Diego Oliva resigns as CEO of Starknet Foundation

James Strudwick brings extensive Web3 experience to his new role as CEO.

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

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, Diego and the Foundation board believe it is an opportune moment to transition leadership. Diego 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.

James has extensive experience in the Web3 space, having worked on advancing DeFi, L1, and L2 scaling projects. Since joining the 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.

Many developers and node operators were disappointed with the criteria and allocation of the Starknet token airdrop. Many felt they had contributed significantly to the ecosystem but received little to no tokens. This led to a lot of backlash on social media.

Following the controversial airdrop, the project again became the topic of criticism after one of its developers allegedly called community members “e-beggars.”

Furthermore, ZKX, a Starknet-based decentralized exchange, has recently faced significant backlash following its abrupt shutdown. Prominent investors, including Amber Group and HashKey Capital, expressed outrage over the lack of communication and transparency leading up to the shutdown.