Leadership Team

David Schamis Headshot

David Schamis

Director, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Schamis is Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Atlas Merchant Capital LLC. Previously, Mr. Schamis worked at J.C. Flowers from 2000 to 2014, most recently as a Managing Director and member of the management committee. Mr. Schamis joined J.C. Flowers at its inception and has significant experience investing in financial services and related businesses globally. Prior to J.C. Flowers, Mr. Schamis worked in the financial institutions investment banking group at Salomon Brothers from 1995 to 2000. Mr. Schamis is currently a member of the Board of Directors of South Street Securities Holdings, Inc., Panmure Liberum Limited, Kepler Cheuvreux SA, Marsh, Berry & Company, LLC, Cascadia Capital and Proformex. Mr. Schamis received a B.A. in Economics from Yale University. Mr. Schamis also is a member of the Board of Trustees of the village of Sands Point, NY.

Brett Beldner Headshot

Brett Beldner

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Beldner is a seasoned finance professional with a track record of both decentralized and traditional finance experience. Over the past five years, he has worked in the decentralized finance industry as both a Partner / Head of Finance for a private investment fund, Hard Yaka Ventures LP, from July 2022 to January 2025, focusing on payment technology and cryptocurrency as well as the Controller of Digital Currency Group, Inc., a global venture capital firm that builds and supports blockchain and digital companies, from February 2021 to February 2022. Mr. Beldner brings 17 years of traditional finance experience as well, from his time working as a finance / accounting professional at Macquarie Group, Barclays PLC and Lehman Brothers. Prior to working in industry, he spent seven years working at PwC advising clients on complicated financial structures and transactions. Mr. Beldner received a B.A. from Duke University in economics and an MBA from the University of Maryland in Finance. He also is a New York State licensed CPA.

Jeroen Nieuwkoop Headshot

Jeroen Nieuwkoop

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Nieuwkoop served as the Group Chief Strategy Officer of NASDAQ-listed Triller Group Inc. (previously AGBA Group Holding Limited) (“AGBA”) from November 2020 until November 2025 (between August 2025 and November 2025, on a part-time basis). Mr. Nieuwkoop brings extensive experience in operational management, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate finance across the financial services industry. As part of the AGBA team, he spearheaded strategic corporate development initiatives, managed FinTech investments, and headed up several corporate departments. At AGBA, he was a board member or observer at Nutmeg, a British digital wealth platform; Tandem Money, a British challenger bank and Zai, a global payments company based in Ireland and Australia. Prior to AGBA, from 2005 to July 2020, Mr. Nieuwkoop was a Managing Director at Primus Pacific Partners, a private equity firm focused on financial services. From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Nieuwkoop held corporate development positions at Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd. Mr. Nieuwkoop started his career in the financial institutions investment banking group at Salomon Brothers from 1995 to 2000. Mr. Nieuwkoop received a Master of Science (MSc) in Business Administration and Management from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Rob Diamond Headshot

Rob Diamond

Director of Corporate Affairs

Mr Diamond joins Hyperliquid Strategies from Atlas Merchant Capital where he was Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs, having first joined in 2018.

Prior to joining Atlas he worked in equities and fixed income trading at Deutsche Bank in New York. He has previously worked at Goldman Sachs and the Council on Foreign Relations, both in New York.

Mr Diamond received a BA from Princeton University in 2007.