The Cardano Foundation has appointed Andreas Pletscher as its chief operating officer and Dr Nicolas Jacquemart as its chief legal officer.
The Foundation is an independent, Swiss-based non-profit responsible for stewarding the advancement of public blockchain Cardano, anchoring it as a baselayer for current and future financial and social systems.
Pletscher joins the Foundation from PwC while Jacquemart joins from FINMA, the Swiss financial market supervisory authority.
Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, said: “I know they will have a massive impact on our mission: to improve the operational resilience and adoption of the Cardano blockchain while educating the world about the technology’s applications and potential.”
Pletscher has managed complex operational and IT transformation projects, working as technological director at PwC and IBM, and most recently led a large transformation for a crypto services provider in Switzerland.
“Frederik talks about operational resilience as one of the core focus areas of the Cardano Foundation’s strategy and I think that’s an excellent objective for any COO, but particularly one whose task is so bound up with technology, security, and community,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to supporting our teams to improve the performance and resilience of the Cardano blockchain, and I’ll do that by helping to improve the performance and resilience of the Cardano Foundation.”
Dr Jacquemart most recently worked on the FinTech desk at FINMA, Switzerland’s financial market supervisory authority, and previously held roles at high-profile law firms in Switzerland. He holds a PhD in law from the University of Zurich, where he studied the intersection of blockchain technology and financial market regulation.
“This is a fascinating time to be stepping into this role,” he added. “The Cardano Foundation is serious about legal engagement and education and interest in the blockchain space is pronounced.
“Opportunities for cooperation are abundant and I’m excited about working at the interface between the Cardano ecosystem, the wider blockchain community, regulators, and the legal profession.”