The appointment will see Russo work with Cross River CEO Gilles Gade to help establish the bank as a “trusted infrastructure layer” for payments, banking, digital assets and AI-enabled financial services, the company said in a Tuesday (Oct. 13) news release.
“Technology is revolutionizing how money moves around the globe, but it still moves through regulated infrastructure, which requires leaders who have built and led significant global financial institutions,” said Gade. “As we enter this next chapter, Evan and I will bring complementary strengths to the path ahead. I will continue to focus on our vision for the future of financial infrastructure, our technology, and strategic partnerships, while Evan brings the institutional leadership, strategic focus and operating discipline required to scale that vision.”
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Russo, whose appointment became official Oct. 1, has more than two decades of experience in the investment banking, capital markets, asset management and financial services spaces. He joins Cross River from Lazard Asset Management, where he served as CEO. Russo has also held positions in the investment banking units at Barclays and Goldman Sachs.
“Cross River has built something unique: a technology-driven financial infrastructure platform built on a regulated banking foundation, with the connectivity and capabilities to support the next generation of financial solutions,” Russo said. “As financial activity becomes increasingly programmable, global and AI-enabled, the importance of trusted, scalable and regulated infrastructure will only increase. Cross River is exceptionally well-positioned at the intersection of these powerful trends.”
Recent PYMNTS Intelligence research underlines the importance of banks hiring people who can connect digital money capabilities to the systems and controls already running these financial institutions.
The September study “Building the Foundation for Digital Money,” produced in collaboration with FIS, found that 42% of banks point to skill gaps as a hurdle in the path to digital-asset adoption.
“The work involved in putting those products into production reaches across technology, payments, compliance, governance and existing banking infrastructure,” PYMNTS wrote Tuesday.
The study also examined to the scale of the integration work. One industry estimate places selecting a digital-asset custodian at just 10% to 15% of the job. The remaining 80% to 85% is related to linking the provider to the bank’s systems and adhering to regulatory requirements.
“That changes the skills banks need,” the report added. “Digital-asset expertise has to work alongside knowledge of core banking systems, settlement, compliance, liquidity and the operational controls required inside a regulated institution.”
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