Starling Bank co-founder to head up crypto firm Zodia

Zodia, a crypto assets custody provider, has appointed Julian Sawyer as its new CEO.

Sawyer is a co-founder and former chief operating officer of Starling Bank where he helped grow the business from its launch in 2015 until 2019.

He was subsequently the European managing director of crypto exchange Gemini before leaving to take up the post of CEO of Bitstamp in October 2020.

London-based Zodia claims to be unlocking “the future of institutional investing” for crypto markets and is a subsidiary of banking giant Standard Chartered. 

Maxime de Guillebon has been its CEO since it launched in December 2020.

“I look forward to taking the business to the next level and scaling Zodia Custody to become the default choice for institutions. As CEO, I am delighted to step into such a high calibre team and to work with them to ensure Zodia Custody continues to stay ahead of the competition” Sawyer told City AM.