Coinbase's chief people officer, Lawrence Brock, is leaving the company just 11 weeks after he oversaw the elimination of 700 jobs. Brock will step down on August 17, 2026, but will stay on as an advisor until November 30. His exit marks the fourth senior departure from Coinbase since July 8, putting added focus on the company's second-quarter earnings report due July 30, which will include most of the severance costs tied to the layoffs.
The exit package
Brock's advisory role pays $182,500 for three months — the equivalent of a $730,000 annual salary. One block of his stock will continue vesting on November 20, 2026; the rest gets canceled. The former chief people officer also led a hiring freeze and offer rescissions in June 2022, 12 days before Coinbase cut 18% of its staff that year.
A pattern of departures
Brock is the fourth senior executive to leave since July 8. The others: Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, Jesse Pollak (who ran the Base app), and Greg Tusar (Coinbase Institutional). In each case, Coinbase promoted from within to fill the vacancy. The company hasn't explained the departures, but the timing isn't great — Coinbase is pushing into an 'everything exchange' covering stocks, derivatives, and regulated prediction markets alongside crypto.
The layoffs that preceded it
In May 2026, Coinbase cut 700 jobs, dropping headcount from about 5,000 to 4,300 — a 14% reduction. The company spent $50 million to $60 million on the layoffs, mostly in cash severance. CEO Brian Armstrong pitched the move as a reorganization for the AI era, saying Coinbase needed to rebuild itself around that technology. Those costs will hit the books in the July 30 earnings report.
Brock advises Coinbase until November 30. Meanwhile, Coinbase reports second-quarter earnings on July 30 — the first full look at the financial damage from a restructuring that has now cost the company its chief people officer and three other senior leaders.
