NEW YORK, Oct 31, 2022 -- Diamond Standard Inc., the developer of the world's only regulator-approved diamond commodities, announced today the expansion of its executive team with four key hires and promotions, to focus on its fastest growing source of demand —institutional investors allocating to the newly accessible diamond asset class.

Following the recent $30 million Series A investment round co-led by Left Lane Capital and Horizon Kinetics, and the May launch of the Diamond Standard Fund, the company is scaling up capacity and developing new investment offerings for institutions.

“Strong interest in the fund illuminated the magnitude of institutional demand for a novel asset class. Having the benefit of hard-asset-backing, exceptional performance in the face of inflation, and low volatility, hundreds of professional analysts are beginning to learn about diamonds for the first time.” said Cormac Kinney, Founder and CEO of Diamond Standard.

“These new team members, each with 20+ years of financial markets experience, will support our core mission ‘To benefit investors by establishing diamonds as a liquid hard asset like gold,’ added Kinney.

DS Admin Trust

Diamond Standard formed a Delaware statutory trust to provide custody administration services for commodity owners, holding their physical assets at vaults like Brinks and Malca Amit, and digital assets at custodians like Anchorage Bank and Bitgo. The trust also operates the Diamond Standard Spot Market, a recently announced peer-to-peer marketplace that enables worldwide users to instantly trade the commodities held at Brinks, with zero fees.

Doug Jordan, a company veteran, has been tapped as President of DS Admin Trust, responsible for the spot market, institutional auctions, custody administration, and services to funds and managed accounts holding the diamond commodities. Jordan has over 25 years of experience, including 17 at Deutsche Bank where he was head trader for FX and Precious Metals with assignments in New York, London and Moscow, and head trader positions at Jefferies and Credit Agricole in New York. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University.

DSAM LLC (DBA “Diamond Standard Asset Management”)

The asset management subsidiary of Diamond Standard offers investment products including Diamond Standard Fund in collaboration with Horizon Kinetics, and managed accounts for institutional investors. DSAM is currently developing exchange traded products and private credit offerings.

Mark Lieberman, was named Head of Asset Management, responsible for managing research, product placement and institutional relationships. After 18 years at Nomura, including as a member of fixed income management and head of derivatives, Lieberman was a founding partner of First Principles Capital Management, an $8.5 billion fixed income asset manager which was acquired by AIG, where he spent the last 6 years providing multi-asset solutions for institutional and family office clients. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Amelia Bourdeau was named Managing Director of Market Strategy, responsible for hedge fund and institutional coverage, and macro/diamond market research. Starting her career at the Federal Reserve, Bourdeau has 20 years experience in FX strategy at Deutsche Bank and UBS, sales trading at Westpac and UniCredit AG, and as a commentator on CNBC. Recently she headed macro strategy at a hedge fund, and client development at a global macro research firm. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Amherst with a Masters from Columbia University.

Diamond Standard Inc.

Greg Giannakopoulos joins as Managing Director and Head of Equity Capital Markets, to lead capital raising for the corporate parent, and the management of investment bank syndicates offering exchange traded products incorporating Diamond Standard commodities. Giannakopoulos joins with over 20 years of financial services experience, and most recently led Needham & Company's institutional sales and corporate access teams, and served on its operating committee. Previously, he spent 14 years at Deutsche Bank in various leadership and production roles, including as head of Americas middle market institutional sales, and as a senior member of the prime finance/capital introductions and equity capital markets origination teams. He is a graduate of Princeton University and earned a J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.

Diamond Standard's leadership team also includes a deep bench of industry veterans that have been with the company since the initial offering of the Coin in 2021.

• James Campbell is Chief Financial Officer whose responsibilities include the management of Diamond Standard’s regulated entity in Bermuda.
• Christopher Dessi is Chief Revenue Officer and oversees retail sales and marketing of the Coin and Bar as well as the Diamond Standard Fund.
• Corey Reason is Chief Compliance Officer and responsible for the overall regulatory risk management, including financial crime risk management.
• Rajiv Sohal is Chief Technology Officer and provides technical leadership for software development initiatives at Diamond Standard.

About Diamond Standard Inc.

Diamond Standard is the creator of the world's only regulator-approved diamond commodities. By unlocking diamonds as a market-traded asset, Diamond Standard is providing access to a natural resource currently worth $1.2 trillion – more than the value of silver and platinum combined. A breakthrough hard asset that can be transacted as a blockchain token, the diamond commodity provides diversification, potential inflation protection, and a new store of wealth for institutional and individual investors, while bringing transparency and efficiency to the diamond supply chain. To invest brilliantly, visit www.diamondstandard.co

For media inquiries:

Monika Ploc Head of Communications
Diamond Standard
E: monika@diamondstandard.co

SOURCE Diamond Standard