Leadership Team

Akshay Naheta is the Chief Executive Officer and a Member of the Board of Directors of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

Prior to joining Bakkt in March 2025, he founded Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) in January 2023, a company building the next-generation financial infrastructure focused on programmable finance for businesses and consumers globally. DTR was acquired by Bakkt in April 2026.

From January 2017 to May 2022, Akshay served in various executive roles at SoftBank Group, most recently as Senior Vice President, Investments, where he directly reported to Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of SoftBank. He was instrumental in overseeing several of the firm’s most significant technology investments, including ARM, Auto1, and Nvidia.

In 2011, Akshay founded Knight Assets & Co., an investment management firm specializing in arbitrage and value-oriented strategies. He began his professional career at Deutsche Bank AG, where he served from 2005 to 2010, ultimately holding the position of Head of Principal Strategies. In this role, he was responsible for managing proprietary trading and structured transactions across multiple asset classes globally.

Akshay was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and was included in Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list of the most influential young leaders in business in 2020. He has also been honored with the Young Alumni Achievement Award by the University of Illinois.

He holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science (with highest honors) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Ankit Khemka is the Chief Product Officer of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

He previously served as Global General Manager and Head of Marketing at Revolut, where he led the company’s growth, brand, and global expansion strategies. He also served as Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Kape Technologies, driving product strategy and growth for flagship brands like ExpressVPN.

Earlier in his career, he worked with Rocket Internet, leading growth ventures across the United States, Latin America, India, and Asia as well as playing a key role in scaling HelloFresh in the United States.

Ankit holds a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.

Cassandra Abell is the Global Head of People of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

Prior to joining Bakkt, she advised venture-backed startups and growth-stage organizations on organizational effectiveness, leadership, talent strategy, and compensation. Previously, Cassandra served as Head of People at Bonobos and held talent management and organizational development leadership roles at Tribune Media, supporting enterprise-wide performance management, leadership development, and organizational change initiatives.

Cassandra is currently completing her Doctorate in A.I. and Consumer Behavior at Pace University. She holds a Master of Business Administration in Global Marketing and eCommerce from the University of New Haven and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Connecticut.

Daniel Ishag is the Chief Commercial Officer of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

Prior to joining Bakkt, he was the Founder and CEO of Gyzer Network, an infrastructure layer for moving money between fiat and digital assets, until its acquisition by Bakkt in May 2026.

Daniel founded Return.Finance, Europe’s first regulated DeFi aggregator, and founded Europe’s first search marketing ad network prior to its merger with FindWhat.com. He also founded and led Bluewater Bio, building it into one of Europe’s leading independent water technology companies.

Marc D’Annunzio is the General Counsel and Secretary of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

He joined Bakkt in May 2019 and guided the Company through its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021.

Prior to joining Bakkt, he spent 20+ years as a payments and corporate transactions lawyer for major law firms including Alston & Bird and McKenna Long & Aldridge (now Dentons). His experience includes M&A transactions, strategic alliances, international expansion, and complex commercial relationships, including co-branded and private label card programs, processing relationships, new product launches, and compliance.

Marc holds a Juris Doctor and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History, each from the University of Michigan.

Matt White is the Chief Financial Officer of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

Prior to joining Bakkt, he served for over seven years as CFO and Corporate Secretary of CoreCard Corporation (NYSE: CCRD), a publicly traded payment technology company, and remained part of the executive leadership team following its acquisition by Euronet Worldwide in October 2025. He oversaw finance, accounting, SEC reporting, legal and contract matters, corporate governance and strategic due diligence. Earlier in his career, Matt held progressive roles in accounting and finance at Equifax and Humana and more than six years at Deloitte, including Senior Manager in the audit practice.

Matt holds a Master of Accountancy from the University of Georgia and Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Transylvania University.

Mika Kawana is the Vice President of Corporate Affairs of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

Prior to joining Bakkt, she spent over a decade at Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), parent of the New York Stock Exchange, most recently serving as Director of Brand Partnerships. During her tenure at ICE, she worked for the Founder, Chair and CEO, and worked closely with executive management and the parent Board of Directors to execute key strategic initiatives, corporate governance, high-profile cross-segment client events, and enterprise employee and community engagement programs for the global headquarters. Earlier in her career, Mika held leadership positions across the campaign finance sector.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

Nicholas Baes is the Chief Operating Officer of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

Nicholas joined Bakkt in April 2023 as Chief Technology Officer. Prior to joining Bakkt, Nicholas served as the Chief Technology Officer of Apex Crypto and the Vice President of Engineering at PEAK6 Investments. He has held several lead positions in the TradFi, FinTech and crypto market segments, including Intercontinental Exchange

Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Rémi Tuyaerts is the Chief Technology Officer of Bakkt, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT).

Prior to joining Bakkt, he served as Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), a stablecoin and payment solutions company acquired by Bakkt in April 2026. Previously, Rémi co-founded and successfully exited several fintech startups bridging traditional finance and decentralized systems, including Unblock and Lendflo.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Nottingham.