Ripple Labs Brings on Former Chief White House Advisor Gene Sperling to Board of Directors

Ripple Labs has added former chief White House advisor Gene Sperling to its board of directors.

Sperling was the first official to serve as National Economic Council director and advisor for two presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He advised during the financial crisis and on the automotive bailouts. Currently, he is president of Sperling Economic Strategies, which advises start-ups, financial services companies and philanthropies, and counts PIMCO among its clients. He commented:

"The currency-neutral Ripple protocol is a unique technology that can fundamentally transform correspondent banking and lead to real-time payment systems. Furthermore, by seeking to do for Payments what HTTP did for information sharing, the Ripple protocol can help advance the movement toward universal access to financial markets and services."

Ripple Labs CEO Chris Larsen noted how Sperling is a respected leader in economic issues. His experience will help Ripple as it works to gain traction with financial institutions and network operators.

2014 was a momentous year for the protocol. It was one of the first whose technology bore fruit for real-world applications.