Benjamin Yi
Executive Chairman of the Board
Benjamin was recruited to Riot in October 2018 to serve as a director, audit committee chair and member of a special committee of the Board. At the time, Riot's market capitalization was approximately $34 million. During his tenure, the Company's collective achievements to-date include significantly improved operational and financial profiles, including the attainment of profitability, a reconstituted and more diverse Board of Directors, a reconstituted and operationally streamlined management team, and the announcement of a transformative transaction to create a US-based leader in Bitcoin mining via the planned acquisition of Whinstone US, the largest Bitcoin mining facility in North America. Benjamin was elected Chairman of the Board in November 2020 and nominated Executive Chairman in May 2021.
Benjamin brings significant experience in corporate strategy, corporate development, and governance to the Company. In addition to having served as a director of several public and private companies, he also brings over sixteen years of unique capital markets experience to the management team, with a particular expertise in fintech-enabled businesses, specialty finance, and special situations investing through a company's capital structure.
Prior to Riot, Benjamin led the capital markets and corporate development efforts at IOU Financial, a tech-enabled lender to small businesses and an investee company of Neuberger Berman. Prior thereto, he worked directly under Ned Goodman, a renowned Canadian financier, investor and founder of Dundee Corporation, a Toronto-based conglomerate. Prior to Dundee, Benjamin was a securities analyst at the predecessor to 1832 Asset Management L.P., where he covered energy and special situations investments on a team managing one of North America's largest natural resources-focused investment funds. Benjamin is a CFA charter holder and holds a Master of Finance degree from the Rotman School of Management and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Trinity College in the University of Toronto.