Our Philosophy

A good technology solution should complement an industry’s existing procedures and seamlessly build efficiencies to meet the changing needs of its clients.  

We are part of, and passionate about the gold industry. We believe in the stability of gold as an asset and strongly champion it as a future currency. Meld supports the entire gold supply chain; building a safe, secure, stable platform that investors and partners can rely on. 

Meld provides the highest standard solutions, pulling key expertise from the gold, financial and technology industry’s most well-respected individuals. Our success is built on the foundations of transparency, risk reduction and insulating our investors against the steep inflation and deflation of slow transaction times

Michael Cotton

Founder & Managing Director

Michael has extensive experience and success in multiple facets of the gold industry. He is well known as someone who identifies new opportunities for growth and innovation. Michael has worked in the precious metals industry his entire adult life. Beginning his career at age 18 when he famously launched an Australian jeweller supply business. By age 23 he was trading millions of dollars worth of gold and operating multiple retail fronts. 

In 2017, Michael founded the Imperial Group, a bullion and vaulting company. In this role, he negotiated the absorption of Bullion Deposit Australia, directed business strategy for the Melbourne Mint and arranged a contract to be Australia’s only official representative for PCGS (the world’s largest collectable bullion and coin certification company).

Michael’s vision for Meld is to create a digital superhighway for the precious metals industry and revolutionise the way gold is transacted.

AJ Milne

General Manager

AJ is the General Manager for Meld. His vision is to build a solution that enhances the gold supply chain for all partners. AJ is working with Meld to provide consumers and investors a secure and reliable way to buy and sell digital or physical gold.

AJ has a background in entrepreneurialism, business advisory and investment. AJ’s role is to manage Meld’s development; aligning the business’s deep knowledge of the gold industry with leading technology partners.

Most recently, AJ was a Director for the partnership arm of an Australia-based global payment fintech. Prior to this he was involved in the development of a corporate venture capital fund for a global advertising and media holding company. He has also launched and led a peer-to-peer marketplace.  

AJ has been involved in leading technology innovation since 2010, and in 2019 completed a MIT Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application course. He is uniquely qualified to provide practical and theoretical expertise in technology’s rapidly emerging industry. 

Amit Deshmukh

Head of engineering
Amit is the Head of Engineering at Meld. He brings to the company nearly two decades of experience in security, cryptography and distributed systems.
 
In his previous roles as a consultant, Amit worked with large financial, telecom and retail clients, providing advice and assistance with their security challenges.
 
With a passion for distributed systems and blockchains in particular, Amit has worked exclusively on blockchain projects since 2017. During this period, he has helped emerging tech businesses push the boundaries in technology capability. He is an individual contributor as well as a team leader, aiming to deliver business outcomes successfully.
 
Amit is excited to be leading an amazing team that is bringing Meld to life.

Tim Johnson

Advisor

Tim is the Managing Director of Apollo Capital, Australia’s leading crypto asset investment firm. Tim boasts an extensive background of technology and finance. Tim previously worked at DMP Asset Management, a boutique Australian Equities Fund Manager, and was part of the investment team that managed a $33 billion super fund.

Tim brings experience in cutting edge technology, having previously worked as a venture capital Associate at Dominet Venture Partners. 

Tim is excited to work with the Meld team to build a decentralised gold Digital Gold Certificate that combines new technology with a precious resource that has been around for thousands of years.

Henrick Andersson

Advisor

Henrik has two decades of experience in global financial markets, with almost a decade on Wall Street. 

Henrik is CIO of Apollo Capital, Australia’s leading crypto asset investment firm. 

He has extensive experience across four continents as a quantitative analyst, senior research analyst, in institutional equity sales and most recently as a crypto fund manager. 

Henrik has been involved in the crypto asset industry for 7 years, and is the co-founder of Bitcoin Exchange Pty Ltd and mStable. 

Henrik is enthused to help Meld make gold more accessible, not just in Australia but around the world.