Fintech businesses benefit from Prime Trust staff expertise to navigate regulatory landscape and evolving crypto space
Prime Trust, the one-stop shop for financial infrastructure for fintech innovators, named Mike Smith as Chief Operating Officer (COO), while also appointing several former officials of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to its regulatory and compliance team: Jeff Tsai, Dana Dobi and Liz Teifer.
A former Federal Reserve Bank examiner coupled with consulting with Promontory Financial Group and executive roles with Visa and Green Dot, Smith joins Prime Trust with an extensive background in risk management and BSA AML compliance. As COO, he’ll lead the company’s day-to-day operations in Prime Trust’s push to become the market leader in financial infrastructure services and enable the future of financial services.
Read More: Emart to Acquire eBay’s Businesses in Korea
To support Prime Trust’s hyper-growth, the additions of Tsai, Dobi and Teifer from the OCC will play a pivotal role in the company’s build-out of its proprietary operational framework that helps clients assess risk, stay ahead of compliance requirements, make more-informed decisions and adapt for rapid shifts in the cryptocurrency markets.
“Amid accelerating growth in cryptocurrencies and rising interest from investors, fintech has opened the door to infinite opportunities for consumers and businesses across industries. But with that comes new challenges, including navigating fast-evolving rules and regulatory requirements,” said Tom Pageler, CEO of Prime Trust. “We’re committed to being a leader in understanding and anticipating such shifts to ensure market transparency and 100 percent client compliance. In fact, half of our engineers are dedicated to security and risk management, which illustrates the significant investment we’re making to stay on top of regulatory requirements.”
Read More: Financial Institutions Can Now Provide Consumers Easy Access to Bitcoin via Fiserv and NYDIG
Beyond the recent hires, Prime Trust has top talent across the organization, including an array of former regulators, prosecutors, and law-enforcement officials. The company’s leadership team, for example, also includes the following executives:
- Matt Parrella, General Counsel – professional experience includes: Assistant DA (Suffolk County in the State of New York) and Assistant U.S. Attorney (San Jose Branch Chief, Chief of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit)
- Tiago Requeijo, Chief Data Officer and Chief Technology Officer – professional experience includes: Certified Data Analyst, Securities Exchange Commission, Goldman Sachs, Stanford Ph.D. Mathematics
- Tom Pageler, CEO – professional experience includes: special agent with the U.S. Secret Service (DHS and Treasury)
- John Zelazny, Chief Privacy Officer and Vice President of Risk Management – professional experience includes: military intelligence officer
- Amanda Ortega, Chief of Regulatory Affairs – professional experience includes: Deputy Banking Commissioner of Wyoming
Read More: Deutsche Bank Partners with Oracle to Accelerate Technology Modernization
