Valereum PLC (AQSE:VLRM) this week detailed an updated strategy and leadership direction in an interview with Proactive, following the appointment of Gary Cottle as chief executive officer.
Cottle, who previously served as a non-executive director, stepped into the CEO role to maintain strategic continuity. He also brings 30 years of experience in financial markets, including senior roles at Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and Nomura.
The new Valereum boss joined the Proactive studio to discuss the changes. Here’s what he said.
Proactive: I'm joined by Valereum Group CEO Gary Cottle. Gary, very good to speak with you and congratulations on your appointment as CEO of Valereum.
You're no newcomer to the company. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your involvement so far with Valereum?
Gary Cottle: Hi, Stephen. Thanks for having me. I was an investment banker for nearly 30 years. I'm a mathematician by training. I worked for a consultancy in the 80s, then built structured products at Chase Manhattan and later moved to Barclays, where I was managing director and ran the European risk advisory business.
I later led global capital markets for Morgan Stanley and helped with the bailout of RBS, Bear Stearns, and Lehman’s.
Later, I joined Nomura to head up markets.
About three years ago, I was brought in by a group of mildly unhappy Valereum shareholders to advise on strategy. That led to leadership changes, and I later helped in the acquisition of GSX Group.
I served as a non-executive director before stepping into the CEO role.
Proactive: Gary, why have you now decided to take on the CEO role at Valereum?
Gary Cottle: Honestly, I didn’t intend to. One of the businesses we invested in, Metrikus, was one I helped grow.
When the CEO transition happened, there was a concern about a leadership void.
I agreed to step in temporarily, 6 to 12 months, to maintain momentum. If someone more suited comes along, I’d happily step aside.
Proactive: Take us through that game plan a little bit, Gary, and maybe touch on what gives Valereum an edge in the DeFi sector?
Gary Cottle: It’s early days in this space, but we’re seeing strong growth potential. We're focusing on companies that are already generating revenue and have growth potential.
We’ve created a synergistic ecosystem with firms like Bluebird, Fideum, and DigiShares.
We've already seen cost savings and new revenue opportunities through collaboration.
The Fideum wallet, for instance, outperformed one we spent over a year developing.
Proactive: Your immediate priorities now as CEO, Gary?
Gary Cottle: We’ve already tackled several, starting with pipeline development.
We’ve given our partner businesses growth capital, enabling them to scale more quickly.
Valereum itself is using technologies from Fideum and DigiShares, and we expect to add more companies to the ecosystem over the next 4 to 8 months.
We're in a strong position and will continue to drive value across our investments.
Proactive: Gary, I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.