Bank of America has appointed Sonali Theisen as head of its global digital assets platform and Kevin Milsom as head of AI transformation. The appointments formalize leadership for two areas moving from experimental projects into core financial market infrastructure. Theisen will oversee design, development, scaling, and governance of the bank's digital assets platform while continuing to lead electronic trading and strategic investments across fixed income, currencies, and commodities. The moves reflect how major banks are establishing dedicated leadership tracks for digital assets and AI while integrating both areas with existing trading and operations platforms.
Bank of America Establishes Digital Assets Platform Under Theisen's Leadership
Theisen's role focuses on bringing blockchain-based products into Bank of America's existing markets infrastructure. She will work alongside Adam Dixon, the bank's digital asset transformation chief, whose remit includes tokenized deposits and stablecoins, digital collateral mobility, cryptocurrency trading settlement, and custody.
By placing the role close to electronic trading and FICC activity, Bank of America is linking digital assets to business lines where settlement speed, liquidity movement, collateral usage, and operational risk already carry major weight. The digital assets platform must meet internal governance standards before supporting client-facing products at meaningful size.
Tokenized deposits and stablecoins sit between traditional banking and blockchain settlement. Digital collateral mobility serves markets desks that need to move collateral efficiently across counterparties, trading venues, and clearing structures. Custody and settlement remain central to institutional participation, requiring controlled asset safekeeping, clear legal treatment, risk controls, and integration with existing compliance systems.
Milsom Leads AI Transformation Across Global Markets Operations
Milsom's appointment as head of AI transformation gives Bank of America a dedicated executive responsible for implementing AI across the bank's global markets platforms. The mandate places AI inside global markets businesses that depend on pricing, execution, risk monitoring, client coverage, compliance review, research workflows, and post-trade processing.
The appointment shows AI adoption at major banks is moving beyond general productivity tools. The strategic value is in embedding AI into trading and market infrastructure where automation, data analysis, and workflow compression can affect cost, speed, and client service. Banks must manage model risk, data controls, supervision, and explainability before wider deployment.
Wall Street Firms Create Dedicated Digital Assets and AI Leadership Roles
Bank of America's changes follow similar moves across traditional finance. Vanguard has been searching for its first head of digital assets to develop a crypto strategy for personal wealth clients and engage with regulators. Morgan Stanley appointed Amy Oldenburg to lead its digital asset strategy earlier this year as it works to integrate crypto and tokenization with custody, wallets, and data infrastructure.
Large financial institutions are assigning senior executives to build governance, product strategy, regulatory engagement, and technical integration across existing business lines. Dedicated leadership helps turn pilot programs into governed platforms that can be reviewed by regulators, adopted by business units, and offered to clients within controlled limits.
FAQ
What roles did Bank of America create for digital assets and AI?
Bank of America appointed Sonali Theisen as head of its global digital assets platform and Kevin Milsom as head of AI transformation. Theisen oversees design, development, scaling, and governance of the digital assets platform while continuing her role in electronic trading and FICC. Milsom is responsible for implementing AI across the bank's global markets platforms.
What does Bank of America's digital assets platform focus on?
The platform focuses on tokenized deposits and stablecoins, digital collateral mobility, cryptocurrency trading settlement, and custody. Theisen works alongside Adam Dixon, the bank's digital asset transformation chief, to bring blockchain-based products into existing markets infrastructure and integrate them with settlement, liquidity movement, and operational systems.
Which other banks have appointed digital assets leadership?
Vanguard has been searching for its first head of digital assets to develop a crypto strategy for personal wealth clients. Morgan Stanley appointed Amy Oldenburg to lead its digital asset strategy earlier this year to integrate crypto and tokenization with custody, wallets, and data infrastructure.
