Uber, Goldman Sachs Veteran Joins Ripple as Asia Managing Director

Ripple has hired Goldman Sachs and Uber tech veteran Brooks Entwistle to expand its operations in Southeast Asia.

• In an announcement posted Thursday, Ripple said Entwistle has been appointed as the new managing director of its Southeast Asia business headquartered in Singapore.
• Prior to joining Ripple, Entwistle worked for three decades in finance and technology firms, most recently at Uber, where he was chief business officer (international). Before that he spent more than 20 years at Goldman, including a stint as chairman of the bank's Southeast Asia business.
• The appointment comes as Ripple is expanding its presence across Southeast Asia which includes 14 countries for its RippleNet and has seen transactions in the region grow 10 times in 2020.
• Growth in Asia is particularly important to the company in light of its legal woes in the U.S. Ripple was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in December 2020 which alleges the firm violated securities law, arguing the company failed to register its XRP token as a security or seek an exemption before the company began selling it seven years ago. 
• “The adoption of RippleNet among the region’s many fintechs, payments service providers and SMEs makes Southeast Asia our biggest market for both customer demand and transaction growth," said RippleNet general manager Asheesh Birla.

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