BlockFi Welcomes Ellen-Blair Chube to Board of Directors

JERSEY CITY, N.J., September 1, 2021 -- BlockFi, a financial services company dedicated to building a bridge between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial services products, today announced that Ellen-Blair Chube has joined its Board of Directors. Ms. Chube replaces the Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo, who will continue to provide strategic counsel to the firm in an advisory role. 

“I was immediately struck by the caliber of leadership and strength of retail and institutional product offering at BlockFi. So many of the crypto-firsts have been pioneered by this organization, and I am excited to count myself as part of the Board that will support BlockFi’s mission of financial inclusion, continued innovation and the next tranche of industry firsts that are to come,” said Ms. Chube.

Ms. Chube is a Managing Director and Client Service Officer at William Blair, a global financial services firm, where she brings nearly two decades of strategic leadership across government and the private sector for the benefit of clients on the buy and sell-side. In this role, she oversees high-level engagement with clients, including the development of a global client service platform to obtain insights and feedback from the firm’s clients on their individual and collective interactions. Prior to joining William Blair in 2015, Ellen-Blair was Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Chairman and CEO at Ariel Investments. In that role, she was responsible for providing strategic and operational support, as well as translating the firm’s short and long-term vision into actionable strategies.

“We are pleased to share that Ellen-Blair has joined the BlockFi Board of Directors. The intersection of strong financial services experience married with her deep knowledge of the public sector will make Ellen-Blair a real asset to the BlockFi Board of Directors,” said Zac Prince, CEO and Founder of BlockFi. “We appreciate the wisdom that Chris has imparted in his formal capacity as a Board member and appreciate his future contributions as he becomes our advisor.”

“BlockFi is an institution that is critical to the broader crypto ecosystem. I’m looking forward to continuing to advise this impressive group of leaders, as they work to bridge the worlds of traditional finance and blockchain technology. The best is yet to come for BlockFi and I know that as crypto assets take a more prominent role in both retail and institutional investors’ strategies, BlockFi will be there to lead the way,” said the Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo.

BlockFi is a new breed of financial services company. Founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez, BlockFi is building a bridge between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial and wealth management products to advance the overall digital asset ecosystem for individual and institutional investors

Ellen-Blair Chube is a Partner, Managing Director and Client Service Officer in Investment Banking at William Blair. Prior to joining William Blair, Chube worked at Ariel Investments as Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Chairman and CEO. Before Ariel, she spent nine years in Washington, DC working on financial services and economic policy for former Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) and former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN). Chube serves on the boards of Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC; Audit, Nominating and Governance Committee), Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE: ODC; Chair, Nominating and Governance; Compensation Committee). She serves on the boards of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Chicago Children’s Choir and is a member of the Obama Foundation Inclusion Council. Chube was named one of Directors & Boards “2020 Directors to Watch.”

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