Dive Brief:
- Coinbase’s chief accounting officer, Jennifer Jones, is retiring from the cryptocurrency exchange, according to a Friday securities filing.
- The New York-based company said it has begun a search to fill the position and Jones will remain in the chief and principal accounting roles until they are “transitioned to a successor,” according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Jones’ departure is the latest leadership change for the crypto company since CEO Brian Armstrong in May announced a 14% reduction in the Coinbase workforce.
Dive Insight:
Armstrong was one of the high-profile executives last spring to tie layoffs to the company’s artificial intelligence strategy, although he also noted another factor — crypto was in a “down market” and still volatile from one quarter to the next.
“All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company,” Armstrong wrote in a May 5 blog post on the company’s website. “The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native.”
Since then, the company has announced changes in at least two top executive posts.
In July, the company said Paul Grewal, chief legal officer, would resign and that Chief People Officer Lawrence Brock would step down and take an advisory position from Sept. 2 through Nov. 30, according to SEC filings.
Coinbase’s stock has fallen about 17% so far this year.
Coinbase and Jones, who has been chief accounting officer at Coinbase since July 2018, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why she is leaving. She previously spent a decade working as a senior manager in auditing at Deloitte and a year at EY, according to her LinkedIn account.
About two months ago — after the May layoff announcements — Jones announced Coinbase was hiring and expanding its accounting team in a post on Linkedin.
“We’re expanding and looking for talented professionals who want to tackle complex, first-of-their-kind problems alongside smart and driven teammates. If you thrive on impact and high growth, this is the place to be!!,” she wrote.
