BlockFi, a crypto financial services company in Jersey City, appointed Deborah Barta as its chief operating officer, according to a Tuesday announcement.
In this newly formalized role, Barta will drive operational maturity and support the execution of BlockFi’s strategic vision.
“BlockFi has been on a journey of professionalizing and formalizing processes and, after four hypergrowth years, we’re delighted to share that we’ve hired our first chief operating officer, Deb Barta,” said Zac Prince, founder and CEO of BlockFi. “Deb is a demonstrated corporate innovator and brings the perfect pairing of strong financial services experience and an entrepreneurial spirit that will thrive at BlockFi.”
Barta joins BlockFi from Mastercard following a 15-year tenure holding a variety of global roles across several business lines, including Mastercard Labs, creating transformational environments and leading innovative platforms for scale. Most recently, she served as the senior vice president of strategy and provenance, where she was responsible for the launch of Mastercard’s first commercial blockchain product. She also served as the CEO of the first-ever startup to successfully exit from Mastercard Labs, Simplify, and led the company’s award-winning global fintech accelerator, Start Path.
“BlockFi has been at the forefront of innovation for crypto financial services and wealth management, which is why I was immediately drawn to them,” said Barta. “BlockFi’s unique retail and institutional product offerings paired with its strongest asset, their experienced and passionate team, make it one of the most compelling trailblazers in the space. I’m thrilled to be joining this hugely-promising organization and look forward to bringing Zac and Flori (Marquez)’s strategic vision to light.”
