About two weeks after reports suggested that stablecoin issuer Tether would be pitching its own names to fill the board for Italian football club Juventus, the company announced two picks: its own deputy chief investment officer and a medical doctor.
In a Thursday notice, Tether said it had nominated its deputy CIO, Zachary Lyons, and an orthodontist and “lifelong Juventus supporter,” Francesco Garino, to the football club’s board of directors. The stablecoin company holds a 10.7% stake in Juventus after investments in February and April.
“Since announcing our investment in the Club, Tether has listened carefully to the voices of fans from Italy and across the whole world, receiving invaluable suggestions, feedback, and calls for deeper engagement,” Tether said in the announcement.
“We have made suggestions to be voted in the assembly in order to make certain changes to the by-laws and to adopt best-in-class corporate governance and representation of minorities.”
As part of the announcement, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino reiterated a call to “Make Juventus Great Again,” a reference to US President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan. The CEO visited the White House in July to attend the GENIUS stablecoin bill signing ceremony.
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The board nominations, expected to be decided at a Nov. 7 shareholder meeting, followed controversial moves and scandals from the football club’s leadership.
In November 2022, all the board members resigned amid allegations of financial fraud involving players’ salaries. In September, former Juventus board Chair Andrea Agnelli and two other Juventus executives accepted plea deals with Italian authorities to serve suspended sentences.
Tether’s investments extend further than football
The stablecoin company also invested $775 million in the video-sharing platform Rumble. In August, the two companies proposed jointly acquiring all shares of artificial intelligence infrastructure company Northern Data, worth $1.17 billion.
Despite being a stablecoin company, Tether also holds a significant amount of Bitcoin (BTC). As of September, it held about 100,000 BTC, worth more than $11 billion at the time of publication. Tether’s USDt (USDT) had a market capitalization of more than $181 billion as of Thursday.
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