Celo Foundation Promotes Eric Nakagawa to Executive Director Amid Leadership Expansion

The
Celo
Foundation
has
announced
significant
changes
in
its
senior
leadership,
aiming
to
bolster
the
Celo
ecosystem
as
it
transitions
to
Ethereum
Layer-2.
Eric
Nakagawa
has
been
promoted
to
Executive
Director,
while
Isha
Varshney
takes
on
the
role
of
Head
of
Ecosystem,
according
to
the

Celo
Foundation.

Eric
Nakagawa’s
New
Role

Eric
Nakagawa,
who
previously
served
as
Head
of
Developer
Relations
at
Celo
Foundation
for
nearly
three
years,
will
now
oversee
daily
operations
as
Executive
Director.
Nakagawa
has
an
extensive
background,
including
key
roles
at
Facebook
and
Novi
Financial,
where
he
was
instrumental
in
developing
the
Diem
blockchain
and
the
Move
language.
He
also
co-founded
the
popular
meme
website
icanhazcheezburger
and
was
part
of
the
early
Ripple
team,
contributing
to
consumer
adoption
and
growth
operations.

In
his
new
role,
Nakagawa
joins
the
Celo
Foundation
board
alongside
founders
Sep
Kamvar,
Marek
Olszewski,
and
Rene
Reinsberg,
as
well
as
Morgan
Beller,
Jai
Ramaswamy,
and
Richard
Parsons.

Isha
Varshney’s
Promotion

Isha
Varshney,
former
Head
of
DeFi
at
Celo
Foundation,
has
been
promoted
to
Head
of
Ecosystem.
Varshney
has
been
with
the
foundation
for
over
two
years,
leading
DeFi
partnerships
and
strategy.
In
her
new
role,
she
will
oversee
collaboration
with
more
than
1,000
global
projects
building
on
Celo,
as
well
as
spearhead
business
development
initiatives.

New
Developer
Relations
Lead

As
Nakagawa
steps
into
his
new
role,
Sophia
Dew
takes
over
as
the
new
Head
of
Developer
Relations.
Dew
brings
valuable
experience
from
her
previous
position
as
Tech
Lead
for
Gitcoin’s
Public
Goods
Network
(PGN).
Her
expertise
will
be
crucial
as
cLabs,
a
core
contributor,
migrates
Celo
to
an
Ethereum
Layer-2
leveraging
the
OP
Stack.

“I’m
thrilled
to
join
the
Celo
Foundation
and
support
builders
as
they
create
a
more
regenerative
and
equitable
future,”
said
Dew.
“The
Celo
ecosystem
aligns
perfectly
with
my
passion
for
environmental
sustainability
and
financial
inclusion.”

Strategic
Initiatives
and
Growth

The
leadership
changes
come
at
a
pivotal
time
for
Celo,
which
has
seen
significant
growth
over
the
past
year.
The
platform
consistently
ranks
in
the
top
10
across
all
ecosystems
by
daily
active
users
(DAUs)
and
has
surpassed
400
million
total
transactions.
Key
initiatives
like
Opera’s
MiniPay
wallet
and
the
TGE
advisory
initiative
Bloom
are
expected
to
further
drive
this
growth.

Celo
is
an
emerging
Ethereum
Layer-2
and
mobile-first
blockchain
network
designed
for
fast,
low-cost
payments.
Launched
on
Earth
Day
2020,
Celo
supports
a
rich
ecosystem
of
over
1,000
projects
contributing
to
its
global
mission
of
prosperity
for
all.

Image
source:
Shutterstock