Starling Bank co-founder Julian Sawyer joins Gemini as Managing Director of the UK and Europe

Cryptocurrency exchange and custodian Gemini has appointed Julian Sawyer from Starling Bank as Managing Director overseeing the company’s operations in the United Kingdom and Europe.  

Sawyer is the co-founder and former chief operating officer of one of the UK’s largest mobile banks Starling Bank. According to Gemini’s press release, Sawyer played a crucial role in building out the bank’s payment systems, card operations, and customer service, among other business operations. During his time there, the bank doubled its customer growth in eight months, the press release says, and Gemini hopes to utilize his expertise in traditional finance.

"Europe is the birthplace of modern financial markets and the United Kingdom (UK) has been a global financial capital of innovation for hundreds of years," said Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini. "Gemini needs to be here and Julian's deep knowledge and fintech expertise in these regions make him well-suited to lead Gemini's expansion into this pioneering area of the world."

Gemini has been actively recruiting for its executive team during the past 18 months, onboarding a number of senior leaders including Morgan Stanley’s former global head of financial crimes Noah Perlman as Chief Compliance Officer, International Securities Exchange’s former COO Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto as Managing Director of Operations, and New York Exchange’s former CIO Robert Cornish as Chief Technology Officer. The Block recently reported that Gemini’s Managing Director of Corporate Development Sarah Olsen has left the company. It remains to be seen how Gemini’s leadership restructuring will impact its operations.