Coinbase hires former Facebook exec as chief marketing officer

The new executive said she hopes to “introduce millions more people to the benefits of crypto.”

Kate Rouch will be joining major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase after more than 11 years in various positions at Facebook.

In a Thursday blog post, Coinbase chief operating officer Emilie Choi said the company had hired Rouch as its new chief marketing officer, responsible for overseeing the exchange’s global brand, as well as product and performance marketing. Until recently, she was the global head of brand and product marketing at social media giant Facebook, but now aims “to bring millions more people into the cryptoeconomy.”

“I am so inspired by what I’ve learned about crypto, and the vast ecosystem it is helping to usher forth,” said Rouch. “I can’t wait to get started helping to introduce millions more people to the benefits of crypto.”

The addition of Rouch comes as Coinbase continues to make staffing changes in 2021. Earlier this year, the exchange announced that a former member of the White House National Security Council, Faryar Shirzad, would become its chief policy officer. The firm also plans to expand its operations in India with the hiring of former Google Pay engineering lead Pankaj Gupta.

During Rouch’s time at Facebook, the number of monthly active users grew from 500 million to roughly 3 billion globally. Coinbase reported it had 8.8 million monthly transacting users as of June 30, 2021 with 56 million customers total, and seemingly wants to rely on Rouch’s experience to continue to grow.