Senior global finance executive brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across structured finance, private credit, M&A advisory, private equity and global capital markets
Appointment strengthens best-in-class management team with deep expertise in both Bitcoin and active asset management
Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (“BSTR” or the “Company”), an operating company dedicated to accumulating Bitcoin and providing investors exposure to Bitcoin with both yield and alpha strategies through its actively managed Bitcoin holdings, announced the appointment of Robert “Bob” Stefanowski as Chief Financial Officer of BSTR.
Mr. Stefanowski is a respected global finance executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience across private credit, structured finance, private equity and infrastructure investing. Throughout his career, Mr. Stefanowski has served as a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chairman and lead investor, building and overseeing multi-billion-dollar lending and investment platforms for public and private institutions across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
As CFO, Mr. Stefanowski will oversee BSTR’s capital markets strategy, financial reporting, accounting and treasury functions.
BSTR previously announced on July 17, 2025 that it entered into a definitive agreement for a proposed business combination with Cantor Equity Partners I, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPO), a special-purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald. Upon closing of the transaction, the Company is expected to trade under the ticker symbol “BSTR”.
“BSTR was founded to serve as the premier Bitcoin-focused public company designed to meet the evolving needs of institutional investors,” said Katherine Dowling, President of BSTR. “Bob brings unparalleled experience guiding financial strategy and capital markets execution for some of the world’s leading investment platforms. His leadership will be instrumental as we position BSTR for long-term growth and public market success.”
Mr. Stefanowski most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of NEOM USA, where he led the structuring and financing of large-scale infrastructure and project finance transactions in the Middle East, including an $8.4 billion joint venture to develop what is expected to be the world’s largest green hydrogen facility in Saudi Arabia.
Previously, Mr. Stefanowski served as Chief Financial Officer of UBS Investment Bank, where he led financial reporting, capital management and regulatory compliance for a global investment banking division operating with over $80 billion of Basel III risk-weighted assets across trading, fixed income, equities and advisory platforms. Before this, Mr. Stefanowski was CEO of a $1.3 billion consumer lending platform owned by Lone Star Capital and was Managing Director and Chairman of 3i Group plc’s international operations.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Stefanowski spent 14 years at GE Capital in multiple senior leadership roles across private credit businesses, managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios of senior loans, mezzanine debt and asset-backed securities.
“As institutional adoption of Bitcoin continues to accelerate, there is a clear need for a disciplined, transparent public company capable of allocating capital responsibly while generating yield and alpha,” said Mr. Stefanowski. “BSTR is uniquely positioned to bridge Bitcoin and capital markets at scale, and I am excited to help guide the Company through its next phase of growth.”
In addition to his executive career, Mr. Stefanowski has been active in academia and public service. He served as a Clinical Professor of Finance at Oxford University and as adjunct faculty at Cambridge University and NYU Stern School of Business. He is the author of Making M&A Deals Happen (2007) and Material Adverse Change (2017). He has participated in the World Economic Forum’s Financial Services Industry Partnership in Davos, Switzerland.
Mr. Stefanowski holds an MBA from Cornell University, a B.S. in Accounting from Fairfield University and a Fellowship in Finance from the Wharton School of Business. He is a former CPA, CFA and CFE. He previously served on the board of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London following an appointment by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and currently serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards.
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