Original author: Jeff John Roberts, Forbes
Original translation: Luffy, Foresight News
Coinbase was founded in 2012 as a company founded by one man with the goal of bringing cryptocurrency to the mainstream world. Today, it has grown into a Fortune 500 company with billions of dollars in revenue and has become a flagship brand in the crypto industry. Coinbase is still controlled by one man: CEO Brian Armstrong, who holds the majority of the companys voting equity and is the undisputed leader in strategic direction. But Armstrong is not alone.
Over the past few years, Coinbases leadership team has been more stable than ever, helping the company move forward during the recent crypto winter and unprecedented regulatory challenges. As with many Silicon Valley companies, engineers enjoy a special status at Coinbase, and its challenging for those who dont create products to earn Armstrongs attention and respect. Nonetheless, as the list below shows, the seven people who hold the most power at Coinbase come from all corners of the company.
The list was inspired by a similar list from five years ago and is based not only on Coinbase’s official organizational chart, but also on more than a decade of research on the company and interviews with multiple people close to senior management.
Emilie Choi, Chief Operating Officer
Choi rose to prominence in the corporate world after serving as an executive at LinkedIn for many years. After joining Coinbase in 2018, she quickly made her mark on the company, overseeing dozens of acquisitions. Employees and other executives have divided views on Choi, who they worry is a ruthless manipulator who has fired a large number of former employees, but no one doubts her influence. Choi is involved in all major decisions of the company, and Armstrong often listens to Chois opinions. Armstrong trusts Choi and confides in her.
Alesia Haas, Chief Financial Officer
Haas, another of Armstrong’s top lieutenants, is a more reserved person who is widely respected for her steady hand. A former banker, Haas joined Coinbase in 2018 and led the company through its IPO, which made her and other executives very wealthy. She defined what it means to be a CFO at a cryptocurrency company, a position similar to that of a traditional company, but also very different. She also earned Armstrong’s trust and confidence.
Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer
Grewal is a former federal judge savvy in social media who helped Facebook navigate legal battles over various privacy scandals before joining Coinbase. His extensive experience has proven invaluable at Coinbase. He joined Coinbase in 2020 just as the SEC and other regulators were beginning to take a scorched earth approach to the cryptocurrency industry. A tireless executive who frequently travels across the country, Grewal oversees high-stakes litigation between Coinbase and the SEC that some predict will make it to the Supreme Court and drive legislation for the cryptocurrency industry.
Max Branzburg, Vice President and Head of Consumer Products
Branzburg joined Coinbase in 2018 as a “typical Google guy” who wasn’t native to the cryptocurrency space. Still, he quickly became a formidable product executive, with company employees praising him for keeping a retail platform that was once notorious for crashes running smoothly. Branzburg is also known for his savvy political maneuvers, and both Armstrong and Choi listen to him.
Greg Tusar, Head of Institutional Products
Tusar joined Coinbase in 2020 after decades of experience in finance, including 13 years at Goldman Sachs as a partner. He is considered the brain behind futures, a new derivatives platform that has been highly profitable for Coinbase and key to the companys long-standing need to diversify revenue streams beyond retail.
Shan Aggarwal, Vice President, Corporate and Business Development
Aggarwal is a low-profile executive at Coinbase who is considered by colleagues to be well-liked and highly capable. He joined Coinbase from the well-known venture capital firm Greycroft, which provided him with valuable experience in his current position, helping him manage partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and Coinbase Ventures. Aggarwal also played an important role in leading the company through its IPO and is expected to rise further.
Jesse Pollak, Base Engineer
Pollak doesn’t have an executive title, but he has considerable soft power at Coinbase thanks to his deep knowledge of cryptocurrencies and his help in launching the Base blockchain, one of the most successful products in the crypto space in recent years. He has appeared at recent events with Armstrong and has a large following in the crypto space. Pollak is a slightly awkward crypto native who cares most about the product, qualities that could also be used to describe Coinbase’s early CEOs.
