FTX Trading's new CEO John J. Ray III, a lawyer tapped to lead the collapsed crypto exchange's restructuring, previously oversaw the $23 billion bankruptcy of energy firm Enron Corp and has a reputation for boosting creditor recoveries, Reuters reported. Ray took over from founder Sam Bankman-Fried as FTX's chief executive after a disastrous week for the company that started with a quickly abandoned buyout effort from rival exchange Binance Inc. and culminated in a chapter 11 filing in Delaware on Friday. In Ray's first few days as boss, the company has been hit by regulatory probes in various jurisdictions and reports of a hack of FTX apps and $1 billion of missing customer funds. Ray said on Saturday the company was working with law enforcement and regulators to mitigate the problems and making "every effort" to secure assets. Ray is no stranger to high-profile restructurings and is perhaps best known for his work on Enron, which filed for bankruptcy in 2001 amid revelations of widespread accounting fraud and corruption. Serving as Enron's CEO throughout its years-long bankruptcy, Ray's work resulted in major settlements with banks accused of helping Enron deceive investors, including a $1.66 billion settlement with Citigroup in 2008.
