Diego Oliva Steps Down as CEO of the Starknet Foundation

Diego Oliva has stepped down from his role as CEO of the Starknet Foundation after one year and a half of dedicated service

Diego Oliva has stepped down from his role as CEO of the Starknet Foundation after one year and a half of service, according to a blog announcement published Tuesday.

James Strudwick, previously Head of Ecosystem Growth, will assume the position of Executive Director.

“Diego Oliva, who has served as the first CEO of the Starknet Foundation (SNF) since March 2023, will be stepping down after successfully establishing a strong team and structure at the Foundation,” the Foundation said in the blog post.

Under Oliva’s leadership, the Starknet Foundation has grown from a modest team of two part-time employees to a robust organization of over thirty full-time professionals, Starknet noted. His tenure saw the successful execution of several key projects and initiatives.

With a strong team and structure now in place, Oliva and the Foundation board believe it is an opportune moment to transition leadership. Oliva will remain with the Foundation for the next month to assist with the transition.

As Strudwick is taking over as Executive Director, he is expected to ensure continuity in the Foundation’s activities.

Strudwick has extensive experience in the Web3 space, having worked on advancing DeFi, L1, and L2 scaling projects. Since joining the Starknet team, he has demonstrated adept and creative leadership, energetic community building, and deep knowledge of the ecosystem.

The announcement follows some controversy surrounding the Starknet community over the past few months.

Shortly after Starknet’s STRK token became tradable, 1.3 billion tokens were unlocked for core contributors and investors, sparking criticism over its timing and market impact.