BlockFills, a leading digital assets technology and trading firm for institutions and professional traders, announced the appointment of Amy Shelly as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and promotion of Neil Van Huis to Chief Strategy Officer. The executives assume significant leadership roles as the firm prepares to launch international offices, expands the BlockFills product offering and positions itself for major growth in the institutional digital assets space.
Shelly has more than three decades of financial services management experience, including recently serving for six years as CFO for the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Van Huis has been a Director of BlockFills since its 2018 inception, working with the team to successfully raise a $37 million Series A funding round in 2022 and establishing the framework for the company’s corporate strategy and trading business lines.
BlockFills Co-Founder & CEO Nick Hammer said: “BlockFills is thrilled to welcome Amy and promote Neil into their respective new roles as they bring extraordinary expertise and energy that will fuel our continued growth. These appointments ensure we are meeting the critical, progressing needs and high expectations of institutions as we begin to establish our international presence and diversify our offering and appeal with innovative fintech solutions that leverage our technology and expertise.”
Shelly said: “I am excited to join the team on the precipice of a new era of tremendous growth at BlockFills. As the company is rapidly maturing, the digital assets market is as well, and BlockFills is uniquely established to take advantage of its position in this space through continued investments in institutional-grade technology and geographic opportunities.”
Van Huis said: “BlockFills’ commitment to evolving and maturing with the digital assets market has been a company pillar since our launch in 2018. We are extremely proud that our foundational mission to welcome institutional firms into the market via deep crypto liquidity has grown into a full trading products and technology suite. It is an exciting time for BlockFills as we continue to refine and expand that suite and launch new offices across multiple geographies.”
Shelly served from 2016 to 2022 as CFO of OCC, where she oversaw all Corporate Finance functions, led a team of 65 professionals, managed over $650 million of capital and cosponsored the firm’s major initiative to modernize the core technology platform. She previously spent six years at global market maker Optiver U.S. LLC, where she managed the financial risks of the business, including financial regulatory compliance, investments, communication of financial performance and forecasts, tax compliance, and various treasury functions. Shelly was the Controller at Chase Investment Services Corp., the retail broker-dealer for JPMorgan, after beginning her career at Hull Trading as a staff accountant.
Shelly has garnered numerous recognitions including Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Women in Finance, Markets Media’s Market Choice Awards for Women in Finance and Cambridge’s Who’s Who for Excellence in Accounting and Finance. Financial Executives International’s Chicago Chapter named her as a finalist for CFO of the Year in 2019.
A licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Shelly belongs to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Finance from St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind.
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