Grab appoints COO; Gemini execs exit to start crypto venture

In one of the high-profile people movements, Grab has appointed Alex Hungate as its chief operating officer. In a separate development, two senior executives of cryptocurrency platform Gemini have left the company to establish their own crypto venture.

Grab appoints COO

Southeast Asia’s leading super app Grab Holdings Limited (Grab) has appointed Alex Hungate as its chief operating officer (COO), per an announcement.

He will be reporting to group CEO Anthony Tan.

In this role, Hungate will oversee Grab’s mobility, deliveries and financial services businesses, as well as the company’s marketing and user support functions.

He brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the financial services, logistics and food services industries to drive the execution of Grab’s super app strategy.

“Grab’s business has been resilient to the uncertainties caused by COVID-19 and its variants, because our superapp strategy has enabled us to diversify our services and increase user engagement. Alex is well placed to create greater ecosystem synergies across Grab, and drive further growth, engagement and monetization across our core businesses, as he is a proven operator in our industries and has managed global public companies in Southeast Asia,” said Anthony Tan, Group CEO & Co-founder,Grab.

Prior to Grab, Hungate served for eight years as the president and CEO of SATS, a leading food solutions and logistics company that is listed on the Singapore stock exchange.

Before that, he has had stints at HSBC Group, and Reuters.

Two Gemini execs exit in Asia

Jeremy Ng, Gemini’s Asia Pacific head and Eugene Ng, head of business development have left the company to establish their own company, The Business Times reported.

Jeremy Ng joined Gemini in June 2020 as a managing director. He was previously Asia chief executive at Leonteq and has worked at global investment banks Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Morgan Stanley.

Meanwhile, Eugene Ng has had stints at Barclays Capital, Barclays Investment Bank, Citi Singapore and Deutsche Bank, among other financial institutions.

The two men declined to confirm their departure with the portal.

Gemini is a platform that allows customers to buy, sell, store, and earn cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether, and DeFi tokens.

The company was founded in 2014 by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

In November last year, Gemini raised $400 million in a growth equity round, which valued the company at $7.1 billion.