ClearToken makes two senior appointments
02 February 2026 UK
Image: ASDF/stock.adobe.com
ClearToken, a digital financial market infrastructure firm, has made two senior appointments to its leadership team.
Mark Williamson has been appointed chief commercial officer and Chris Smith has become chief operating officer.
Williamson will lead product management, sales and marketing, and strategy, aiming to help ClearToken deliver institutional?grade digital market infrastructure.
He brings extensive relevant experience spanning a 35-year career in banking and finance.
Williamson has driven major innovations across electronic trading, distributed ledger solutions, quantum technologies, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and the tokenisation of assets.
Most recently, he spent over six years as global head of FX and precious metals, digital assets, and currencies at HSBC, which followed three years as HSBC’s chief operating officer of FX trading and risk management.
Prior to this, he spent more than six years at BNP Paribas, latterly as global chief operating officer for FX and local markets.
Williamson also spent over four years at J.P. Morgan, where, as ecommerce programme manager, he oversaw the MorganDirect Single Dealer Platform across FX, FX options, and interest rate derivatives.
Other roles included three years as chief operating officer of Gresham Computing and three years at Deutsche Bank, where he worked as a project manager and business analyst.
Smith will lead the group's operational delivery and execution, aiming to ensure ClearToken's infrastructure, processes and controls operate effectively and efficiently as the company transitions into live service.
The firm says he has played a key role in ClearToken's development, helping shape the regulatory and operational foundations of the CT Settle and CT Clear services, and supporting engagement with the UK Financial Conduct Authority and 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 chief operating officer of LME Clear, the central counterparty (CCP) of the London Metal Exchange, 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 Intercapital (ICAP) and J.P. Morgan.
Commenting on the appointments, Benjamin Santos-Stephens, CEO of ClearToken, says: “We are proud to welcome Mark to the ClearToken leadership team as chief commercial officer and to formalise Chris’ appointment as chief operating officer.
“Securing further experience and expertise of this calibre is another step forward for us. We are delighted to have them both on board on our journey to build the world’s first clearing house and settlement depository for tokenised digital and traditional assets. We look forward to working with them as we continue to deliver on our strategy.”
Williamson adds: “ClearToken has achieved a great deal in a relatively short space of time and has a solid plan to deliver the unification of TradFi and digital assets systems, long sought by the global markets. Whilst many have discussed this, ClearToken is actually doing it, making this an opportunity I simply could not let pass.
“I am totally aligned with their vision for the future of 24/7 global markets and am proud to join such an innovative company as we scale the financial infrastructure that will unlock the next phase of institutional tokenisation.”
Smith notes: “Having worked closely with the team to build ClearToken’s regulatory and operational framework, I am pleased to take on the role of chief operating officer as we move into this next phase.
“Our focus now is on ensuring that our infrastructure and controls operate with the highest levels of efficiency and resilience. We are building a bridge between the agility of digital assets and the robust standards required by the world’s largest financial institutions, and I look forward to leading our operational delivery.”
Mark Williamson has been appointed chief commercial officer and Chris Smith has become chief operating officer.
Williamson will lead product management, sales and marketing, and strategy, aiming to help ClearToken deliver institutional?grade digital market infrastructure.
He brings extensive relevant experience spanning a 35-year career in banking and finance.
Williamson has driven major innovations across electronic trading, distributed ledger solutions, quantum technologies, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and the tokenisation of assets.
Most recently, he spent over six years as global head of FX and precious metals, digital assets, and currencies at HSBC, which followed three years as HSBC’s chief operating officer of FX trading and risk management.
Prior to this, he spent more than six years at BNP Paribas, latterly as global chief operating officer for FX and local markets.
Williamson also spent over four years at J.P. Morgan, where, as ecommerce programme manager, he oversaw the MorganDirect Single Dealer Platform across FX, FX options, and interest rate derivatives.
Other roles included three years as chief operating officer of Gresham Computing and three years at Deutsche Bank, where he worked as a project manager and business analyst.
Smith will lead the group's operational delivery and execution, aiming to ensure ClearToken's infrastructure, processes and controls operate effectively and efficiently as the company transitions into live service.
The firm says he has played a key role in ClearToken's development, helping shape the regulatory and operational foundations of the CT Settle and CT Clear services, and supporting engagement with the UK Financial Conduct Authority and 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 chief operating officer of LME Clear, the central counterparty (CCP) of the London Metal Exchange, 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 Intercapital (ICAP) and J.P. Morgan.
Commenting on the appointments, Benjamin Santos-Stephens, CEO of ClearToken, says: “We are proud to welcome Mark to the ClearToken leadership team as chief commercial officer and to formalise Chris’ appointment as chief operating officer.
“Securing further experience and expertise of this calibre is another step forward for us. We are delighted to have them both on board on our journey to build the world’s first clearing house and settlement depository for tokenised digital and traditional assets. We look forward to working with them as we continue to deliver on our strategy.”
Williamson adds: “ClearToken has achieved a great deal in a relatively short space of time and has a solid plan to deliver the unification of TradFi and digital assets systems, long sought by the global markets. Whilst many have discussed this, ClearToken is actually doing it, making this an opportunity I simply could not let pass.
“I am totally aligned with their vision for the future of 24/7 global markets and am proud to join such an innovative company as we scale the financial infrastructure that will unlock the next phase of institutional tokenisation.”
Smith notes: “Having worked closely with the team to build ClearToken’s regulatory and operational framework, I am pleased to take on the role of chief operating officer as we move into this next phase.
“Our focus now is on ensuring that our infrastructure and controls operate with the highest levels of efficiency and resilience. We are building a bridge between the agility of digital assets and the robust standards required by the world’s largest financial institutions, and I look forward to leading our operational delivery.”
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