Crypto Giant Gemini Hires Former Wall Street COO to Head Operations

Crypto exchange Gemini has announced the arrival of Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, who joins the team as the Managing Director in charge of Operations.

A former Wall Street COO, Jeanine brings over a decade of experience to the company, which is owned by crypto investment duo Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

In a Medium post published by co-founder Cameron Winklevoss, it was revealed that Hightower-Selitto will lead the effort to build the new Gemini Marketplace as well as the new client service team.

High Profile Capture

In the announcement, Winklevoss stated that the new hire comes as part of an effort to build a world-class marketplace and Client Services Team which would cater to the needs of its corporate clients. This team will also complement the efforts of its current Customer Team.

According to Winklevoss, Hightower-Selitto’s profile and experience will be key in building out the company’s vision for its marketplace and client services team, which will enable it “continue to deliver the best platform experience possible”.

Prior to joining Gemini, Jeanine was the Chief Operating Officer at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), a company she joined from the start and helped build into a giant exchange in its own right before its acquisition by NASDAQ. She occupied various executive positions over a period of thirteen years at ISE in different departments among which are product management, business development and relationship management.

Speaking about Hightower-Selitto, Winklevoss said:

“Scaling a New York trust company in one of the fastest growing industries in the world carries with it unique challenges — challenges that Jeanine’s deep background in marketplaces and leading high-achieving operational teams will help us navigate as we sail the Gemini Spaceship towards the moon.”

The capture of Hightower-Selitto is another statement of Gemni’s intentions following the July capture of former NYSE and International Securities Exchange technology officer Robert Cornish as the platform’s new CTO.

In September, CCN.com reported that Gemini launched its own USD-pegged stablecoin called Gemini Dollar (GUSD), marketing it as a safer and more trustworthy alternative to Tether, being the first ever fully regulated stablecoin under U.S. federal law and the New York Department of Financial Services ‘Bitlicense’ framework.

More recently in September, CCN.com reported that the New york-based exchange has hired advisors ahead of a proposed expansion into the UK market where it will submit an application to the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for regulatory permission to open an exchange under the agency’s e-money licensing framework.

Featured image from Flickr/TechCrunch.