Change of direction? Vanguard selects former BlackRock executive as "next CEO", causing a stir in the cryptocurrency circle!

According to media reports, Salim Ramji, former head of iShares and index investment business at BlackRock, is set to take over as CEO of asset management giant Vanguard in July. This marks the first time in Vanguard's 50-year history that an external candidate has been appointed as CEO.

Moreover, the new CEO Ramji is known to be "crypto-friendly". Vanguard's previous stance was to stay as far away from the crypto world as possible, refusing to even touch spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Speculations suggest that the swift appointment of the new CEO may also indicate Vanguard's accelerated expansion into the cryptocurrency asset field.

Vanguard's First External CEO

Coming from McKinsey and BlackRock, Ramji will become Vanguard's first external CEO in history.

Ramji left BlackRock in January this year, stating his plans to "seek new leadership or entrepreneurial opportunities outside the company". He mentioned that he has always been eager to explore an uncharted path.

According to Ramji's LinkedIn profile, he worked as a lawyer at the UK law firm Linklaters from 1994 to 1998, then joined McKinsey, where he was responsible for asset and wealth management-related work. In 2014, he joined BlackRock as the Global Head of Strategy, and later became the head of the Wealth Advisory department.

He is credited with expanding BlackRock's iShares ETF business, worth trillions of dollars, and during his tenure as head of index investments, he oversaw two-thirds of BlackRock's over $10 trillion in assets under management.

Vanguard's lead independent director Mark Loughridge expressed anticipation for working with Ramji in a company statement on Tuesday:

We are poised for significant growth opportunities, including how we optimize technology and client experience, drive the development of wealth management solutions, and bring the benefits of wealth management to more investors.

Vanguard Missed the Bitcoin Bull Market

It is worth mentioning that Ramji has a great passion for investing in crypto assets. At BlackRock, he directly pushed for the listing of its Bitcoin spot ETF, and he has been open about his interest in crypto assets in public interviews.

In July last year, Ramji said in a media interview:

We are very excited about the underlying technology that supports Bitcoin and blockchain. It eliminates friction, or at least hopes to eliminate friction in the entire ecosystem.

Vanguard, on the other hand, has always kept its distance from cryptocurrencies. As the world's second-largest asset management company, Vanguard completely missed out on the crypto bull market that followed the regulatory approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs.

The company had previously emphasized that, due to differences in investment philosophy, Vanguard Group stated that it would not create or offer Bitcoin ETFs, nor would it provide other issuers' related ETF products on its trading platform. This decision was based on Vanguard's risk-averse approach and motivation to protect investors However, in February, Vanguard unexpectedly announced that Tim Buckley, who had been working at Vanguard for 33 years, would step down as CEO. Vanguard stated that Buckley's departure was a personal decision, but this did not stop some from speculating about other reasons. Some analysts pointed out that Buckley's exit was due to him causing Vanguard to miss out on the "bitcoin spot ETF frenzy".

However, it is still difficult to say whether Vanguard will reverse its stance on crypto assets.

There are no clues in Ramji's inauguration statement, only stating that he will work with Vanguard's leadership team to "lead the company into the future":

The current investment landscape is changing, providing Vanguard with an opportunity to advance its mission of providing people with the best investment success opportunities, more important than at any time in the company's 50-year history. My focus will be on mobilizing the Vanguard Group for this moment while maintaining the core goal of being a trustworthy company from the perspective of investors