Evernorth Adding Ripple Legal Chief to Board Ahead of XRP Treasury Push

Evernorth Expands Leadership Team

Evernorth Holdings Inc. announced on May 5, 2026, that it is expanding its leadership team with new board members and senior executives as the company moves toward a planned public listing through Armada Acquisition Corp. II. The appointments come as Evernorth builds a public-company strategy designed to enable institutional adoption of XRP.

Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, is expected to join Evernorth’s board after the business combination closes. Alderoty has served as Ripple’s chief legal officer since 2019 and has served as president of the National Cryptocurrency Association since 2025. His earlier experience includes legal roles at CIT Group Inc., HSBC North America Holdings Inc., and American Express Company. Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla commented:

“As Evernorth prepares to operate as a public company, we are building a leadership team with the institutional credibility this model requires.”

Evernorth Builds Public XRP Strategy

The XRP-focused treasury company also identified several other expected board members and executive hires whose backgrounds span finance, risk, communications, and digital assets. Dr. Derar Islim is expected to bring experience in digital asset market structure and institutional credit from roles at Antalpha and Genesis Global Trading. Ted Janus adds more than 30 years of investment experience, including work at J Capital and Palo Alto Investors. Robert Kaiden brings financial leadership experience from roles including Chief Financial Officer of the OpenAI Foundation and former Chief Accounting Officer of Twitter. On the executive side, Boris Kapeller was appointed Chief Risk Officer, while Charles Stewart was appointed Chief Communications Officer.

The company said the leadership changes are meant to support Evernorth’s transition into a potential public digital asset treasury. After completing its combination with Armada II, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company, Evernorth intends to offer investors exposure to XRP through a regulated, liquid, and transparent structure. Unlike ETFs, Evernorth intends to actively grow XRP per share through institutional and DeFi yield strategies, ecosystem participation, and capital markets activities. Kapeller will oversee financial risk strategy and controls, while Stewart will lead communications, marketing, and brand strategy.