DriveWealth, a leading financial technology platform providing Brokerage-as-a-Service, announced today the hiring of Venu Palaparthi as its new Chief Operating Officer.
In this role, Palaparthi will oversee DriveWealth’s risk and compliance functions, in addition to lending his strategic expertise to the company’s ongoing international expansion. He will begin in his new role on September 16th and report to Michael Blaugrund, CEO of DriveWealth.
“We have thoughtfully expanded our leadership team in recent months as we prepare for our next phase of growth and continue to expand our operations across the globe,” said Blaugrund. “Venu will play a key role in these efforts, working with the rest of senior leadership to ensure our platform is designed for regulatory compliance as it scales and supports a broader range of investment opportunities. We’re fortunate to have hired someone with such deep financial market expertise and look forward to all that he will bring to DriveWealth.”
Palaparthi brings nearly 30 years of experience in financial markets across asset classes, products and jurisdictions. In his most recent role as Managing Director at Patomak Global Partners, he was responsible for advising clients on business and regulatory strategy, risk management and a wide variety of compliance solutions spanning securities, commodities, fintech and cryptocurrency.
Palaparthi has also held a number of senior positions at prominent financial institutions including Nasdaq, Virtu Financial, Tagomi Holdings (now part of Coinbase Institutional), Dash Financial Technologies and more.
Additionally, Palaparthi has served in a number of thought leadership roles within the financial industry, including as a member of the SEC Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee’s Market Quality Subcommittee, the FINRA Small Firm Advisory Committee and the Shanghai Gold Exchange International Advisory Board. He has also served as a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University.
“I’m thrilled to join DriveWealth at such an exciting time as the company embarks on its next stage of growth,” said Palaparthi. “DriveWealth’s world-class technology and global approach are unmatched. I look forward to helping further establish the company as the go-to global partner of choice for tech-forward asset managers, banks and broker dealers, digital wallets and consumer brands looking to deliver seamless investing experiences to their end-clients.”
A graduate from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, Palaparthi received dual economics and computer science undergrad degrees as well as an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington. He also received a Distinguished Alumnus award from BITS in 2011. Palaparthi holds FINRA Series 7, 14, 24, 27 (FINOP), 56 and 63 licenses.
Palaparthi’s hiring as Chief Operating Officer follows recent strategic moves across DriveWealth’s senior leadership team as the company looks to build and expand its global presence and strategy. These moves include the promotions of Jason Pizzorusso as President, Marcus Anthony as Chief Financial Officer, and Emily Ellis as Chief People Officer, as well as the hiring of former Morgan Stanley leaders, Kyla Murphy as Chief Product Officer and Lauren Veisz as Head of Operations
Founded in 2012, DriveWealth’s technology platform allows both established companies and emerging digital-native firms to provide securities trading to their clients simply, efficiently, and in a compliant fashion. In addition to its patented fractional trading and Brokerage-as-a-Service API technologies, DriveWealth has a fully featured institutional trading capability that includes order routing, clearing, custody, stock loan, enhanced liquidity, and NYSE Floor execution.