Michael Walsh

About

Current Role: Chair and Independent Director (with multiple Central Bank PCF approvals) of Zodia Markets (a Standard Chartered Bank subsidiary) and one of the Kraken entities. He also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director (iNED) on the board of a Payments Institution operating in stealth mode. Background: Michael has 30 years of elite financial services experience across London, Dublin, Paris, and New York. His career spans Asset Management, Financial Markets, Digital Assets, Derivatives, Prime Brokerage, and corporate Board Governance, serving roles as Managing Director, CEO, Chair, iNED, and Advisor. He is a member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Ireland and a former member of the Alternative Investment Management Association's (AIMA) Digital Asset Working Group. Why Michael is a Good Fit for the Council: Michael offers an essential governance perspective, holding senior leadership positions simultaneously inside a G-SIB ecosystem (Standard Chartered via Zodia Markets) and a major crypto-native powerhouse (Kraken). This dual footprint gives him a clear view of operational compliance, board governance, and risk mitigation across both worlds. His three decades of multi-jurisdictional executive experience provide the council with institutional maturity and the concrete blueprinting required to implement safe, compliant onchain operations.