Diego Oliva, who has served as the CEO of the Starknet Foundation since March 2023, will be stepping down after more than a year in the role.
On the evening of August 6, 2024, the Starknet Foundation (SNF), which is responsible for supporting the development of the layer-2 solution Starknet, announced the upcoming resignation of their CEO, Diego Oliva. Oliva will remain with the organization for another month to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities.
James Strudwick, who joined SNF in January 2024, has been appointed as the new CEO. Strudwick will be tasked with continuing the development of the Starknet ecosystem.
During his tenure, Oliva was instrumental in the growth and success of the foundation, leading to several key achievements. Under his leadership, the organization expanded from a small team of just two part-time staff members to a robust group of over 30 full-time professionals. Some of the notable milestones reached under his guidance include:
- The successful launch of the STRK token airdrop, known as the Starknet Provisions Program.
- Securing partnerships with more than 100 infrastructure teams through Developer Partnership initiatives.
- Expanding developer engagement through programs such as Basecamp and Hacker Houses.
- Launching several ecosystem-building initiatives, including “DeFi Spring, Seed Grants, Catalyst, and Propulsion programs.”
James Strudwick, who is set to succeed Oliva as CEO, currently serves as the Head of Ecosystem Development at SNF. Before his time at SNF, Strudwick accumulated extensive experience in similar roles at other crypto projects like Mina and Tezos. He was also one of the founding members of Paradigm Securities, a company that offers cryptocurrency trading services to individuals, hedge funds, and small businesses.
The leadership change at the Starknet Foundation comes on the heels of the organization’s 2024 development roadmap announcement and preparations to launch staking services later this year. The shift occurs amidst a period of declining support from Starknet’s community, following a controversial airdrop in February 2024.
The Starknet ecosystem has been notably impacted as well, with its total value locked (TVL) dropping from a peak of $335 million in April to $233.67 million at the time of writing.
According to data from L2Beat, which tracks layer-2 networks, Starknet has seen its ranking slip from fifth place in March 2024 to ninth place, with a TVL of $574 million. Within the ZK Rollups category, Starknet has also lost its leading position to Scroll, now ranking fourth behind ZKsync Era and Linea.
