Ryan Leigh

About Ryan Leigh

As a former NCAA athlete, I’ve always loved to compete and win but more importantly, I’ve been drawn to the discipline behind sustained success. Accounting, much like athletics, has a rulebook, and how one plays by those rules is what separates mediocrity from excellence.While studying as an undergraduate, I discovered finance and accounting through the Brown Advisory Student Management Fund and saw firsthand how classroom concepts translate into real financial statements. That experience made one thing clear to me early on: understanding the “rulebook of business” is essential to building durable companies. With that foundation, I pursued and earned my MAcc, CPA, and CMA.I began my career in the Business Operations Outsourcing service line at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), serving as an Outsourced Controller for 10+ clients across multiple industries. I led day-to-day accounting operations, month-end and year-end close, and acted as the primary point of contact for clients and external auditors, an experience that cemented my focus on financial discipline, accountability, and clear communication.I later transitioned into high-growth startups, where I helped scale finance and accounting functions through rapid growth and complex transactions. At AvantStay, I played a key role in scaling the accounting team from 5 to 24, supporting a $150M Series B raise and a $500M PropCo partnership. At Hero Digital and CoinDesk, I led post-acquisition integrations, ERP implementations, and closing balance sheet work following M&A transactions, partnering closely with executive teams to improve close timelines, audit readiness, and cash forecasting.More recently, I served as Global Financial Controller at a Web3-native stealth startup following a $10M Series A, where I rebuilt the finance and accounting function, strengthened treasury and on-chain custody controls, and reduced reliance on outsourced accounting.I then joined Art Blocks as Controller and was subsequently promoted to CFO. Today, I oversee finance, accounting, treasury, and risk for a crypto-native business operating at the intersection of art, technology, and capital markets. My focus is long-term financial stewardship, liquidity management, governance, scalable systems, and decision support, particularly in volatile or emerging environments.In my free time, I enjoy playing bagpipes, surfing, hiking, sailing, and camping.

Experience

1. Chief Financial Officer

   Art Blocks Inc

   Jan 2026 — Present

Education

• William & Mary

  Master’s Degree, Accounting

• Washington College

  Bachelor’s Degree, Business Management Major with a Concentration in Accounting and Finance and Economics Minor

Skills

• Microsoft Office
• Customer Service
• Microsoft Excel
• Management
• Microsoft Word
• Leadership
• Powerpoint
• Project Management
• Strategic Planning
• Public Speaking
• C++
• Html
• Wordpress
• Web Design
• Social Media
• Time Management
• Teamwork
• Event Planning
• Microsoft Powerpoint