After being promoted to five levels in two and a half years, who is Binance’s new CEO Richard Teng?

The original title: "What is the background of Richard Teng, who became Binance CEO in 2 years and 4 months?"

The original author: Wandering Squirrel

As the dust settles, on November 22nd, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng announced his resignation as CEO, stating "I made a mistake and I must take responsibility." At the same time, Richard Teng will take over as Binance CEO.

This is not surprising.

In June of this year, Bloomberg published an article titled "Binance's Regulatory Dilemma Paves the Way for CZ's Successor," predicting that if CZ resigns due to regulatory difficulties, Richard Teng could become the next Binance CEO.

The market often leads the way. As early as 1:00 a.m. on November 22nd, before the official announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice, a MEME token named Richard Teng appeared on Uniswap.

For most people, the name Richard Teng is quite unfamiliar. In fact, he is not considered a veteran of Binance. According to his personal profile on Linkedin, Richard Teng joined Binance in 2021 and has only been with the company for 2 years and 4 months, during which he has experienced 5 promotions.

Richard Teng initially served as the CEO of Binance's Singapore subsidiary, and was later promoted to oversee the Middle East and North Africa region for Binance in December 2021. In November 2022, he was appointed to also oversee European affairs as the head of Europe, Middle East, and North Africa region. He then further expanded his responsibilities in April 2023, being appointed to also oversee Asian affairs as the head of Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North Africa region. In May 2023, he was also tasked with overseeing the markets outside of the United States.

One important time node is November 2022, after which Teng's position has been rapidly promoted.

In November 2022, FTX's bankruptcy had a huge impact on the cryptocurrency industry. It not only caused losses for investors, but also alerted key institutions in various countries, leading them to re-examine the cryptocurrency industry and lean towards stricter regulation.

After the collapse of FTX, Binance, as the world's largest centralized exchange, had to face the greatest regulatory pressure.

Since then, there have been various news reports about regulatory agencies overlapping with Binance.

In February 2023, the issuer of BUSD announced that, at the request of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), it would cease the minting and issuance of BUSD.

In March, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it had filed a civil lawsuit against Zhao Changpeng and three entities in the Northern District Court of Illinois, accusing them of repeatedly violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.

In April, officials from the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) requested that Binance provide more information about its ownership structure, governance, and audit procedures.

In May, Binance announced that it will proactively launch the Canadian market due to changes in regulatory policies and will no longer provide services to Canadian users.

In June, the US SEC sued Binance and Zhao Changpeng, alleging 13 charges, including operating an unregistered exchange, acting as a broker-dealer, and acting as a clearing agency.

……

In this harshly regulated environment, Richard Teng was quickly promoted because of his expertise in dealing with regulatory agencies from various countries.

Looking at Richard Teng's previous resume, he has an impressive background with Chinese heritage from Singapore, education from Wharton School, and work experience at the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Abu Dhabi Global Market. Teng embodies a combination of impressive labels.

Richard Teng studied at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore from 1991 to 1994. After graduating from university in 1994, he joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and worked there for 13 years until 2007. During his tenure, he led the development and management of securities and futures laws, as well as the regulation of mergers and acquisitions in Singapore.

During Richard Teng's tenure at MAS in Singapore, he also attended two universities overseas, namely the University of Western Australia and the world-renowned business school, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 2007, Richard Teng left MAS and joined Singapore Exchange (SGX), where he stayed for 7 years and 6 months. He rose through the ranks to become the Chief Regulatory Officer, working closely with Singapore MAS to maintain a fair, orderly, and transparent market.

In March 2015, Richard Teng joined Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as CEO and held the position for 6 years. During his tenure, ADGM was named "Best International Financial Centre in the Middle East and North Africa" for four consecutive years.

It was not until 2021 that he joined Binance. Overall, Richard Teng's personal resume is impressive, especially with over 20 years of experience in government-related institutions, where he was involved in the formulation and implementation of regulatory policies. This experience may help Binance overcome the regulatory challenges it faces.

During a Twitter Space session, CZ mentioned that Richard Teng was introduced to him by an employee of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and he decided to officially take up the position two weeks after talking to Richard Teng.

Binance's partner, He Yi, also expressed her approval of Richard Teng in an interview, stating "I believe he is an experienced professional manager. Since joining Binance, his scope has been continuously expanding. We all like and approve of Richard."

Richard Teng reminds the author of another high-level executive from a large enterprise, TikTok CEO Zhang Yiming. Both are Singaporeans, educated in prestigious schools, with financial backgrounds. TikTok also faces regulatory pressure from the US and other countries. Compared to a Chinese person, a Singaporean is better suited to deal with this and can also help manage a team with a national identity.

After taking over as Binance CEO, Richard Teng posted on social media revealing his future work focus:

(1) Maintain users' confidence in the company's financial strength and security;

(2) Collaborate with regulatory agencies to maintain high standards of compliance globally, promote innovation, and provide important consumer protection.

(3) Collaborate with partners to promote the development and adoption of Web3.

Under the leadership of Richard Teng, what kind of scene will the new Binance be like? Let's wait and see.

欢迎加入律动 BlockBeats 官方社群：

Telegram 订阅群：https://t.me/theblockbeats

Telegram 交流群：https://t.me/BlockBeats_App

Twitter 官方账号：https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia