Bakkt Appoints Matt White as Chief Financial Officer for Next Phase of Global Growth
Bakkt (NYSE: BKKT) appointed Matt White as Chief Financial Officer, effective August 17, 2026, succeeding Karen Alexander, who stepped down on August 14, 2026 and will remain as an adviser to support the transition.
Rhea-AI Summary
Bakkt (NYSE: BKKT) appointed Matt White as Chief Financial Officer, effective August 17, 2026, succeeding Karen Alexander, who stepped down on August 14, 2026 and will remain as an adviser to support the transition. White joins as Bakkt emphasizes technology-enabled financial infrastructure, AI and disciplined capital allocation for its next phase of global growth.
White has over 20 years of public company finance experience in technology, payments, capital markets and corporate strategy, most recently serving more than seven years as CFO and Corporate Secretary of CoreCard (NYSE: CCRD), including during its acquisition by Euronet Worldwide in October 2025. In connection with his appointment, he will receive a one-time grant of 90,000 RSUs and 60,000 stock options with a $10.00 exercise price, vesting over three years, granted as inducement awards under NYSE rules without shareholder approval.
Positive
- Experienced CFO hire with 20+ years in public company finance, technology and payments
- Prior CFO role at CoreCard (NYSE: CCRD) through growth and 2025 acquisition by Euronet Worldwide
- Equity-based compensation of 90,000 RSUs and 60,000 options aligns CFO incentives with share performance
- Three-year vesting schedule for RSUs and options supports management retention and longer-term focus
Negative
- Equity awards of 90,000 RSUs and 60,000 options may create incremental dilution for existing shareholders
- CFO transition timing with prior CFO leaving August 14, 2026 could pose short-term leadership transition risk
- Inducement grants issued without shareholder approval under NYSE Section 303A.08 may raise governance concerns for some investors
Key Figures
- CFO appointment date
- August 17, 2026
- Matt White appointment effective date
- Prior CFO transition date
- August 14, 2026
- Karen Alexander transitioned from CFO role
- Finance experience
- more than two decades
- Matt White public company finance experience
- CoreCard CFO tenure
- more than seven years
- Matt White served as CoreCard CFO and Corporate Secretary
- RSU grant
- 90,000 RSUs
- One-time inducement grant for Matt White
- Option grant
- 60,000 options
- One-time inducement grant
- Option exercise price
- $10.00 per share
- Exercise price for granted options
- Option vesting
- three equal annual installments
- Vesting on the first, second and third anniversaries
Key Terms
restricted stock units financial
inducement awards regulatory
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
ATLANTA, Aug. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT) (“Bakkt” or the “Company”) today announced the appointment of Matt White as Chief Financial Officer, effective August 17, 2026. Matt joins Bakkt as the Company enters its next phase of global growth, with an expanding focus on technology-enabled financial infrastructure, AI and disciplined capital allocation. Mr. White succeeds Karen Alexander, who transitioned from her role as Chief Financial Officer effective August 14, 2026 and will continue to serve the Company in an advisory capacity to support the transition.
Mr. White brings more than two decades of public company finance experience across technology, payments, capital markets and corporate strategy. Most recently, he served for more than seven years as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of CoreCard Corporation (NYSE: CCRD), a payment technology company, where he was a key member of the executive leadership team through the Company’s growth and subsequent acquisition by Euronet Worldwide in October 2025. His expertise spans financial strategy, capital allocation, public company reporting and governance, strategic transactions, and the scalable financial infrastructure required to support technology companies.
“I want to thank Karen for her contributions to Bakkt and for supporting the transition,” said Akshay Naheta, Chief Executive Officer of Bakkt. “Matt brings exactly the profile we want in a CFO for the next phase of Bakkt. He combines deep public company discipline with technology and payments experience, strategic thinking and an execution-oriented approach to finance. As Bakkt becomes an increasingly global and technology-driven company, the CFO function must evolve with it. We intend to build a modern, data-driven and AI-enabled finance organization that can operate at speed, allocate capital intelligently and support the scale of the opportunity ahead of us. Matt is the right leader to help us do that.”
“Bakkt is at an important inflection point as it scales its technology, expands globally and executes across Markets, Agent and Global,” said Mr. White. “I am excited to lead a finance organization that matches that ambition, one that is disciplined, technology-forward and deeply connected to the business. My focus will be straightforward: rigorous execution, intelligent capital allocation, operational accountability and translating Bakkt’s strategy into durable shareholder value.”
In connection with his appointment, Mr. White will receive a one-time grant of 90,000 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and 60,000 options to purchase shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock (“Options”), with an exercise price of
About Bakkt
Bakkt is a regulated financial technology company building a financial operating system for the AI and token economy. Through Bakkt Markets, Bakkt Agent and Bakkt Global, the Company is developing regulated infrastructure for trading, stablecoin settlement and cross-border payments; intelligence and distribution capabilities for financial products; and strategic access to differentiated assets and global markets. Bakkt serves financial institutions, fintechs and consumer brands seeking to deliver trusted financial services at scale.
For more information, visit: https://www.bakkt.com/ | X | LinkedIn | Instagram
Investor Relations
OG Advisory Group
Yujia Zhai
bakkt@orangegroupadvisors.com
Media
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bakkt@lunapr.io
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "will," "likely," "expect," "continue," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "projection," "outlook," "grow," "progress," "target," "potential" or other variations of these terms, as well as similar expressions that discuss future plans, actions, or events. Any such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the Company and are inherently subject to significant business, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies — many of which are difficult to predict and are beyond the Company's control.
Actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to those described in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and Bakkt undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
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