The Polkadot co-founder Gavin Wood has announced that he is stepping down as chief executive officer (CEO) of Parity Technologies Ltd. In 2015, Wood co-founded the blockchain infrastructure provider formerly known as Ethcore, with Aeron Buchanan, TJ Saw, Ken Kappler, and Jutta Steiner. He became CEO in late 2020.
Gavin Wood Weighs On The Challenges Faced As A CEO
In an official blog post, Wood revealed that he made the decision to resign as CEO on his own. He mentioned that the job was getting in the way of his search for eternal happiness and the role of CEO has never been one that he coveted. He said his work and heart are attached to being a thinker, coder, designer, and architect. He elaborated that it’s essential that a CEO needs to be available to others on a far more continuous basis and needs to enjoy representing the company, both internally and externally.
Gavin Wood Reclaim Focus On Polkadot And Web3
In his new role, Gavin Wood will focus on making Polkadot and Web3 more relevant for mass adoption by helping the community design and build several interesting chain-integrated social primitives that are crucial to delivering a true Web3 platform.
Wood is notably known in the blockchain industry as he co-founded the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. In 2015, he dedicated himself to co-founding Polkadot, a protocol that connects multiple different blockchains and is supported by Parity. He built Polkadot after finding Ethereum’s design to be limiting in terms of scalability and interoperability. Polkadot’s token, called DOT, is currently ranked 12th among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization just behind Polygon (MATIC).
Björn Wagner Will Step Up As The New CEO
In Gavin Wood’s statement through a tweet, Björn Wagner, who has been serving as Parity Technology’s chief commercial officer, will become the company’s CEO. He joined Parity in 2016 as a co-founder. While Wood will continue as Parity’s chief architect, he says that title is more appropriate for his desired workload. He also remains the company’s majority shareholder and thus still owns a controlling stake in the firm.
