Good morning For CFOs of banks, payments companies and non-bank lenders, Open Standard’s launch of Open USD, a new stablecoin for global money movement, deserves more than just a cursory look at another stablecoin brand.
With more than 140 financial institutions, payment networks and technology partners – including visa, MasterCard, American Expressstripes, BlackRockCitizens Bank and Coinbase – are taking part in the launch announced this weekOpen USD represents a test of whether a shared infrastructure for tokenized dollars can move from concept to operational reality.
Unlike most stablecoins Open USDScheduled to launch later this year, it will be operated by an independent company governed by a board made up of partner organizations, meaning decisions on reserves, redemption rules and technical standards will be made collectively rather than by a single issuer.
Stephen Tu, vice president of Moody’s Ratings Financial Institutions Group, said Open USD is still in its early stages but sees it as a potentially significant cross-industry consortium looking to shape the next generation of stablecoin payments infrastructure.
“Its structure reflects a broader trend also seen in tokenized deposits, where syndicate-based models can have advantages over single issuer approaches by aligning incentives, expanding distribution, and supporting interoperability through shared governance,” Tu said in an email to CFO Daily.
The economic model is different from the stablecoins that dominate today. Instead of concentrating reserve revenue with a single issuer, Open USD says partners can mint and redeem tokens for free while sharing reserve revenue after a management fee.
For finance leaders who manage settlement collateral, cross-border liquidity or large cash flows, there is an opportunity to convert often unused settlement balances into assets that generate revenue within a governance framework that participants help oversee.
Implementation will be the decisive factor for success. “Its impact will depend on whether these partners funnel meaningful volume through it, rather than simply adding another token to existing payment rails,” Tu said.
The timing reflects broader changes in digital payments. Stablecoin transaction Volumes have increased dramatically in recent years, although a significant portion of activity still comes from digital asset markets rather than everyday commercial payments. The longer-term opportunity lies in whether tokenized dollars become part of mainstream financial management, cross-border settlement and institutional payments.
Infrastructure providers are already preparing for this possibility. Fireblocks, one of Open USD’s infrastructure partners, argues that digital assets are increasingly becoming part of the financial asset behind corporate payments.
“This is a game-changer: digital assets are becoming a critical part of the movement of value around the world, underpinning and transforming business-critical cash flows,” wrote Michael Shaulov, CEO and co-founder of Fireblocks in a blog post.
For CFOs under pressure to modernize working capital cycles and support 24/7 business models, the strategic question is not whether to hold stablecoins as speculative assets. It’s about whether the infrastructure that moves money is starting to change – and whether their organizations have a voice in shaping it.
The bottom line for financial leaders: Open USD itself may or may not become the dominant stablecoin. The more consequential question is whether consortium-owned payments infrastructure will become the preferred model for tokenized money. If this is the case, finance leaders must decide whether to help shape these networks or conform to the standards set by others.
*Short note: In honor of America’s 250th birthday, we will not be publishing tomorrow. The next CFO Daily will arrive in your inbox on Monday. Happy Fourth of July and have a great weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
Sheryl.Estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves
–Michael Angelakisformer Vice Chairman and CFO of Comcast Corporation (No. 37) will return as a strategic advisor to support the separation of its media and technology businesses into two independent, publicly traded companies through a tax-free spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky. Angelakis will then become CEO of Comcast when the transaction is expected to close in mid-2027. Mike Cavanagh, currently co-CEO of Comcast, will become CEO of NBCUniversal.
Angelakis has joined Comcast in 2007 and stepped down as CFO in 2015 to found Atairos, a strategic investment company formed in partnership with Comcast, where he became chairman and CEO. Atairos remains focused on long-term investments in growth companies.
—Christina Zamarro, EVP and CFO of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (No. 239), will be leaving the company for another opportunity effective July 10. Zamarro joined Goodyear in 2007 and spent nearly two decades in senior finance roles at the company. She became CFO on January 1, 2023. “She has been a valued partner across the company, helping to advance key initiatives and position the company for further progress,” CEO Mark Stewart said in a statement opinion.
