Top Bridgewater Executive Joins Crypto Investment Management Firm BlockTower Capital

cryptonews.com:

Diana Zhang, former CEO deputy and chief operating officer of the investment research department at major global investment firm Bridgewater Associates, has joined crypto investment management firm BlockTower Capital.

She became BlockTower’s first chief operating officer, according to Bloomberg, noting that the exec left legendary hedge fund manager Ray Dalio’s $150 billion investment-management firm to join a crypto company - contrary to a recent trend of crypto company execs joining traditional finance jobs that are perceived as more stable. 

"Joining BlockTower in the late innings of crypto winter was an incredibly attractive opportunity - I would have actually been nervous about jumping into the industry at the height of the bull cycle when things felt so frothy," Zhang was quoted as saying.

"But here was a long-established firm that was still standing strong after crypto’s Lehman moment and well-positioned to take advantage of the new playing field, she added."

Per Zhang's LinkedIn profile, she started working at BlockTower in February this year. "Hired with mandate to own management oversight of the firm, both in the day-to-day and in the driving of new growth paths," the job description says.

Before that, according to LinkedIn, she had spent 16 years at Bridgewater, starting as an Investment Associate in 2006, moving to the COO position at the Investment Research Department, followed by Director at Investment Associate Program, then CEO deputy in 2015, and a "pilot member" of the Executive on Loan Program in January 2021.

In October 2022, the profile states, she took "a sabbatical to focus on building NeighborShare," of which she is the founding CEO and board member. 

NeighborShare is a digital platform that helps local