The Block Presents: The State of Institutional Custody — Brought to you by Curv

Hosted by Frank Chaparro, we will take a deep look at the state of institutional custody within the digital assets space.

About the Panelists

Josh Schwartz, COO, Curv

Josh Schwartz brings a unique background of leadership in both digital assets and traditional financial services with a specialization in market structure, trading technology and transaction cost analysis. He has extensive capital markets experience with buy-side and sell-side firms.

Previously, Josh served as Vice President of Sales at BitGo, where he built the global sales team and led several new initiatives for the firm. Prior to BitGo, he worked at Bloomberg where he led the global new business effort for Bloomberg Tradebook. Josh also served as Head of Business Development at Axiom Investment Advisors, LLC and held several roles at Cantor Fitzgerald, including VP of Business Development for eSpeed (acquired by Nasdaq in 2013). Josh also co-founded the Trior Group, a buy-side advisory business to help optimize execution costs and commission allocation policies.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yeshiva University and an MBA from New York University.

John Conneely, Head of Business Development, Bakkt Custody

John currently leads Bakkt’s business development efforts for Bakkt Custody. Prior to Bakkt, he led institutional sales and strategic partnerships at DACC (Digital Asset Custody Company) , before DACC was acquired by Bakkt in May 2019. Prior to DACC John was a Vice President at the healthcare investment bank, SVBLeerink. Before joining SVBLeerink he was an analyst at Morgan Stanley. John received his bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Christine Sandler, Head of Sales and Marketing, Fidelity Digital Assets

Christine Sandler is head of Sales and Marketing for Fidelity Digital Assets, which provides enterprise-grade digital asset solutions for institutional investors. She leads all sales, marketing and business development activity to accelerate business growth.

Prior to joining Fidelity Digital AssetsSM, Christine served as U.S. Head of Sales for Coinbase, Inc. She has extensive experience in sales leadership and previously served as Head of Equity Electronic Sales for the Americas at Barclays Investment Bank, where she led cross-selling efforts and new business generation, and as Executive Vice President and Global Head of Sales for NYSE Euronext. Christine also previously served as Head of Electronic Sales at Merrill Lynch and worked as a buy-side trader.

An advocate for women’s leadership and the autistic community, she co-founded the Women’s Leadership Action Network, has chaired the Women in Finance Committee for the Security Trader’s Association, and serves as a Trustee of two public charter schools serving autistic students in New York.

Christine earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and is a graduate of the INSEAD Global Executive Program.