State Street Digital expands global leadership team

By Edlyn Cardoza

State Street Corporation recently announced that State Street Digital, the firm’s dedicated digital division, has added three veteran digital executives to its leadership team. Katie Richards joins as global head of operations and Marcus Grubb as global head of product. Both report to Nadine Chakar, head of State Street Digital. Additionally, State Street announced that Derren Selvarajah has joined as Product PMO lead for the Product Strategy team. Selvarajah reports to Grubb.

“We are thrilled to welcome Katie, Marcus and Derren to the State Street Digital team,” said Nadine Chakar, head of State Street Digital. “All bring deep global expertise and proven track records in driving growth and strategy in the digital asset and crypto space, and their leadership will be essential as we continue to expand our capabilities to serve the growing demand for digital custody solutions. We are more committed than ever to our mission to lead the evolution of digital markets and help our clients stay ahead of it, and with Katie, Marcus and Derren on board, we are even better positioned to achieve it.”

Richards, based in Zurich, will be responsible for driving the execution of State Street Digital’s strategy and developing sustainable and scalable operational solutions. She brings over 25 years of experience in developing strategy, delivering digital products and services, building customer trust, leading teams, and transforming operational models across business functions. She previously served as chief executive officer of Cyber Capital, a crypto investment management company, and before that, held senior positions at Falcon Private Bank, UBS, and Credit Suisse. As a certified professional risk manager and process management expert, Richards holds certificates in advanced studies in blockchain from the University of Zurich, digital currencies from the University of Nicosia, digital strategies for business Columbia Business School, and holds an MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance from Bayes Business School in London and an MPhil in International Relations from King’s College, University of Cambridge.

Grubb, based in London, will be responsible for developing and driving end-to-end product strategy for State Street Digital. He has a proven track record in new business acquisition, transformation, and strategic business development and was most recently chief executive officer of BlockEx, a provider of white-label asset digitization and trading technology. Previously, he served as director of market development and senior advisor for the World Platinum Investment Council, managing director of investment, global spokesperson and strategist for the World Gold Council, and chief executive officer of Swapstream, a derivates exchange system. Marcus holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in modern history and economics from Queen’s College, Oxford University.

Selvarajah, based in London, is joining as the Product PMO lead for the Product Strategy team. He has extensive experience in Securities Services, wholesale banking, financial markets processing and platforms across asset classes and geographies. Previously, he worked with Standard Chartered Bank as global head of Securities Service Tech, Innovation, Digital Transformation and Delivery.

Since launching in 2021, State Street Digitial has been focused on addressing the industry’s evolving shift to digital finance. Most recently, the Digital division announced it had entered into a licensing agreement with Copper.co, a London-based provider of institutional digital asset custody and trading infrastructure. State Street Digital will leverage Copper.co’s technology to develop and, subject to receipt of regulatory and other approvals, launch institutional-grade digital custody offering where clients can store and settle their digital assets within a secure environment operated by State Street.