial know-how to build out new solutions and broker additional partnerships. 

And Dfns hired Noah Cornwell as chief technology officer. Cornwell was Gemini’s engineering vice president for a little over two years, departing in March 2023. 

Dfns said that Cornwell will be a major asset as the company develops wallet-as-as-service products B2B and B2B2C organizations. 

Circle rounding out board

As for Circle, the USDC issuer selected Craig Broderick to round out its board of directors.

Broderick has worked for Goldman Sachs for 38 years, 32 of which were in risk management roles. He oversaw the bank’s credit, market, liquidity, operational, model, counterparty and insurance risks. 

Circle CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire in a statement said Broderick will be a key member of the team as the company pursues its “regulatory-first business approach.”

Separately, Heath Tarbert started Saturday as Circle’s chief legal officer and head of corporate affairs. His hiring was made public just days after the SEC brought forward the regulator’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase.

Other notable hires

• Industry collective Blockchain Australia appointed Simon Callaghan as the organization’s chief executive. He leads the Digital Assets Program at the University of Cambridge and has advised a number of blockchain initiatives and projects.
• Jayson Hobby, a vice president of product at Compound Labs, said he’d been promoted to chief executive of the company.

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