EQONEX, a digital assets financial services company (Nasdaq: EQOS), today announced it has significantly expanded its international sales team with strategic hires to meet the exponential growth of institutional demand for digital assets. EQONEX CEO, Richard Byworth said, “Institutional participation in crypto is at an inflection point. Our institutional clients and professional crypto traders want to work with experts they can trust, and our investment in highly experienced professionals reflects our commitment to delivering a best-in-class, compliant and transparent cryptocurrency platform”.
To realize its growth ambitions, EQONEX has recruited Alex Phillips, as Group Head of Sales, who brings a wealth of experience from his 17-year career in financial markets. Mr. Phillips joins EQONEX from Dymon Asia Capital, where he was Head of Trading, for the past six-years. Prior roles include Head of Trading for Asian markets at Millennium Capital Partners and global equities and derivatives sales and trading at BNP Paribas, Martin Currie, and RBS.
Speaking on his appointment, Mr. Phillips said, “I have watched EQONEX disrupt the cryptocurrency market for some time now, and have been impressed by the company’s reputation, the sophistication of its product suite, and its track record as the first crypto-asset exchange to have met the stringent criteria to list publicly in the U.S on Nasdaq.”
EQONEX also appointed Malcolm Baker as Head of Group Sales for the European region. Mr. Baker brings over 30-years of multi-asset financial services expertise gained at his previous roles with the CME Group in Asia, and most recently as the founder of FX FWD Ltd, a company formed to provide a lightweight, robust FX Swaps Pricing solution to global traders and Brokers.
“The unprecedented demand for digital assets and the relatively few places that meet the rigorous standards imposed by regulators, puts EQONEX in an almost unmatched position in the marketplace. It is one of the only organizations that offer a fully comprehensive and truly global suite of digital asset services, that meet the standards of regulatory compliance and financial transparency demanded by institutions and professional traders.” Mr. Baker said.
In addition to Mr. Phillips and Mr. Baker’s appointments, EQONEX has also deepened its country and product sales expertise, with the following strategic appointments:
Matthew Allott was appointed as Asset Management Head of Sales, overseeing asset management sales. Mr. Allott joins from Optimus Trading, a family office, where he had responsibility for managing around $200m in AUM across derivatives, commodities, and digital. Mr. Allott has previously held investment management positions in the United Kingdom and Russia.
“I am delighted to join EQONEX. Its full ecosystem of digital asset services is highly compelling. In particular, the Bletchley Park Fund has demonstrated mind-blowing returns with 80% of the portfolio being market neutral. The alpha-centric market-neutral fund of fund strategy is exactly what institutional investors need in volatile crypto markets. It’s great to be part of such a high-performing team,” said Mr. Allott.
Metin Simsek was appointed as Head of Investment Products for Germany, with responsibility for sales and distribution within this important market. Mr. Simsek spent more than a decade in equity derivative sales at UBS Investment Bank. Mr. Simsek also spent four years with HSBC.
“In Germany, we are readying for the launch of a retail investment crypto product that will bring digital assets to the customer in an easily investible format, making it accessible for all. It is very exciting to be working with such a great team on the launch of such an innovative product. The opportunity to be at the forefront of the development of a full suite of digital asset financial services was too good to pass up.” Mr. Simsek said.
Bjorn Rosendahl has joined EQONEX as the Head of Sales for Custody. Mr. Rosendahl is an industry leader with more than 25-years of financial services experience. In his most recent role, he was Head of Custody of EMEA at J.P Morgan International Private Bank. He also previously held positions at Pictet Group, Reuters, and Deutsche Bank.
“As digital assets become increasingly important for institutional investment portfolios, investors require a custodian that meets the highest regulatory standards. Digivault, the EQONEX group’s custodian, delivers a fully customizable, regulated, insured, industry certified, and accredited solution. It is an honor to work alongside such a strong and diverse range of talent from finance through to the government security industry,” said Mr. Rosendahl.
Speaking on the new appointments, Richard Byworth, Chief Executive at EQONEX, said: “Over the past three years we have built an exceptional one-stop shop for crypto and digital assets. With last week’s announcements of the new marketing hires and with Alex and the team being put in place this week, we are now well positioned for the next phase of growth. It is time to show the world the quality of the EQONEX group offering, and I am excited to welcome such a high caliber group of salespeople to the organization”.
About EQONEX Group
Eqonex Limited is a digital assets financial services company focused on fairness, governance, and innovation. The group encompasses cryptocurrency exchange EQONEX as well as an over-the-counter trading platform. It also offers a front-to-back integrated trading platform, Access Trading, a securitization advisory service EQONEX Capital, market leading hot and cold custodian Digivault, and asset manager Bletchley Park
