Tezos Foundation: Governance Structure And Future Nominees
Over the past two years, The Tezos Foundation Council has been executing on the Tezos Foundation’s mission to foster the growth and evolution of the Tezos project and ecosystem. The Council oversaw an Executive Committee, which consisted of the Foundation’s President, three Council members, the CFO, and the General Counsel. This committee, up until now, has been in charge of driving the Foundation’s operations.
In order to support the rapid expansion of the Tezos ecosystem more effectively, the governance structure of the Foundation is changing to allow the Council to step back from day-to-day management duties and to put an executive team in place.
The Council will continue to serve in its primary function as a strategic and supervisory body. The basic mandated duties, as defined in the Foundation’s Notarial Deed, will be adhered to. Concurrently, an executive team that reports to the Council will be installed to implement the Foundation’s strategy and administer its day-to-day operations.
Consequently, the roles so far covered by the President of the Foundation will be subdivided into two different functions. An Executive Director, who is not a Council member, will lead the Foundation’s executive team and a Chair of the Foundation Council will lead the governance and supervision matters of the Foundation. The current President of the Tezos Foundation, Ryan Jesperson, has informed the Council that he will not seek re-election and will not be a member of the Council after April 30.
In addition to hiring an Executive Director, the Foundation Council will also designate two new Council members. It will seek to nominate to these roles accomplished individuals who possess sector-specific networks, strong professional track records, founder or C-level experience in mid-cap or large-cap companies or alternatively leadership experience in relevant renowned institutions, and expertise in key areas relevant to the Tezos ecosystem. A targeted search process has already been initiated for this purpose. Further information on the nomination process will be communicated in due time.
We believe that the transformation of the Foundation’s governance model mirrors organizational best practices and will help to better execute the Foundation’s mission in a challenging and fast-paced environment. These changes will be phased in gradually over time until the new management team is in place. The transformation will begin in March 2020 and is expected to be completed by Q4/2020.