James Kiernan Appointed Chief Compliance Officer to Lead Global Regulatory Strategy
sFOX, a leading institutional digital asset trading and infrastructure platform, has announced the appointment of Diana Pires as Chief Business Officer and James Kiernan as Chief Compliance Officer. The move reflects the company’s efforts to strengthen its executive leadership as institutional participation in digital asset markets continues to expand globally.
The appointments come at a time when financial institutions are increasingly engaging with digital assets and require sophisticated infrastructure capable of supporting compliant and large-scale trading activities. sFOX has already processed more than $600 billion in notional transfer volume and currently serves over 2,000 businesses worldwide. As demand grows, the company is focusing on building infrastructure that enables institutions to access deep liquidity, execute large transactions efficiently, and operate within evolving regulatory frameworks across global markets.
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Diana Pires joined sFOX in 2025 as Vice President of Sales and has now been promoted to Chief Business Officer. In her new role, she will oversee strategic growth initiatives and lead business operations across the company’s institutional cplatform. Pires brings more than 15 years of experience in developing institutional digital asset businesses around the world. Earlier in her career, she played a key role in building and leading OKX’s first institutional team in Hong Kong and was involved in launching Crypto.com’s exchange operations.
According to Pires, the role of digital assets within financial markets has shifted significantly in recent years. She explained that institutions are no longer simply experimenting with cryptocurrencies but are increasingly building structured financial products around them. This evolution requires infrastructure designed to handle large-scale transactions, maintain liquidity, and meet strict compliance standards. She believes sFOX is well positioned to support institutions as digital assets become a more integral component of the global financial system.
Alongside Pires’ appointment, sFOX has promoted James Kiernan to Chief Compliance Officer. In this role, he will oversee the company’s global compliance program and regulatory strategy, ensuring that its operations align with financial regulations and industry standards. Kiernan will also continue serving as the company’s U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Officer, a position he has held for more than four years.
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Kiernan brings nearly two decades of experience in financial crime compliance and regulatory oversight. His background includes leadership roles at major financial institutions such as RBC Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley, and City National Bank of Florida. Earlier in his career, he also served as an Operations and Intelligence Officer in a U.S. Army Civil Affairs Brigade. His expertise in regulatory compliance and financial crime prevention is expected to play a critical role as the digital asset industry continues to mature and attract institutional investors.
Kiernan emphasized that robust compliance frameworks are essential for the continued development of digital asset markets. He noted that maintaining strong regulatory standards and effective financial crime prevention measures will be key to building trust among institutional investors and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem.
Javier Martinez, CEO of sFOX, stated that institutional adoption of digital assets requires infrastructure that can grow responsibly while meeting strict regulatory expectations. He highlighted that Pires’ experience in expanding institutional trading businesses will help accelerate the company’s global growth strategy, while Kiernan’s leadership will ensure that sFOX maintains the compliance standards that financial institutions require.
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The leadership changes reflect the company’s broader strategy of scaling its infrastructure to support institutional trading, improve liquidity access, and ensure compliant participation in global digital asset markets. As more traditional financial institutions integrate digital assets into their portfolios and services, platforms like sFOX are positioning themselves to provide the technology and regulatory frameworks needed to support this transformation.
With the new appointments, sFOX aims to strengthen its ability to serve institutional clients while navigating the rapidly evolving digital asset landscape.
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