Fortitude Mining Holdings has appointed former Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton as Chief Executive Officer as the vertically integrated digital asset mining company prepares for a proposed combination with HeartSciences and a potential Nasdaq listing.
Leverton will become CEO effective September 21, succeeding Andrea Childs, who will transition to Chief Operating Officer.
If Fortitude’s proposed business combination with HeartSciences is completed, Leverton is expected to remain CEO of the combined company.
The company is expected to operate under the Fortitude brand and trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker TUDE, subject to Nasdaq approval.
Leverton brings more than 25 years of experience across digital assets, data centers, energy, computing and capital markets.
She previously led Hut 8, where she helped transform the company into a larger digital asset and high-performance computing infrastructure provider and oversaw its merger with US Bitcoin Corp.
Fortitude is building a vertically integrated mining platform centered on Zcash while also pursuing opportunities across other proof-of-work networks.
Its model combines mining operations with owned infrastructure, power assets, equipment procurement and internal operating capabilities.
The company is advancing toward the public markets as it scales both its Zcash operations and broader venture-mining strategy. Fortitude said Zcash has risen more than 2,000% over the previous year, citing market data as of September 2026, although cryptocurrency prices remain highly volatile.
Childs will remain closely involved with Fortitude, with her COO role focused on mining operations, fleet and infrastructure strategy as Leverton takes responsibility for overall corporate leadership and capital-markets execution.
KEY QUOTES:
“Fortitude is taking a differentiated approach to mining. Andrea and her team have built a novel venture mining platform designed to identify and capture high-conviction opportunities across the Proof-of-Work ecosystem.”
Jaime Leverton, Incoming CEO of Fortitude
