Mina Foundation Reshuffles Board Ahead of zkApps Upgrade

Mina Foundation, the startup behind the MINA protocol has conducted a leadership reshuffling in preparation for its relocation to Switzerland. Evan Shapiro, the protocol co-founder and former CEO took to the X app to announce the new development alongside an open letter sent to the community.

Mina Foundation Gets New CEO

Kurt Hemecker, the Chief Operation Officer will take over from Shapiro as the CEO of the firm. According to his LinkedIn profile, the reshuffling has been completed already as Hemecker now bears the title of CEO. Notably, Kurt has spent almost two years with Mina Foundation as the COO of the company.

Prior to coming to Mina Foundation, he worked with renowned financial service company PayPal as the senior director for strategic partnerships. He also has some experience in business development and other management projects. Shapiro is confident of the future as Kurt is bringing all these decades of experience and expertise to move Mina to the next phase.

“I’m very excited about this– both for Kurt to bring his decades of operational expertise and business leadership to the CEO role– and for Mina Foundation to benefit from the vibrant crypto ecosystem and regulatory clarity present in Switzerland,” the former CEO said

He believes Kurt possesses enough business acumen and operational expertise to lead the Mina Foundation. Shapiro remains in the system but this time around, as an advisor and the Chairman of the Foundation’s board. He pointed out that he has had the privilege of working with great people during his time at O(1) Labs and now at Mina Foundation.

Mina Foundation has completed a move to Switzerland 🇨🇭 With this, our COO @khem becomes CEO, while I will continue to serve the Mina ecosystem as chairman of the board and advisor to the foundation.

I am excited for Kurt to bring his business and operational expertise to the CEO… https://t.co/uJQc3MO9aj

— Evan Shapiro (@evanashapiro) December 19, 2023

MINA to be Biggest Beneficiary in Long Run

Shapiro is confident that this reshuffling will help to direct the right attention and residences to key areas of the Foundation’s mission. For him, he plans to redirect his focus to supporting Mina’s technical direction and protocol governance. Furthermore, he would provide advice to the Mina Foundation and Mina’s ecosystem partners on the continued development of Mina’s technology.

This is pivotal especially as the firm prepares to receive several upgrades including the bordering release of zero-knowledge smart contracts like the zkApps. Mina Foundation recognizes the potential and capacity for ZKs to transform industries and empower users of digital systems worldwide, hence, has gone full out in its bid to develop the tech.

A successful transition in Mina’s leadership is poised to impact the MINA token over time. For some time now, the MINA token has been named among the top crypto gainers. Currently, MINA has a market value of $0.754, up 6.45% in the past 24 hours.

When these upgrades go live, the coin has the potential to hit new high levels as it will attract new innovators and DApps that can drive demand further.

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