Larry Cooke | Africa Head of Legal / GR & Stratagy Director
Binance

Larry Cooke, Africa Head of Legal at Binance

Larry has been instrumental in guiding Binance through Africa's evolving digital assets landscape. With his extensive legal expertise, and complementary strategic, policy, regulatory and commercial (public and private) skillsets within the Traditional Finance and Fintech arenas, he ensures that Binance’s operations align with regional and global compliance standards, focusing on fostering responsible innovation through balanced regulations in the cryptocurrency space.

Before joining Binance, Larry served as Lead Legal Counsel at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all legal matters related to SARB’s subsidiaries, the South African Mint Company and Prestige Bullion. Larry also provided legal counsel to SARB’s FinTech, SADC (Southern African Development Community), FinSurv (Financial Surveillance), and Corporate Services divisions. He was also Chairman of SARB’s Under-35s alumni group.

Before his tenure at SARB, Larry spent over six years at Absa Group (also previously operating as Barclays Africa), holding various senior legal roles. As Senior Legal Counsel, he provided commercial legal advice on procurement, technology, and operations. He also played a key role in driving cultural transformation at Absa as the Culture Lead, where he led enterprise-wide initiatives to align organizational culture with strategic objectives. He was also Chairman of Absa Africa alumni group.

Earlier in his career, Larry was an Attorney at Webber Wentzel, where he gained valuable experience in employment, banking, finance, and regulatory practices.