Former LinkedIn Executive Emilie Choi Joins Coinbase to Bolster Acquisitions

Coinbase, one of the most widely-used cryptocurrency trading and wallet platforms, has been on an executive hiring spree lately. The firm recently announced the hire of Emilie Choi as Vice President of Corporate and Business Development.

Discover credible partners and premium clients at China’s leading finance event!

Ms. Choi joined the cryptocurrency trading firm from LinkedIn, where she served for more than eight years as Vice President of Corporate Development. She has vast experience in M&A-related transactions and oversaw more than 40 of such deals for her previous firm, including LinkedIn’s acquisitions of Lynda, Bright, Newsle, Connectifier, Slideshare, and Fliptop, as well as LinkedIn’s JV in China and strategic investments in Cornerstone On Demand and G2 Crowd.

Prior to LinkedIn, Ms. Choi also worked for Warner Bros. Entertainment in corporate development and digital business strategy and operations, where she developed long-term strategies for the WBTVG digital businesses, including TMZ, Kids WB, Essence and the WB. She also worked for a couple of years at Yahoo.

Coinbase is yet to make any major acquisitions, but with Ms. Choi on board, the firm is determined to tap that market soon. In a blog post, Coinbase President and COO Asiff Hirji wrote: “Emilie’s deep experience leading world-class corporate development teams will help move Coinbase into new markets and opportunities globally by leveraging acquisitions, strategic investments, and partnerships.”

"In addition to her deep experience building and scaling at high-growth companies, Emilie's reputation as an advocate for founders through every step of the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) process makes her the perfect fit for Coinbase," he added.

Coinbase has raised more than $225 million in funding to date, according to TechCrunch, and with the firm’s already profitable trading business, this hire shows the company's determination to step into the acquisitions market.

Fortune quoted Mr. Chou: “There were just a bunch of really interesting startups that helped Google take things to the next level," she told the publication. "So it feels like that kind of an atmosphere. We're seeing so much, so many interesting startups and entrepreneurs in the space...and Coinbase wants to capitalize on that.”

Back in January, Coinbase welcomed Tina Bhatnagar from Twitter as its VP of operations and technology to beef up its customer support.