When it comes to the world of crypto, there's never a dull week. For Joanne Kubba, Binance's Vice President of Public Affairs, her tenure at the company has already spanned some of the industry's biggest stories of the year. Joanne puts it best herself. "Blockchain is a whole other ballgame".
With a Harvard degree under her belt and experience at Google and Uber, Joanne has joined an industry that's both familiar and foreign. Liaising with regulators and facilitating global messaging for her previous companies developed Joanne's essential PA toolkit. Here then, is the story of someone who has discovered the value of blockchain through experience. By jumping in at the deep end right off the bat. And it's one you don't want to miss.
“So, I was born in Iraq. Born in Baghdad, which is always a fun fact for people. Where I’m born, the journey it sent me on defined so much of my world view”
When we begin our talk, Joanne's multicultural roots shine through the discussion. From Baghdad to Toronto to Dubai (with a few stops on the way for good measure), her background has provided a solid foundation for her work in markets worldwide. Following her masters in the US, Joanne saw her calling.
"I'm a tech brat, so I think [my career] most meaningfully starts when I was at Google for roughly four years doing public affairs. It was a combination of policy and communications." Joanne had found a taste for getting deep in the trenches, and it's something that defines her career still to this day.
"I think what was clearly evident, as you'll see a thread throughout my whole career, is that I've always worked in the scrappy phases of companies. Even if they're established companies."
After cutting her teeth at the world's foremost tech giant (Google), Joanne saw an opportunity at a small but promising startup. The company was innovating and breaking ground in a previously unregulated area of crowd investing. Thus began Joanne's journey at Uber, culminating in playing a pivotal role in its path to sensible regulation, an IPO, and seeking approvals of a regional three billion dollar acquisition.
"Our focus was in a new industry where there were little to no regulations. No one really knew the best way to regulate this space". The parallels with blockchain and crypto during its early years are apparent, and this core experience is pivotal to Joanne's work at Binance today.
Getting to Know Blockchain
After joining Binance in August 2022, Joanne soon developed an understanding of the difference blockchain can make in the world. This has given her a more rounded view of the space and helps provide nuance to the functional PA skills she employs. For Joanne, the penny dropped when trying to open an international bank account.
"It took me three weeks. Three weeks because they could not fathom the idea that I was born in Iraq and had earned money abroad. This didn't at first seem legitimate by their terms."
Almost a month and multiple background checks later, Joanne had finally opened her account. But during this gap, she had time to reflect on how blockchain could have helped. From identity verification to remittances and financial asset management, the options seemed clear. This event, combined with her time working in Dubai and its blockchain-based property deed systems, sealed the deal.
Understanding the Industry’s Unique Challenges
For Joanne, helping the key opinion leaders, regulators, and the wider public understand blockchain's value propositions is an important part of her work. It's a unique challenge the industry faces as we define use cases that can benefit everyone, not just the financially savvy.
"I think making sure we articulate blockchain's value proposition and… simplifying this for the average person should be rewarded." Too often, the focus lies on the wild but wonderful world of decentralized finance, moonshot projects, and meme coins. Joanne's vision to provide a grounded view of blockchain is a boon to its uptake and regulatory reputation too.
To create responsible and empowering regulation, we all need to understand crypto beyond its often sensationalist headlines. "We have to find a way to be social partners [with regulators]... to work with them, and they need to work with us," Joanne notes. Her plan? To encourage the further exchange of professionals between the two worlds.
"Binance has staffed itself well from the other side of the equation. I'm talking about law enforcement, former regulators, people just steeped in policy". Her observation extends to regulators too. "They have staffed themselves up with people that have backgrounds in the relevant industries. They've certainly outreached, and I think I'd like to see that continue."
"Regulation shouldn't come at the cost of innovation."
A focus on learning from one another, rather than media stories, looks to be the way forward. At the end of the day, we need to protect users without stifling innovation. "Regulations have to be smart, they have to be sensible, and they have to allow the space to foster innovation." Joanne's work is indeed cut out for her, but her extensive experience and developing crypto advocacy are the right tools for the job.
“Increasing dialogue is critical,” Joanne notes confidently. “Increasing engagement is also critical. We need to ensure [regulators] have an open plan for what the future can look like.” Joanne’s plan is clear, and her direction is straightforward. With a strong message in hand that focuses on cooperation from both sides, the future looks bright.
Making a Career at Binance
“Don't think you have to have one particular skill set to be successful in the company.”
For many Binance employees, its flexible and remote working conditions facilitate the fantastic work they do. Joanne is no different, passionately explaining that "the level of flexibility is phenomenal '' and "that you almost really do carve out your space and figure out how you can get things done".
For those looking to follow in the footsteps of Joanne, the guidance and path are clear. "Jump right in and just say yes. Saying yes means you'll try something that is going to stretch you beyond your usual capacity." For Joanne, these moments are the perfect opportunity to grow. "You ask questions in a way that the average person or regulator asks questions, and this makes you incredibly valuable on the inside".
For more information and interviews on Binance’s leadership, refer to the following articles: