Komainu, a regulated custody provider for the digital assets industry, has announced the appointment of Paul Frost Smith as co-CEO. Mr. Frost Smith will work alongside Robert Johnson who has been serving as interim CEO and has now been appointed as co-CEO on a permanent basis.
The Komainu board of directors said that it made the strategic decision to create a co-CEO role due to the highly complementary nature of each candidate’s skill set. With dedicated areas of ownership, the co-CEO structure will provide the breadth and focus required to capture the opportunity presented by the rapid growth in the digital assets market.
Mr. Frost Smith’s career spans over 30 years in international financial markets, including recent experience of scaling digital asset businesses. In his most recent role, Frost Smith was co-founder and CEO of Corinthian, a leading digital asset investment management and advisory firm. His previous multi-strategy hedge fund, Castlegrove, was acquired by Millennium Management, LLC in 2008. In his role as co-CEO, he will focus on business strategy, development and expansion as well as providing innovative and tailor-made client solutions.
Robert Johnson joined Komainu as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in October 2023 and has been interim CEO since February. Rob has extensive financial services experience having previously served as CTO and Partner at Coremont, as well as 18 years on the trading floor at MUFG Securities. In his role as co-CEO, Rob will continue to spearhead the development of Komainu’s institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure and drive innovation and excellence across the full tech offering.
Commenting on his appointment, Paul Frost Smith said:
“The digital assets market is poised for continuing and sustained growth as institutional investors continue to scope-out and dip their toes in the market. We have to remember this is still only at a very early stage. Providing regulated and transparent solutions that allow institutions to navigate this new ecosystem is a critical step in supporting wider adoption. From an asset manager’s perspective, Komainu is truly leading the way in digital assets custody, with the best solutions out there, and I’m excited to be joining now to spearhead the next phase of growth.”
Robert Johnson added:
“Paul brings a unique combination of digital assets expertise as well as experience of scaling high-growth businesses. His knowledge and skillset is a perfect complement to my technical background. Together we’re excited to drive Komainu forward to support the growth of the digital assets market and the provision of innovative institutional-grade solutions for our clients.”
About Komainu
Created as a joint venture between Nomura, digital asset manager CoinShares and digital asset security company Ledger and headquartered in Jersey, with offices in London, Dubai and Singapore, Komainu is a regulated digital asset custodian built by institutions for institutions. Offering multi-asset support with regulatory experience, Komainu merges traditional financial services with leading security standards for the next generation of institutional custodian.
Komainu (Jersey) Limited is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC). Komainu UK is Registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Komainu MEA FZE is regulated by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Komainu Europe S.r.l has an OAM registration in Italy.
