Giles Colwell Joins BlockFi as Head of North America and LATAM Institutional Distribution

BlockFi has also made several senior hires to focus on continued global growth of the company

News provided by

Aug 11, 2021, 09:30 ET

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Aug. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BlockFi, a financial services company dedicated to building a bridge between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial and wealth management products, named Giles Colwell as Head of North America and LATAM Institutional Distribution. BlockFi also announced additional executive appointments in North America, EMEA and APAC regions, maintaining a strong pace of global growth and senior hires. Samia Bayou joins as the Global Head of Private Clients, Rafael Weber serves as the Director of APAC Private Clients, and Paul Howard is an Institutional Sales Director for APAC.

In his role as Head of North America and LATAM Institutional Distribution, Mr. Colwell is responsible for overseeing the Americas distribution team and delivering BlockFi's innovative cryptocurrency products and services to clients.

Mr. Colwell has more than 30 years of experience as a Wall Street executive at Bank of America, JPMorgan, and UBS. Throughout his career, he has held senior leadership positions across Global Markets and FIG banking, providing insight, advice, and tailored solutions to investment managers, corporations, and individuals. For the last decade, Mr. Colwell has been a Managing Director in the Senior Relationship Management team at Bank of America, responsible for overseeing the entire Bank of America platform and driving strategic dialogue with some of the bank's largest institutional accounts across global markets, banking, capital markets, and advisory services.

Ms. Bayou joins BlockFi after nearly five years as a Senior Investment Advisor at a private family office in London. In that role, Ms. Bayou managed assets and investments for the family office and was a regular participant in the Davos World Economic Forum. Previously, Ms. Bayou served in senior roles with more than 12 years of experience in large banking groups such as UBS, Merrill Lynch, Citi, and Societe Generale.

Mr. Weber joins BlockFi with more than 12 years of experience in private banking, working with multi-family offices, external asset managers, and fund managers in Asia and Europe. Most recently, he worked for UBS in Singapore and Hong Kong as a Senior Client Advisor and Business Developer.

Mr. Howard brings more than a decade of Institutional Sales and coverage experience in Asia with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. An MBA graduate from the University of Hong Kong, Mr. Howard was also named as one of Asia's youngest Managing Directors for a Fortune 500 company.

"As we continue to expand relationships with institutional investors around the world, we're honored to welcome these top-notch professionals who will play an integral role in liaising with clients and external partners," said David Olsson, Head of Institutional Distribution at BlockFi. "We're highly committed to institutional business growth and Giles and team will be an instrumental part of this plan. The proven leadership and expertise of each individual will aid our institutional clients as they continue to gain exposure to digital assets."

Media Contact for BlockFi:

Ryan Dicovitsky/Ellie Johnson

Dukas Linden Public Relations

[email protected]

About BlockFi

BlockFi is a new breed of financial services company. Founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez, BlockFi is building a bridge between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial and wealth management products to advance the overall digital asset ecosystem for individual and institutional investors.

Nothing contained in this announcement should be construed as a solicitation of an offer to buy or offer, or recommendation, to acquire or dispose of any security, commodity, investment or to engage in any other transaction. The information provided in this announcement is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation. This announcement is not directed to any person in any jurisdiction where the publication or availability of the announcement is prohibited, by reason of that person's nationality, residence or otherwise.

Neither BlockFi nor any of its affiliates or representatives provide legal, tax or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.

Digital currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and crypto interest accounts are not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections. Learn more at BlockFi.com.

BlockFi Lending LLC NMLS ID#1737520 | BlockFi Trading LLC NMLS ID#1873137

SOURCE BlockFi