Rob Jesudason, the CFO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, is leaving his post at Australia's biggest bank to join a Blockchain company, effective immediately. He began working at the bank in 2011 but had held his leading role for less than a year.
The blockchain company is Block.one - slogan "decentralize everything" - registered in the Cayman Islands. It is most notable for creating Ethereum-competitor EOS, which with a market capitalisation of $12 billion is currently the fifth biggest cryptocurrency in the world.
Jesudason, who has in the past worked at Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, and Barclays, will take on the role of Group President and COO. He said: "Blockchain will have a transformative impact on most industries in the coming years and will redefine operating models by streamlining businesses, while also reducing cost and risk."
The Australian Financial Review described his resignation as a shock because the bank is due to present its results to the market 90 days from now, which means that this is a busy period of the year. In addition to that, it has been ordered to make drastic changes to its operational structure following a damning 110-page report from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. It has also been fined $1 billion for its failings.
Other defections
The financial industry is becoming accustomed to people jumping ship to swim in the cryptocurren-sea. In December of 2017, the newly-appointed vice president of Goldman Sachs decided to walk away from his bonus and set up a cryptocurrency asset management firm.
Chris Matta, after having managed Bitcoin accounts at the investment bank in his role as a wealth manager, poured his life savings into the new venture. "I don't regret it at all. It's been the most exciting few months of my life, honestly," he said
According to CNBC, his company has attracted $50 million in investment and recently hired five more people. Matta admits though that the cause is helped by his having worked at an established company.
We recently reported on three employees leaving BlackRock, the world's largest shadow bank, to set up a company which invests in blockchain projects that contribute to world development goals laid out by the UN.
