John D'Agostino

John Joseph D'Agostino is an American business executive and entrepreneur. D'Agostino is a senior advisor to Coinbase and Chairman of US Asset Management Committee for the Department for International Trade. He previously was managing director at the world's largest fund governance firm DMS Offshore, where he was also on the board of hedge funds providing independent oversight. He was previously a managing director at Alkeon Capital Management, a multibillion-dollar registered investment adviser. In 2021, Mr. D'Agostino co-founded the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) Digital Asset Working Group. He was named Fellow of the AIF Global Innovation Institute in 2022. D'Agostino has been on the board of Surf Air, an aviation and air charter company since 2018.

His story was the focus of the book Rigged, the True Story of an Ivy League Kid who Changed the World of Oil by New York Times best-selling author Ben Mezrich.

D'Agostino appeared in "The Startup of You" by Reid Hoffman in 2012. He is the founder of Dagger LLC, a strategic consulting and advisory services. He is a speaker at conferences and meetings on business topics such as negotiation, markets, and hedge funds.

Early life D'Agostino grew up in a working-class family in Brooklyn, New York. He became the exchange's youngest Head of Strategy and led the effort to create the Dubai Mercantile Exchange in partnership with the Dubai Government. which laid the foundations for accelerating the development of capital markets in the region. In 2012, he was a speaker at the Australian Davos Forum in Hayman Island, Australia. He has guest lectured for the United States Navy on the topic of "financial exchange expansion as an indicator of shifting political power" and advised the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing on its successful $1.3 billion acquisition of the London Metal Exchange.

Depictions in media

Books

In 2007, his story became the focus of the book Rigged, the True Story of an Ivy League Kid who Changed the World of Oil by Ben Mezrich. The book was published in 2008 in United Kingdom with a slight variation in the title as Rigged, The True Story of a Wall Street Novice who Changed the World of Oil Forever.

According to the author's note, D'Agostino was initially reluctant for the book to be written and author Ben Mezrich convinced D'Agostino by using a pseudonym, changing the name of the primary character to David Russo. Summit Entertainment acquired the screen rights to Rigged. The book, written as an exposé, traces the New York Mercantile Exchange's transformation from an obscure market specializing in commodity futures in the 1960s to its modern-day venue as the world's energy exchange.

In 2012, D'Agostino was featured in the book The Start-up of you by LinkedIn founder and Chairman Reid Hoffman. The book highlights lessons from Silicon Valley's most innovative entrepreneurs.

Media appearances At the 2018 World Capital Markets Symposium, when asked to comment on the sustainability, diversity and equality in the finance industry, D'Agostino remarked which received considerable media interest.

In June 2018, John D'Agostino and Nouriel Roubini led a discussion on cryptocurrencies at the Battle of the Quants in New York. In contrast to Roubini, D'Agostino remained neutral on cryptocurrencies and the blockchain ecosystem and its viability in the short-term, and cautiously optimistic in the long-term. D'Agostino estimated that 80 percent of ICOs were likely to fail, a figure quoted by Bloomberg.

D'Agostino was a featured speaker at the Saudi LEAP Conference.

Personal life D'Agostino is married, has two daughters and resides in New York City.