Crypto exchange Firi and CEO Thuc Hoang reinforce the organization with new professional leaders. This has been going on for some time, in parallel with the fact that several leading profiles have left the company. At the top, Firi is still led by Chairman Øyvind Kvanes and CEO Thuc Hoang.
Specifically, Firi, which has 40 employees, is currently out in the market and is searching for a “Head of People & Culture” and a “Head of Finance”. Both positions have an application deadline of November 20. According to advertised job advertisements, the Head of People & Culture will be a professional leader who will further develop and strengthen the company's HR strategy and corporate culture. The “Head of Finance” should be a strategic manager who will support Firi's CFO with financial analyses. Firi's CFO has been Trang Hoang since 2021.
In the past year, several leading profiles have left, or had to leave, Firi. Marius Blaker Høgevold, who in 2021 “fit perfectly” in the role of COO (Chief Operating Officer), left Firi in 2023 after a “non-optimal” relationship between Høgevold's COO role and the CEO role of Thuc Hoang. This spring, Chief Strategy Officer Carl Christian Ellingsen resigned, probably somewhat undramatically, as it was recently announced that he has stepped down as CEO and co-owner of the startup Amino.In autumn, Chief Product Officer Nicolaj Broby Petersen also quit). According to Broby Petersen's LinkedIn profile, he is currently “Entrepreneur in residence.”
The COO role in Firi is currently played by Marte Eriksen Skoglund. According to her LinkedIn profile, she started in Firi in November, after previously working many years in Verifone. Maren Kleppan, co-founder of firi, was promoted to Head of Product in August this year, after previously holding positions within UX and Design. Earlier this autumn, the company also recruited Lasse Kalvø as AML Officer (AML = Anti Money Laundering). Kalvø then came from a position in the Police.
It is neither unusual nor unnatural that a still fairly new company like Firi goes through different phases that may place different demands on management and professional expertise. As the crypto winter raged, Firi had to change its growth strategy and focus on downsizing and financial sustainability. But last spring, Firi raised more than NOK 46 million in new and fresh capital.
Here you can see a video interview (in Norwegian) that Kaupr did with CEO Thuc Hoang in May last year, when it became clear that the issue was going to be a success.
In the video interview we talk, among other things, about what it is like to register the great interest after Firi in 2022 fought for survival. We also ask about the background of the interest, why the company has chosen crowdfunding as its financing model, about what the company will use the new money for and about the company's hairy goals.
Beyond 2023, the crypto winter was not as cold and in the fall of 2023, the Bitcoin exchange rate and other cryptocurrencies turned upward, driven by increased interest from US institutional investors. After that, Firi has set turnover record after turnover record. According to Finansavisen, Firi also had a profit in the first half of this year of 46 MNOK.
This article is based on both own research and own sources as well as published articles in Shifter, Bankshift, E24 and Finansavisen.
Crypto exchange Firi and CEO Thuc Hoang reinforce the organization with new professional leaders. This has been going on for some time, in parallel with the fact that several leading profiles have left the company. At the top, Firi is still led by Chairman Øyvind Kvanes and CEO Thuc Hoang.
Specifically, Firi, which has 40 employees, is currently out in the market and is searching for a “Head of People & Culture” and a “Head of Finance”. Both positions have an application deadline of November 20. According to advertised job advertisements, the Head of People & Culture will be a professional leader who will further develop and strengthen the company's HR strategy and corporate culture. The “Head of Finance” should be a strategic manager who will support Firi's CFO with financial analyses. Firi's CFO has been Trang Hoang since 2021.
In the past year, several leading profiles have left, or had to leave, Firi. Marius Blaker Høgevold, who in 2021 “fit perfectly” in the role of COO (Chief Operating Officer), left Firi in 2023 after a “non-optimal” relationship between Høgevold's COO role and the CEO role of Thuc Hoang. This spring, Chief Strategy Officer Carl Christian Ellingsen resigned, probably somewhat undramatically, as it was recently announced that he has stepped down as CEO and co-owner of the startup Amino.In autumn, Chief Product Officer Nicolaj Broby Petersen also quit). According to Broby Petersen's LinkedIn profile, he is currently “Entrepreneur in residence.”
The COO role in Firi is currently played by Marte Eriksen Skoglund. According to her LinkedIn profile, she started in Firi in November, after previously working many years in Verifone. Maren Kleppan, co-founder of firi, was promoted to Head of Product in August this year, after previously holding positions within UX and Design. Earlier this autumn, the company also recruited Lasse Kalvø as AML Officer (AML = Anti Money Laundering). Kalvø then came from a position in the Police.
It is neither unusual nor unnatural that a still fairly new company like Firi goes through different phases that may place different demands on management and professional expertise. As the crypto winter raged, Firi had to change its growth strategy and focus on downsizing and financial sustainability. But last spring, Firi raised more than NOK 46 million in new and fresh capital.
Here you can see a video interview (in Norwegian) that Kaupr did with CEO Thuc Hoang in May last year, when it became clear that the issue was going to be a success.
In the video interview we talk, among other things, about what it is like to register the great interest after Firi in 2022 fought for survival. We also ask about the background of the interest, why the company has chosen crowdfunding as its financing model, about what the company will use the new money for and about the company's hairy goals.
Beyond 2023, the crypto winter was not as cold and in the fall of 2023, the Bitcoin exchange rate and other cryptocurrencies turned upward, driven by increased interest from US institutional investors. After that, Firi has set turnover record after turnover record. According to Finansavisen, Firi also had a profit in the first half of this year of 46 MNOK.
This article is based on both own research and own sources as well as published articles in Shifter, Bankshift, E24 and Finansavisen.
