Evernorth Holdings Inc. is expanding its leadership team as it prepares for a planned public listing through a business combination with Armada Acquisition Corp. II. The company said the changes are part of a broader strategy to support institutional adoption of XRP through a regulated public-company structure.
Ripple’s legal chief expected to join the board
Among the most notable additions, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, is expected to join Evernorth’s board once the transaction closes. Alderoty has served as Ripple’s CLO since 2019 and has also been president of the National Cryptocurrency Association since 2025. His earlier legal experience includes roles at CIT Group, HSBC North America Holdings, and American Express. Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla said the company is assembling a leadership team with the institutional credibility required for its next stage as a public company.
Building a public-company XRP treasury model
Evernorth described itself as an XRP-focused treasury company and said several incoming board and executive appointments bring experience across finance, risk, communications, and digital assets. Dr. Derar Islim is expected to contribute expertise in digital asset market structure and institutional credit from prior 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 credentials, including service as CFO of the OpenAI Foundation and former chief accounting officer of Twitter.
On the executive side, Evernorth appointed Boris Kapeller as chief risk officer and Charles Stewart as chief communications officer. Kapeller will oversee financial risk strategy and controls, while Stewart will lead communications, marketing, and brand strategy as the company moves toward its next phase.
A regulated and liquid route to XRP exposure
After completing its combination with Nasdaq-listed SPAC Armada II, Evernorth intends to offer investors a regulated, liquid, and transparent way to gain exposure to XRP. The company said its model differs from an ETF approach because it plans to actively increase XRP per share through institutional and DeFi yield strategies, ecosystem participation, and capital markets activities.
The latest appointments suggest Evernorth is trying to position itself as a publicly traded digital asset treasury platform built around XRP. The expected addition of Ripple’s top legal executive also underscores the company’s emphasis on governance and regulatory credibility as it advances toward listing.