UBS has named its former Apac CTO Peter Stephens as head of blockchain, replacing Alex Batlin who jumped ship last week to join BNY Mellon. A thirteen-year veteran at the Swiss bank, Stephens starts his new position on 1 November, working out of the bank’s London innovation centre. Prior to joining UBS, Stephens worked for the Financial Services consulting practices at IBM and PwC.
“Peter has been instrumental in driving blockchain and fintech initiatives out of Hong Kong and is well-versed in UBS blockchain strategy and development work,” UBS Head of Innovation Veronica Lange wrote in a memo. “This appointment will ensure consistency of our blockchain strategy and a smooth transition in the approach of the next phase of our blockchain based business development activity.”
UBS opened an innovation lab in Level39’s high growth space, HighGrowth:42 in April 2015 to explore the role of blockchain technology and smart contracts in financial services.