Crypto and NFT gaming investment giant Animoca Brands appoints ex-Gemini finance head as CFO

Animoca Brands, one of the crypto industry’s most prominent investors in the NFT-gaming and metaverse sectors, has appointed Jared Shaw as its new chief financial officer (CFO).

Shaw joins Animoca from crypto exchange Gemini (founded by the Winklevoss twins) where he served as its head of finance.

His appointment heads a raft of new poaches from trad finance (see further below) for the Hong Kong-based firm, which is especially focused on advancing the “open metaverse”, having recently raised US$110 million with that very concept in mind.

Shaw, a Chartered Financial Analyst, brings over 20 years of experience across the traditional finance, fintech, and cryptocurrency sectors, including stints at Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, and Prudential Financial.

According to Animoca, in his new role he’ll be overseeing and supporting the strategic financial direction of the firm and its more than 380 portfolio companies (notably The Sandbox, Sky Mavis, Crazy Defense Heroes, and Revv Motorsport.)

Animoca Brands’ new CFO, Jared Shaw.

“Jared has a wealth of experience spanning audit, asset management, crypto and more. He joins us at a time when the finance team is growing rapidly and building strong capabilities,” said Evan Auyang, president of Animoca Brands.

“I would like to enthusiastically welcome Jared to the Animoca Brands family in the role of our CFO,” added Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands.  “He is not only a world-class professional with experience in the NFT-gaming and metaverse sectors and Web 3 space, but he’s also fully aligned with our mission as ecosystem builders.”

Bear-market crypto-hiring freeze? Not according to Animoca

And despite the bear market, it seems Animoca Brands is intent on building – it hasn’t stopped at its new CFO when it comes to senior-management hires.

The company is also bringing on board May Szeto as Group HR director; Jamii Quoc as head of legal – Commercial and M&A; Samuel Tse as M&A director; and Josh Du as head of Digital Assets Portfolio.

Szeto also brings at least 20 years’ experience to her role, having spent seven years at Grosvenor Property. Her CV also includes time at JP Morgan Chase Bank, Nomura Securities, MGPA and Bloomberg.

Prior to joining Animoca, legal brain Jamii Quoc (also two decades of experience) was the general counsel at Meridian Capital and has represented private equity firms, major corporations, and investment banks on a broad range of mergers and acquisitions matters.

Meanwhile new M&A director Samuel Tse’s decade of relevant experience includes strong investment banking and venture-investing tenures – with Ant Group, UBS Hong Kong and more.

Josh Du’s background is also steeped in trad finance, having worked for Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, although he has definitely been moving his career more and more into crypto-native territory. The latter includes a partner role at crypto investment manager Symphony Digital.

Commenting further on the appointments, Siu added:

“I am likewise thrilled with the appointments of May, Jamii, Samuel, and Josh, who will greatly enhance our capabilities in their respective areas.

“Animoca Brands has made significant business progress this year, and we are prioritising the addition of mission-aligned world-class professionals.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Animoca Brands, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

This article was developed in collaboration with Animoca Brands, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

SUBSCRIBE

Get the latest Stockhead news delivered free to your inbox.

“*” indicates required fields

It’s free. Unsubscribe whenever you want.