FCA-Regulated Crypto Trading Firm Portofino Technologies Sees Staff Exodus

• The firing of the firm’s co-founder and its CFO in July triggered a wave of departures.
• A new CFO and a senior sales trader have since been hired.

Portofino Technologies, a Switzerland-based crypto market making firm that was given the nod earlier this year from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to serve institutional crypto clients in the U.K., has seen an exodus of staff in recent months, following the sacking of the firm’s co-founder and its head of finance.

Both Portofino’s chief operating officer and co-founder, Alex Casimo, and chief financial officer, Jae Park, were fired in July. This then triggered the resignations of Vincent Prieur, the head of strategy and operations, and Shane O’Callaghan, the global head of business development, as well as a significant number of the firm’s staff.

Between 10 and 12 people have left or are serving out their notices since the two executives were fired, which works out at between 30%-40% of the firm’s headcount at that time, according to a person familiar with the situation.

A new CFO, Mark Blackborough, has since been hired, as well as senior sales trader Olivier Sultan.

“Portofino made the decision to strengthen certain components of our leadership team to ensure we are best positioned to capitalize on what is projected to be a record year,” a spokesperson said via email.

Since then, the firm has been actively recruiting and currently has four positions open. The company's headcount is back to the levels it was in the summer, the spokesperson said.

Portofino, which raised $50 million in equity funding in late 2022, was founded by two former Citadel Securities leaders Leonard Lancia and Alex Casimo in 2021.

Portofino CEO Lancia appears to have drawn criticism on jobs and recruitment marketplace Glassdoor, which mention a “toxic work environment.”

“The CEO is inexperienced and volatile. His decisions do not favor the business, only himself,” states one review.