UK-based digital financial market infrastructure firm ClearToken has made two senior appointments to its leadership team – Mark Williamson as chief commercial officer ( CCO ) and Chris Smith as chief operating officer ( COO ).

Williamson, as CCO, will lead product management, sales and marketing, and strategy, to help the firm deliver institutional-grade digital market infrastructure. He brings extensive relevant experience spanning a 35-year career in banking and finance.

A recognized leader in trading, operations and digital transformation, Williamson has driven major innovations across electronic trading, distributed ledger solutions, quantum technologies, central bank digital currencies and the tokenization of assets.

Most recently, he spent over six years as global head of foreign exchange ( FX ) and precious metals, digital assets and currencies at HSBC, which followed three years as HSBC’s COO of FX trading and risk management. Prior to this, he spent more than six years at BNP Paribas, latterly as global COO for FX and local markets. 

Williamson also spent over four years at J.P. Morgan, where, as e-commerce programme manager, he oversaw the MorganDirect Single Dealer Platform across FX, FX options and interest rate derivatives. Other roles included three years as COO of Gresham Computing and three years at Deutsche Bank, where he worked as a project manager and business analyst.

Smith, as COO, will lead the group’s operational delivery and execution, ensuring the firm’s infrastructure, processes and controls operate effectively and efficiently as the company transitions into live service. He has played a key role in the firm’s development, helping shape the regulatory and operational foundations of the CT Settle and CT Clear services, and supporting engagement with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England.

Smith brings more than 25 years of senior operational leadership across financial market infrastructure and post-trade operations. Most recently, he served as interim COO of LME Clear, the central counterparty ( CCP ) of the London Metal Exchange ( LME ), where he oversaw the daily operation of a systemically important clearing house under Bank of England supervision.

Earlier in his career, he helped establish the LME Clear CCP from inception and has held senior leadership roles spanning clearing operations, post-trade infrastructure, collateral management, risk controls and data governance, as well as prior positions at ICAP and J.P. Morgan.

“We are delighted to have them both on board on our journey to build the world’s first clearing house and settlement depository for tokenized digital and traditional assets,” says Benjamin Santos-Stephens, ClearToken’s CEO. “Securing further experience and expertise of this calibre is another step forward for us.”