Coinbase appoints Brian Brooks as its chief legal officer

Coinbase, digital currency exchange based in San Francisco, California has made another addition to its top senior executives. The company has appointed Brian Brooks as its chief legal officer. He was executive vice president and corporate secretary of Fannie Mae since 2014.

The hiring has been done to expand the company’s compliance and legal teams. Brian Brooks replaces Mike Lempres, who was heading this position till now. He will be shifted to another department to handle the role of chief policy officer. Coinbase has been the leader of cryptocurrency platforms since seven years of its inception. “We’ve engaged proactively with regulators as we built products and services that allow people to buy, sell and use cryptocurrency all over the world,” said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. As the cryptocurrency industry has expanded rapidly in the recent years with the explosion of customers’ demands, it is the right time for the cryptocurrency companies to expand and grow. “As this trend continues, it is more important than ever that we contribute to a public policy and regulatory environment that fosters innovation while protecting investors,” he further added in his statement.

Before working at Fannie Mae, Brooks used to work for a law firm O’Melveny & Myers as its vice chairman of OneWest Bank and a managing partner. Many notable hiring has happened at Coinbase in 2018 including Michael Li, VP of data, Tim Wagner, VP of engineering, Jeff Horowitz, chief compliance officer etc.