The Libra Association has replaced its general counsel in merely three months, on-boarding Stevan Bunnell, a former general counsel at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as the new top lawyer.
As seen on his Linkedin profile, Bunnell joined the tech and Payments consortium earlier this month, replacing Robert Werner, who joined the Association in May as its first general counsel.
Werner confirmed to Bloomberg Law that he decided to depart from the non-profit sector after such a short stint as he was required to relinquish his seat at the board of Deutsche Bank Trust Co. and Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas, which he did not want to give up.
Facebook along with many tech and payments industry partners formed the Libra Association last year to propel the issuance of a Stablecoin that can be used across several Facebook-owned platforms. As the project is facing regulatory backlash from across the world, the position of the general counsel seems to be very crucial.
A Lawyer with Deep Ties with the Government
Bunnell joined the Libra Association from O'Melveny & Myers where he co-chained the data privacy and security practices since 2017. Before that, he was the general counsel at the DHS for over three years.
His ties with the public offices are deep as he also serviced the attorney general’s office at Washington DC and the US Department of Justice for over a decade in various positions.
Earlier this year, the Libra Association also made the key appointment of Stuart Levey, a former top Treasury Department official-turned-general counsel at HSBC Holdings, as the chief executive officer and also hired Sterling Daines, the managing director and global head of financial crime compliance at Credit Suisse, as the chief compliance officer.
