Former Nike CIO Anthony Watson Named CEO at Bitcoin Startup
Former Nike Inc. CIO Anthony Watson is now chief executive at Bitreserve, the Bitcoin startup he joined two months ago.
In a note to investors Monday, the company said Mr. Watson would take on the CEO role immediately. He reports directly to Bitreserve’s board of directors.
Mr. Watson left Nike in December after less than a year with the company, citing personal reasons. He joined Bitreserve in April as president and chief operating officer.
He replaces Bitreserve CEO and founder Halsey Minor, who will assume the role of board chairman and “chief visionary,” the investor note said.
Bitreserve is a cloud-based financial platform that lets users access, hold and move currencies and commodities without traditional banks, according to its website. It aims to get a handle on bitcoin’s volatility by letting users hold bitcoin as dollars, euros or other major currencies. Bitreserve is responsible for $16 million of transactions globally, according to its website.
The London-born Mr. Watson joined Nike in April 2014 after more than four years at Barclays PLC, where he was CIO of Europe, Middle East & Global Operations. Prior to Barclays, he was senior vice president and global head of technology services for Wells Fargo & Co. He also has held senior roles at Citigroup Inc., Unisys Corp., Microsoft Corp. and First-e Bancorp.
In his short time at Bitreserve, Mr. Watson also hired Nike’s former security chief, William Dennings. The move comes amid a lawsuit between Nike, Mr. Dennings and his former employer, MasterCard International Inc., that highlights the fierce battle for top cybersecurity talent.
Via: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/06/22/former-nike-cio-anthony-watson-named-ceo-at-bitcoin-startup/
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