Today GSR announced strategic additions to its trading leadership team, naming Aman Bhalla as Director of Trading Operations and Meng Hwee Neo as Director of Trading, Asia.
Mr Bhalla and Mr Neo are the latest institutional traders and business leaders to join the GSR team. They bring extensive expertise in traditional financial markets, namely commodities and derivatives, essential for GSR’s continued development of institutional-grade products and market-making services for the digital asset space. GSR trading volume so far this year has already surpassed its total for all of 2019.
As Director of Trading Operations, Mr. Bhalla will oversee all aspects of GSR’s Trading Operations functions including assisting the business to support new products, focusing on credit risk and helping to expand the firm’s back and middle office functions. Prior to joining GSR, Mr. Bhalla held the position of Commodities Business Manager in Europe at Citadel. He has also served as Head of Financial Operations (EMEA) at Mercuria Energy Trading S.A, and Vice President at Goldman Sachs, managing its Commodities Middle Office team.
“We’re committed to adding the sharpest talent from traditional finance as we continue to help build a mature digital asset marketplace,” said Cristian Gil, Co-Founder. “Aman and Meng Hwee’s extensive experience at some of the world’s most respected financial institutions will help pave the way for further growth and ensure that we continue to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated investor base.”
“I’m excited to join the GSR team at a key point in the evolution and institutionalization of the digital asset market,” said Mr. Bhalla. “More than ever, crypto asset investors need tailored products to satisfy specific risk appetites and regulatory requirements. I look forward to working with our team to ensure a robust, professional, and efficient trading operation.”
In his new role as Director of Trading for Asia, Mr. Neo will manage and expand GSR’s regional trading relationships and implement trading strategies tailored to regional and country-level needs and trends. Mr. Neo previously served as a Senior Equity Derivatives Trader at United Overseas Bank (UOB), Southeast Asia’s third largest bank by total assets. At UOB he specialized in managing exotic derivative portfolios. Mr. Neo has also worked as Head of Risk and Global Markets at Levitas Capital, a Quantitative Risk specialist at CIMB, and a Business Analyst at JPMorgan Chase.
“Asia has long held a position of importance in digital asset markets, especially for exchanges and institutional investors interested in expanding their exposure to this rapidly growing asset class,” said Mr. Neo. “I look forward to further expanding GSR’s footprint in the region.”
GSR is proud to announce many fantastic additional hires to our global team.
Quentin Dubois has joined GSR as a Quantitative Trader. Quentin is responsible for developing market models and algorithms for cryptocurrency trading. Before joining GSR, he was a Quantitative Trader at TransMarket Group.
Micah Erstling has joined GSR as a Junior Trader. Micah is responsible for OTC trading and research. Prior to joining GSR, Micah worked at Morgan Stanley on the emerging markets foreign exchange sales and trading desk.
Pavlo Babkin has joined GSR as Trading Analyst. Pavlo is responsible for supporting day-to-day trading activity during the US time zone for the cryptocurrency markets. Pavlo joined GSR from Macquarie Group where he was supporting oil, power and gas traders in the margining and collateral department.
Ursula Villemsone has joined GSR as a HR Administrative Assistant. Ursula is responsible for supporting the Human Resources department, she also lends a helping hand to other departments such as Finance and Compliance. Ursula joined from Spaces where she was a Community Manager.
Anjo Zhang has joined our team in China as Business Development Analyst. Previously Anjo was responsible for business development at crypto fund Magpie Capital.
Suresh Pazhanivel has joined GSR as an Operations Support Engineer in Singapore. Suresh has been working at CitiBank for the past 6 years in various roles, most recently as a Senior Application Support Analyst.
Sanjay Gopilal has joined GSR as an Operations Support Engineer in Singapore. Sanjay is joining GSR from Millennium Capital Management where he was a Senior Application Support Analyst.
Xinan Wang has Joined GSR as a Quantitative Trading Intern, joining us in China. Xinan is a recent Mathematics and Statistics graduate from Imperial College and is starting his MSc at Oxford in October.