Scott Deakin has been named interim CFO at Goodyear, effective July 1. A former public company CFO and cross-industry operations manager, Deakin has more than 25 years of financial and operational experience and most recently served as CFO at Gypsum Management & Supply, Inc., a wholesaler of interior finishing products, from 2019 to 2026. Goodyear is conducting an extensive search process to identify a permanent chief financial officer.
Everyone On Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks leadership changes at Fortune 500 companies –see current edition.
Other notable moves this week:
Jonathan Collins has been named SVP of Finance and CFO of Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO), a footwear company, effective August 3. Genesco President and CEO Mimi E. Vaughn has served as interim CFO since March. Collins brings more than 30 years of financial experience. Most recently, he served as CFO of Car-Mart, Inc. in America. He previously spent more than a decade at Walmart in a number of successive leadership roles, including CFO of Walmart Africa, Chief Accounting Officer of Flipkart Group and Chief Accounting Officer of Walmart.
Ravi ThanawalaCFO of Papa John’s International, Inc. (Nasdaq: PZZA), is moving to a CFO position at another publicly traded company. Chris Collins, senior vice president of corporate finance and principal accounting officer, has been named additional interim CFO, effective immediately. Thanawala will be available as a consultant until July 31. The company has begun searching for a permanent CFO.
Heather Larkin was appointed CFO of Delteka multinational enterprise software and information solutions company. Larkin brings more than two decades of financial leadership experience, with experience in SaaS transformation, cloud-era financial operations, and scaling financial organizations during times of rapid growth. She comes to Deltek from UKG, a global human capital management platform company, where she served as Senior Vice President of Finance, leading financial planning and analysis for the company’s global business.
Adarsh Parekh has been appointed CFO of Quantum spacea defense and aerospace manufacturer. Parekh, a space industry veteran, will oversee the company’s financial strategy as it advances development of the Ranger spacecraft platform and discusses a proposed merger with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VI (Nasdaq: IPFX) enters the public markets. He comes to Quantum Space from Sidus Space, where he served as CFO. Previously, Parekh was CFO of Terran Orbital, where he led the company’s sale to Lockheed Martin.
Jason Garlic was appointed CFO of Fortrea (Nasdaq: FTRE), a global contract research firm, effective July 6. He will succeed Jill McConnell, who is stepping down. Knoblauch joins Fortrea from Clario, an endpoint data solutions provider. Before that, he was CFO at Curia. Earlier in his career, Knoblauch held various financial leadership positions in pharmaceutical product development, including interim CFO.
Big deal
E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley’s monthly analysis measures customer behavior in June.
He continued: “The sell-offs in financials, healthcare and energy may indicate that investors have moved away from more defensive exposures amid ongoing debate over the interest rate outlook and ongoing questions about energy demand and oil prices.”
Go deeper
Here are four Assets Weekend is:
“The CEO of a $248 billion cybersecurity company says workers are facing a “Darwinian moment” thanks to AI: evolve or get cut” —Emma Burleigh
“While Big Tech lavishes its employees with perks to win the war for talent, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch” —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
“Anthropic’s AI models are back online after a two-week standoff between the government and the company and administration” —Tristan Bove
“U.S. Polo Assn. The CEO was told he wasn’t suitable for a promotion – so he “outperformed” everyone else who wanted the job for six months” —Orianna Rosa Royle
Overheard
“I am proud to be a part of AT&T’s history and America’s history, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities this country has given me and my family.”
–Pascal Desroches, CFO at AT&T, wrote in a reflection LinkedIn post on Wednesday. “As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, I have reflected on my own journey,” Desroches wrote. “I came to the United States from Haiti as a child, the son of immigrants who believed in the promise of opportunity. My parents, like us children, brought with them determination, resilience and an unwavering belief that hard work can open doors in America. That.” Faith has shaped my pathwhich ultimately brought me here to help lead one of America’s most iconic companies and position it for success in the next era of connectivity.”