COINZOOM INC. / COINZOOM SECURITIES, LLC • Salt Lake City, UT | 2019 – 2025

General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Financial Operations Principal

Serve in leadership role to develop and implement risk-based compliance program for top 100 US-based cryptocurrency exchange. Conduct due diligence on vendors; negotiate agreements with liquidity providers, technology providers, law firms, auditors, and consulting firms. Manage broker-dealer compliance, including writing supervisory procedures, conducting training, and handling regulatory filings. Oversee regulatory compliance for investment bank.

• Managed all legal and regulatory aspects of trades and customer issues, as well as interactions with State Banking Departments, FINRA, SEC, and corporate filings; prepared board materials and ensured data security and privacy.
  • Filed annual financial statements across 38 states; conducted employee training on BSA AML compliance.
• Reduced legal expenditures by handling 80-90% of all legal tasks in-house,including negotiating vendor agreements, conducting due diligence, and managing litigation.
  • Successfully negotiated and settled various regulatory and enforcement actions, partnering primarily with small to medium-sized law firms.
• Led 5-person team to establish and register entities across US, Bermuda, and Australia, securing Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Money Services Business [FinCEN MSB] and multiple Money Transmitter Licenses [MTLs], and applied for Virtual Asset Service Provider [VASP] licenses in European Union and other international jurisdictions.
• Oversaw money transmitter licensing,coordinated regulatory examinations, including Nationwide Multi-state Licensing System [NMLS] call reports, Internal Revenue Service Bank Secrecy Act [IRS BSA] exams, and ensured compliance with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network [FinCEN] and Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC] standards.
• Filed Suspicious Activity Reports [SARs], aligning operations with legal and regulatory requirements.

STARTUP CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES • San Francisco, CA | 2017 – 2018

Legal / Compliance Advisor

Advised early-stage cryptocurrency companies on US securities law, AML, and counter-terrorist financing rules. Clients included the following:

AegisCo: Managed regulatory affairs and established policies for Taiwan cryptocurrency custodian.

Trust Token: Initiated policy development to list TUSD on exchanges; facilitated growth from $12M to $70M market cap.

Ambisafe Financial: Directed US legal affairs, including due diligence for Ukrainian team. Worked with clients pursuing outsourced blockchain resources.

SharesPost [later renamed Forge] • San Francisco, CA | 2016 – 2017

Director of Legal / Chief Compliance Officer

Directed operations of federally registered RIA and broker-dealer within alternative trading system, overseeing execution of transactions for registered investment company. Managed system reporting and resolved conflicts between broker-dealer and alternative trading system [ATS]. Established robust compliance and enterprise risk management [ERM] program, incorporating gap analysis, calendaring, and cybersecurity measures. Ensured segregation of people, processes, and systems to maintain data privacy and security to safeguard operations across different business areas.

WHITE OAK GLOBAL ADVISORS • San Francisco, CA | 2014 – 2016

Senior Counsel / Chief Compliance Officer

Served in leadership role for alternative debt manager specializing in originating and providing financing solutions for small and middle market enterprises. Acted as general securities principal and investment banking representative for White Oak Merchant Partners, affiliated broker-dealer [Member FINRA/SIPC]. Oversaw separation of regulatory and compliance functions between advisor and broker-dealer to ensure adherence to industry standards and regulatory requirements. Tracked cybersecurity, privacy, securities licensing, registration, training, vendor risk management, and BSA/AML, FinCEN [314(a) and Sanctions [OFAC] compliance].

FIRST REPUBLIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. • San Francisco, CA | 2007 – 2014

Chief Compliance Officer

Hired to address compliance lapses and fulfill conditions for First Republic’s acquisition; improved and integrated compliance program post-Merrill Lynch acquisition. Managed compliance department of First Republic Bank subsidiary with $26B in assets and approximately $260M in revenue. Directed, trained, and mentored 5 direct reports and supervised sales activities of 100+ representatives. Oversaw compliance expenditures and daily review of marketing materials to ensure adherence to federal laws. Contributed to design and development of new products and services, including insurance, investment advisory products, referral agreements, and solicitation agreements.

• Maintained litigation and enforcement-free record over 7 years,successfully navigating company through 3 SEC regulatory examinations.
• Played crucial role in client retentionduring financial crisis, contributing to growth from $6B to $26B in AUM.
• Managed compliance aspects of acquisition and integration of Luminous Capital,ensuring adherence to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act [GLB] and Dodd-Frank regulations.
• Conducted due diligencefor acquisitions and team lift-outs, supporting buy-out and subsequent IPO of parent bank.

PRINCIPAL GLOBAL INVESTORS • Des Moines, IA | 2004 – 2006

Director of Compliance

Championed creation of compliance program for Fortune 500 financial services company with $166B in AUM. Established and implemented controls, identified conflicts of interest, and conducted training for 8 affiliated registered advisors across US, London, Sydney, and Singapore. Managed annual written program reviews; conducted interviews and mock exams.

• Defined and built compliance department complete with tools for quality assurance, due diligence, forensic testing, annual compliance reviews, problem resolution, and training.
• Settled AML enforcement action with FINRAfor subsidiary, engaging outside counsel for settlement negotiations, and subsequently developed and implemented AML program for Spectrum Asset Management.
• Oversaw 5 RIAs, including 2 broker-dealers,managing all FINRA and SEC investment regulations and integrating these with parent company.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE:

WESTLB AG: Director, Counsel & Compliance Officer [2004]; CURIAN CAPITAL LLC [Prudential PLC [UK]]: Vice President & Associate General Counsel [2002 – 2004]; Northern Trust Global Advisors: Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer [2000 – 2002]