Nadine Chakar is joining institutional tokenization startup Securrency as CEO on January 9. It was announced in late October that she was leaving State Street, where she was the founding Head of State Street Digital, the digital assets division launched in mid-2021.
Chakar was previously State Street’s Head of Global Markets and before that, Global Head of Operations and Data at ManuLife. She spent more than eight years in senior roles at BNY Mellon.
She has been vocal in her opposition to restrictions on institutions providing custody services for digital assets. That included the U.S. SEC insisting that digital assets under custody appear on the balance sheet. Proposed Basel rules for banks were thought to require banks such as State Street to set aside a dollar of capital for every dollar of digital assets under custody, which would not be viable. However, the final Basel rules clarified the dollar-for-dollar capital requirement will not apply to custody. The more accommodating rules resulted from industry feedback, including Chakar’s.
Securrency
Securrency has an existing relationship with Chakar as State Street invested in Securrency’s $30 million Series B round in mid-2021 and she took a seat on the board.
The startup’s focus is on tokenization and securities. Its patented Compliance Aware Token Framework aims to ensure that tokens comply with various securities regulations across multiple jurisdictions. That’s in addition to basic compliance, such as identity and authorization. Securrency’s tokenization solution supports both public and private blockchains. Asset manager WisdomTree Investments is both a Securrency investor and a client.
Securrency’s founding CEO, Dan Doney, will continue to serve as Chief Technology Officer. Prior to starting Securrency, he was Chief Innovation Officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency and spent much of his career in the military.
By bringing Chakar on board full-time, Securrency gains not only a seasoned executive but one with strong connections globally.
“The financial services industry is at a critical tipping point as it tokenizes regulated real-world assets and automates legacy financial processes using the power of blockchain technology,” said Chakar. “The Securrency team has done a remarkable job of developing the most robust technology on the market. As the new CEO, my priority is to accelerate the commercialization of what is in essence the digital asset intelligence and interoperability foundation for major financial institutions and the global ecosystem. “
She continued, “Dan Doney is a true visionary and innovator in the industry, and I look forward to working closely with him and the team to create the global digital assets marketplaces of the future.”
