ON THE MOVE: Backpack US Appoints Michael Piwowar; John Hoffman to Ondo
Backpack US has announced the appointment of Dr. Michael S. Piwowar to its Board of Directors. Piwowar brings deep expertise in securities regulation, capital markets policy, and market microstructure. He currently serves as Executive Director of Georgetown University’s Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President of Finance at the Milken Institute. He was appointed by President Obama and served as SEC Commissioner from 2013 to 2018, and was later designated Acting Chairman by President Trump.
Ondo has appointed John Hoffman as Managing Director, Head of Product Portfolios, to develop Ondo’s onchain asset portfolios business, according to a press release. Hoffman joins from Grayscale Investments, where he served as Managing Director, Head of Distribution and Partnerships. Before Grayscale, he spent nearly two decades at Invesco, most recently as Head of the Americas, ETFs and Index Strategies.
Fort Washington Investment Advisors has named Mark Militello vice president and co-portfolio manager of the Small Company Equity strategy, according to a press release. Militello has more than 30 years of industry experience. He will report to Jason Ronovech, CFA, vice president and senior portfolio manager. Militello will be based in the firm’s Albany, NY, office. Militello rejoined Fort Washington after spending four years at Thrivent Asset Management, where he served as senior portfolio manager on the SMID Growth Equity team. In addition, the firm has named Michele E. Hargis as vice president and head of Family Office Services within the firm’s Private Client Group. She will report to Tracey Stofa, managing director and head of Fort Washington’s Private Client Group (PCG).
BlackRock has expanded the responsibilities of Louise Kooy-Henckel, who announced on LinkedIn that she has been appointed Global Head of Sustainable and Transition Solutions. Kooy-Henckel has served as EMEA Head of Sustainable and Transition Solutions since January 2025 and has been with BlackRock since the beginning of that year. Prior to joining BlackRock, Kooy-Henckel spent nearly seven years at Wellington Management as Managing Director and Investment Director for Sustainable and Impact Investments in EMEA.
David Perkins has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Sales & Strategic Growth and will serve as Head of Sales at Genesis, according to a press release. Since joining Genesis, he has played a key role in expanding the firm’s market presence and strengthening relationships across the industry. Shahin Askari has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer. Askari joined Genesis in 2023 and previously served as Chief Platform and Architecture Officer. Michael Henson has been promoted to Chief Delivery Officer and joins the Executive Committee. Henson previously served as Vice President of Forward Deployed Engineering. Jay Taylerson has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Engineering Excellence.
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