The former CIO of $3 trillion financial giant UBS has joined the non-profit behind one of the largest cryptocurrencies

IOTA

The former head of technology at one of the largest banks in the world has joined the team behind IOTA, the ninth largest cryptocurrency on the market.

Oliver Bussmann served as the chief information officer of Switerland-based UBS, the global financial services firm with $3 trillion under management, for three years from 2013 to 2016. 

Bussmann, who joined the bank after holding a number of top tech jobs at companies such as IBM and Deutsche Bank, led IT strategy and introduced blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies like IOTA and bitcoin, to the bank. 

Since Bussmann left UBS, he has dived even deeper into the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, serving as the president of Crypto Valley Association since the beginning of 2017. He also is the founder of an advisory firm, Bussmann Advisory. 

And now he is joining the IOTA Foundation, the non-profit behind the ninth largest cryptocurrency of the same name. The IOTA Foundation owns the intellectual property of cryptocurrency IOTA, according to David Sønstebø, the founder of IOTA.

"We are thrilled to have one of the world’s foremost financial technology thinkers and actors with such gravitas and senior experience from world leading companies join the project," Sønstebø said on Wednesday in a lively blog post. 

Sønstebø told Business Insider that Bussmann will be an employee of the Foundation and serve as a global representative and key adviser.

"Bussmann will represent the Foundation throughout the world," Sønstebø said."This isn't the standard advisory role, he will dedicate a significant amount of time to raising awareness about what we are doing through his massive network."

Bussmann is a well-known financial technology influencer. According to the blog post penned by Sønstebø, Bussmann has been included twice on the Financial News "FinTech 40" list of innovators. He also works closely with a number of non-profits. 

"As the former CIO of UBS, Oliver brings a wealth of knowledge that will be crucial for the Foundation as we move forward with big upcoming projects," Sønstebø added. 

Bussmann joins the Foundation as it rolls out a new marketplace platform based on IOTA's blockchain technology that will allow companies to exchange data. Already, it is working with Bosch, the Germany-based autoparts maker, and EWE, a German energy and IT technology company.

IOTA, the ninth largest cryptocurrency by marketcap, began trading in June of 2017. It trades at around $.50 a coin, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com. 

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