The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has appointed Alexandre Kech to the position of CEO. He will officially join as CEO-elect on 1 May and will take over as CEO from 26 June 2024
Kech will succeed the not-for-profit organisation’s current CEO Stephan Wolf, who has served in his position since the firm’s inception in 2014.
Wolf will work closely with Kech to enable a smooth transition before stepping down after a decade in the role.
Bringing financial, infrastructure, blockchain and standardisation experience to the leadership position, Kech will be pivotal in driving further adoption of the legal entity identifier (LEI) and verifiable LEI (vLEI).
Previously, Kech was executive board member and business head of digital securities at SDX, a SIX company. In this role, Kech was instrumental in driving growth and implementing initiatives that enhanced business performance.
Prior to this, he specialised in finance at BNY Mellon. Kech focused on payments and securities infrastructure, as well as standards, at SWIFT. He also worked on blockchain and digital assets at Onchain Custodian (ONC) and at Citi Ventures.
As co-founder and CEO of ONC, Kech led a team that built a custody and prime brokerage service for crypto and other digital assets.
As blockchain and digital asset director at Citi Ventures, Kech was responsible for engaging the European ecosystem with emerging use cases in blockchain technologies and digital assets.
Commenting on the appointment, Dessa Glasser, chair of the GLEIF board of directors, says: “Kech brings a wealth of experience, leadership acumen and an outstanding track record that makes him the ideal candidate to both ensure GLEIF’s continued success and drive its growth in the digital space.
“Kech’s mission is clear: enable GLEIF to realise its full potential and create sustainable value for the whole Global LEI System, including partners, employees and LEI stakeholders everywhere.”
Kech adds: “The potential of the LEI to enhance private and public sector efficiencies, strengthen regulatory oversight and expand economic inclusion increases exponentially with the integration of digital technologies.
“I am firmly committed to GLEIF's close collaboration with the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC), together with our global network of LEI issuers and other Global LEI System partners and look forward to enhancing both the reach and the impact of the LEI and vLEI.”
Commenting on his departure, Wolf says: “Over the last decade, it has been a great privilege to lead GLEIF through its startup phase and into the thriving organisation it is today. My decision to step down comes with a profound sense of fulfilment, pride and confidence in the exceptional team we have built."
