Binance US appoints new CEO after Brooks’ shocking exit

TL;DR Breakdown

• Binance US appoints new CEO.
• Brian Brooks exit as Binance CEO came as a shock.
• Joshua’s appointment a fresh start for Binance.

Binance US has appointed Joshua Sroge as the new Chief Executive Officer of the US exchange. This is after former CEO, Brian Brooks announced his exit from the number one exchange firm barely four months into his appointment as head.

Although Joshua’s appointment as CEO has not been announced and made public by Binance US, anonymous sources close to the situation confirmed the appointment.

Unlike Brooks who was appointed as head for his experience as a regulator and to help the exchange navigate its many regulatory hurdles, Joshua’s appointment is more of a promotion. Joshua joined Binance US in 2020 as a chief financial officer before he was appointed as interim CEO to replace Brooks.

Before he joined Binance US last year, Joshua was CFO at FireStone, a consultancy firm that provides companies with budgeting, accounting, and financial solutions. Before his engagement with FireStone, he was chief accounting officer at crypto firm ShapeShift where he helped the firm grow from 15 to 115 employees.

Binance US and Brooks exit

All these would not have been necessary if Brooks did not resign from the exchange recently.

Brooks appointment was one that was projected as long term for the exchange after it has faced so many problems with regulators.

Binance founder, Changpeng Zhao was strategic with the Brooks appointment as he was acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, before his engagement with Binance. His exit last week came as a shock. Brooks sighted “differences over strategic direction” as the catalyst for his exit. 

The main reason for his resignation remains unknown although, he fell in line with Binance strategy to appoint regulatory professionals in key positions at Binance to help navigate its problems with regulators. Changpeng Zhao also announced recently that he was ready to resign to give room for a regulatory expert to takeover at Binance as one strategy to solve regulatory problems.

Joshua’s appointment would mark a fresh start for Binance US.