Fiona Brennan
Co-founder and Director
Fiona is a Co-founder and Director at Cara. She provides independent directorship services, consultancy and strategic advice to foundation companies, VASPs and OpCos with a Web3 strategy.
Fiona practised as a lawyer for many years before her move into governance. Hailing from Ireland, she spent her early practice years with leading commercial firms in Dublin where she focused on advising start-up fintech companies, leading them through funding rounds, restructurings, M&As, corporate governance, and commercial contracts.
Fiona relocated to the Cayman Islands in 2021 and joined the Fintech team at Walkers. In this role, she provided legal advice on the structuring of numerous foundation companies, series financings for companies in the digital asset space and the set up and licensing of VASPs.
Leaving law behind, Fiona spent two years with a directorship firm and worked as an independent, non-executive director with some of the largest protocols in the Cayman Islands.
As a thought-leader in the industry Fiona has spoken on many podcasts and panels. She was a member of the Steering Committee for the Blockchain Association in the Cayman Islands for two years. She is also a co-founder of Women in Blockchain. She is passionate about Web3, supporting the growth of the industry and promoting diversity in this space.
Carolyn Kelly
Co-founder and Director
Carolyn is a Co-founder and Director at Cara. Carolyn is a leading legal expert on Cayman Islands foundation company structures, DAO governance and token launches. In her former role as a prominent lawyer in the Fintech team at Walkers, Carolyn advised many of the world’s leading blockchain projects spanning across a wide range of sectors.
Carolyn provides independent, non-executive director services as well as consultancy and project management advisory support to digital asset projects for both short and long-term engagements.
Prior to moving to the Cayman Islands, Carolyn practised corporate law at leading global firms in the UK where she focused predominantly on complex cross border M&A. Carolyn then moved with her family to the Cayman Islands to work in the Fintech team at Walkers where she pivoted away from advising clients in traditional sectors to those in more disruptive ones, and never looked back.
Carolyn has spoken on panels and podcasts and was included as a panellist on the “Next Gen Crypto Lawyer” event by the Blockchain Association in the Cayman Islands. Carolyn is involved in community initiatives, including acting as a panel judge at the TechKY Youth and Hackathon event in the Cayman Islands advocating for the support and advancement of career opportunities for local youth within the technology sector.
Karen Kersey
Chief Strategy Officer and Director
Karen is Chief Strategy Officer at Cara. Since 2019, Karen has been at the forefront of the Web3 and blockchain industry, most recently as the former CEO of Cartan and currently as an independent director and supervisor for a number of foundation companies. She brings over two decades of executive experience and a deep understanding of the Cayman legal and regulatory environment to every engagement. Karen helps organisations to navigate complexity, align leadership, and drive results.
Her portfolio spans Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols, cross-chain bridges, stablecoins, and omnichain token systems—demonstrating her ability to operate at both the technical and governance layers. Karen’s clients trust her to lead with precision, adapt through volatility, and turn vision into executable strategy.
Beyond governance, Karen is a coach and advisor to high-performing founders and executive teams. She’s known for sharpening leadership focus, resolving silent friction, and fostering the kind of trust and cohesion required for long-term growth.
With a unique blend of technical understanding, strategic insight, and behavioral intelligence, Karen helps Web3 organisations build not just functional systems but resilient, high-integrity teams. Karen has deep experience navigating operational, reputational, and cross-jurisdictional risk and brings steadiness and clarity to moments of uncertainty.
Mike Hurn
Director
Mike is a Director of Web3 businesses, VASPs and foundations. Based in the Cayman Islands, Mike brings a wealth of institutional knowledge and practical experience gained from years of working with both traditional financial structures and leading the launch and ongoing operations of decentralized projects.
Mike is a Chartered Accountant (CA) with over five years of professional experience in offshore financial services and the Web3 industry. He began his career in the Cayman Islands with KPMG, where he specialized in leading audits of some of the world’s largest venture capital funds, with a focus on those investing in blockchain technologies and digital assets.
Following his time at KPMG, Mike joined a leading Web3 services company in the Cayman Islands. As a core and early team member, Mike played an integral role in advising and managing many of the leading foundation companies and blockchain-related projects across a wide range of sectors, including layer 2 protocols, interoperability networks, decentralized infrastructure (DePIN), DeFi platforms, restaking protocols, gaming ecosystems, decentralized RPCs, ZK-rollup infrastructure, and more.
Mike’s practical, hands-on industry experience includes designing and implementing operational frameworks, managing token operations and custody solutions, establishing grant programs, overseeing day-to-day project management, and accounting for complex Web3 structures. Having worked across the full lifecycle of numerous Web3 projects - from formation to scaling and ongoing operations - and having a deep technical knowledge of the industry, Mike offers critical insight into what operational success looks like in an offshore environment.
Mike’s background uniquely positions him to support Web3 projects seeking to establish a strong and sustainable presence in the Cayman Islands, the BVI, or other offshore jurisdictions.
Victoria Ashby
Chief of Staff
Victoria is Chief of Staff at Cara. With a dynamic background spanning Web3, fintech, investment funds and corporate, Victoria brings a wealth of expertise to her role and excels in building collaborative environments and driving operational success.
Victoria spent many years as a legal secretary in London, before moving to a role at a top-tier law firm in the Cayman Islands. It was during this time that Victoria gained exposure to the world of Web3, sparking a passion for both innovation and change within the traditional corporate landscape. This experience laid the foundation for Victoria to move to a large fiduciary firm in the Cayman Islands where she rapidly developed her team coordination and management skills. Victoria has immersed herself in the Web3 space, gaining valuable experience in emerging technologies. Victoria leverages her expertise to drive impactful and forward-thinking solutions.
With a focus on both progress and practical execution, Victoria is passionate about fostering growth, efficiency, and strong, cross-functional teamwork and is excited to contribute to Cara’s success.
Scott Harrison
Director
Scott is a Director at Cara, providing independent non-executive director services to blockchain projects including foundation companies, VASPs, holding companies and operational companies. A Chartered Accountant (ACA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), he brings over a decade of finance and advisory experience from his career at PwC.
Scott relocated from the UK to the Cayman Islands in 2017, where he managed a portfolio of contentious and non-contentious insolvencies across the Caribbean, North America and Europe. His work spanned cross-border investigations, litigation support and asset recovery — successfully recovering and distributing proceeds to creditors and investors. He is well versed in the Cayman Islands’ regulatory frameworks, including AML/CFT, FATCA/CRS, Economic Substance and Beneficial Ownership, and has advised clients on compliance across these regimes.
In 2022 he joined the international team managing the official liquidation of FTX Digital Markets Ltd., the Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange — further deepening his understanding of Web3 ecosystems and their regulatory landscape. Scott brings a unique perspective to the director role with his vast experience in the insolvency space.