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.