Santander Names Blythe Masters Senior Blockchain Advisor

Banco Santander has named Digital Asset Holdings (DAH) CEO Blythe Masters to a new role as senior blockchain advisor.

Masters previously held a non-executive position as chair of the board of Santander Consumer USA, a division of the company that specializes in auto lending, a seat she resigned from in conjunction with the news.

According to a press release from Santander, Masters is taking on a newly created role, while also joining Banco Santander's International Advisory Board and the board of its online bank, Openbank.

In statements, Banco Santander Executive Chairman Ana Botín said:

"Blythe will bring her expertise in banking, business and blockchain where it will have significant impact to our digital bank, International Advisory Board and strategy team. She has done an outstanding job for SC, and I'm looking forward to her focusing on our global efforts in digital banking."

No details about how the move would affect DAH's strategy, if at all, were immediately available. The startup received upwards of $60m in early 2016 to provide distributed ledger infrastructure for asset settlement, and has since signed deals with the DTCC and the Australian Securities Exchange.

Santander InnoVentures, the company’s venture capital arm, participated in the funding round.

As noted by The Wall Street Journal, the resignation follows action taken by the US Federal Reserve against Santander Consumer USA last week for failure to meet regulatory standards on business operations.

With the news, board member William Rainer will now serve as chair of the board.

Digital Asset Holdings did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Santander image via Shutterstock