State Street Digital Hires Two

State Street Digital has appointed Rob Otter as head of blockchain engineering and Nitin Gaur as digital technology strategy lead. Otter, based in London reports to Aman Thind, chief technology officer of State Street Digital, while Gaur, based in Austin, Texas, will report to Otter.

In his new role, Otter oversees the development and implementation of blockchain technology strategy across State Street Digital, identifying and executing on opportunities for innovation, and prioritising initiatives that will accelerate the division’s business goals. He joins from JP Morgan, where he served as head of CTO Blockchain, API technologies, and applied research. Prior to that, he held senior technology roles at Barclays, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs.

Gaur will lead the technology strategy and architecture to drive the development of platforms to support post trade execution of crypto trading as well as blockchain / crypto-based service offerings. He joins from an almost 23-year career at IBM, most recently as director of its financial sciences and digital assets research effort.

“[Rob and Nitin] each bring deep expertise, proven track records in supporting the growth of technical teams, cutting-edge research, and creating market differentiating capabilities in digital markets,” says Nadine Chakar, head of State Street Digital. “Both will be critical as we continue to navigate the evolution of digital assets and blockchain on behalf of our clients.”

Brian Franz, global chief information officer for State Street, adds, “State Street Digital is emerging as a technology leader and a true hub for innovation. Rob and Nitin will further accelerate this transformation by bringing their first-hand experiences with some of the most cutting edge technologies being used in our industry.”