BlockFi, a financial services company dedicated to building a bridge between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial and wealth management products, named Giles Colwell as Head of North America and LATAM Institutional Distribution. BlockFi also announced additional executive appointments in North America, EMEA and APAC regions, maintaining a strong pace of global growth and senior hires. Samia Bayou joins as the Global Head of Private Clients, Rafael Weber serves as the Director of APAC Private Clients, and Paul Howard is an Institutional Sales Director for APAC.
In his role as Head of North America and LATAM Institutional Distribution, Mr. Colwell is responsible for overseeing the Americas distribution team and delivering BlockFi’s innovative cryptocurrency products and services to clients.
Mr. Colwell has more than 30 years of experience as a Wall Street executive at Bank of America, JPMorgan, and UBS. Throughout his career, he has held senior leadership positions across Global Markets and FIG banking, providing insight, advice, and tailored solutions to investment managers, corporations, and individuals. For the last decade, Mr. Colwell has been a Managing Director in the Senior Relationship Management team at Bank of America, responsible for overseeing the entire Bank of America platform and driving strategic dialogue with some of the bank’s largest institutional accounts across global markets, banking, capital markets, and advisory services.
Ms. Bayou joins BlockFi after nearly five years as a Senior Investment Advisor at a private family office in London. In that role, Ms. Bayou managed assets and investments for the family office and was a regular participant in the Davos World Economic Forum. Previously, Ms. Bayou served in senior roles with more than 12 years of experience in large banking groups such as UBS, Merrill Lynch, Citi, and Societe Generale.
Mr. Weber joins BlockFi with more than 12 years of experience in private banking, working with multi-family offices, external asset managers, and fund managers in Asia and Europe. Most recently, he worked for UBS in Singapore and Hong Kong as a Senior Client Advisor and Business Developer.
Mr. Howard brings more than a decade of Institutional Sales and coverage experience in Asia with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. An MBA graduate from the University of Hong Kong, Mr. Howard was also named as one of Asia’s youngest Managing Directors for a Fortune 500 company.
“As we continue to expand relationships with institutional investors around the world, we’re honored to welcome these top-notch professionals who will play an integral role in liaising with clients and external partners,” said David Olsson, Head of Institutional Distribution at BlockFi. “We’re highly committed to institutional business growth and Giles and team will be an instrumental part of this plan. The proven leadership and expertise of each individual will aid our institutional clients as they continue to gain exposure to digital assets.”
