Former Google Russia chief technology officer Jennifer Trelewicz has joined blockchain platform Credits (CS) as its new chief business officer (CBO).

According to an official announcement published on Oct. 11, Trelewicz’s first experience working with blockchain was during her time as the CEO of Russian technology startup S7 TechLab.

In the past, she also worked as the director of IBM’s systems and technology laboratory and the director of risks and market data at Deutsche Bank.

Focused on new partnerships

Potential collaboration with major companies such as IBM is now among the key growth opportunities for Credits, Trelewicz added. In fact, she explicitly stated that her main objective in the company will be to develop new partnerships:

“I will be nurturing and developing our relationships with partners, clients, and advisors worldwide. As well, I put a high priority on building our channel partnerships, including with integrators. [...] IBM is an excellent partner for complex solutions projects, and they have a worldwide channel for enterprise clients.”

Previously, Credits announced that it had joined the New Vision Technology project of Chinese technology giant Lenovo in September 2018.

Tech execs move into the blockchain and crypto industries

Talent from major tech firms have been shifting into the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries as digital assets and their underlying technology gain more adoption worldwide. As Cointelegraph reported on Oct. 2, blockchain and cryptocurrency investment firm Multicoin Capital hired a former Google product manager as one of its new investment principals.

In March 2019, Tom Noonan, a former cybersecurity expert at IBM, joined Bakkt, which launched its physically-delivered Bitcoin (BTC) futures last month. The following April, Bakkt also hired former Google engineering executive Mike Blandina as its chief product officer.

In July, Ripple brought on Kahina Van Dyke as the new senior vice president of business and corporate development. Van Dyke had previously worked at Facebook as a global director of financial services and payment partnerships.