BlockFi appoints former Intermex exec Tony Lauro as Chief Financial Officer

By Pavithra R

US-based digital-asset lending platform provider BlockFi has announced the appointment of Tony Lauro as our new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). For BlockFi, the hiring illustrates a strong example of how the company has matured and become more sophisticated as a financial institution.

Tony Lauro will play a critical role in expanding BlockFi’s product and service portfolio while growing the firm’s global presence and standing as an innovative, dynamic financial institution. He will accelerate BlockFi’s momentum in becoming a mainstream financial services provider for anyone looking to grow their wealth.

“BlockFi is doing extraordinary work in bringing crypto to a wider audience of investors. The company is adding greater efficiencies to the flow of capital, and providing critical financial services for the fast-growing crypto market. I’m thrilled at the opportunity to work with Zac again, and to help BlockFi realize its tremendous potential while strengthening the company’s standing as a leader in the digital asset space,” said Lauro.

Lauro is a Strategy and Execution focused leader with 25+ years of progressive experience in Financial Services, Technology, and Telecommunications. Mr. Lauro most recently worked at Intermex Wire Transfer as CFO and helped take International Money Express (IMXI) public in 2018. Prior to Intermex, he served as the President and CFO of Cognical, Inc., where he worked alongside BlockFi Founder & CEO Zac Prince.

Mr. Lauro has also held several roles over 9 years at Capital One, including CFO of the Prime and Superprime credit card portfolios, which totaled $22 billion in assets at the time. From 2013 to 2016, he was the CFO of the Merchant Services division of JP Morgan Chase. While at Chase, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors (BODs) at Merchant Link, a joint venture of JP Morgan Chase and First Data Corp. In the past, Lauro has held various divisional CFO roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Citizens Bank, and Capital One Financial. At the Royal Bank of Scotland, he was the interim CFO of the Transaction Banking division.

Lauro holds a bachelor’s in Finance from James Madison University and an MBA from the College of William and Mary, Mason School of Business.

“We’re excited to welcome Tony to the BlockFi team. His wealth of experience across financial services will be a strategic asset for BlockFi as we continue to grow rapidly and expand our product suite,” said Prince.

Founded in 2017, BlockFi provides wealth management products crypto investors need, all powered by blockchain technology. The FinTech is backed by investors including Galaxy Digital, Susquehanna, Akuna Capital, Fidelity, Recruit Strategic Partners, Coinbase Ventures, CMT Digital, SoFi, ​ConsenSys Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital. Recently the firm raised $50 mn in Series C funding.