Dallas, TX – April 29, 2022 – As part of the Hedera Governing Council’s decisions to enable broader market participation on the Hedera network (originally announced on January 19, 2022), Mance Harmon and Dr. Leemon Baird have left their roles as CEO and Chief Scientist of Hedera Hashgraph, LLC, respectively, and have assumed new roles as co-CEOs of Swirlds Labs. Swirlds Labs is a newly established entity partially owned by Swirlds, whose mission is to accelerate the future, built on Hedera. Mance Harmon and Dr. Leemon Baird will continue to participate in the Hedera ecosystem as Swirlds’ representatives to the Hedera Governing Council. In addition, Dr. Leemon Baird will continue to serve as Co-Chair of the Hedera Governing Council’s Technical Steering & Product Committee, which is responsible for technical and roadmap decisions affecting the Hedera network, and the Treasury Management & Token Economics committee, which is responsible for all Treasury- and coin economics-related items.
The development and management teams previously employed by Hedera Hashgraph, LLC have also transitioned to Swirlds Labs. The Hedera Governing Council has entered into an agreement to outsource essential services previously performed by Hedera Hashgraph, LLC personnel to Swirlds Labs for the foreseeable future as the Council focuses on network governance, industry standards, public policy, and treasury management.
These organizational changes, effective as of May 1, 2022, are critical to scaling the adoption of the Hedera network and accelerating development of the Hedera network ecosystem. The CEO and Chief Scientist roles at Hedera Hashgraph, LLC, which were previously held by Mance Harmon and Dr. Leemon Baird, respectively, will now be dissolved. Hedera’s remaining corporate officers are Young Cho, Chief Financial Officer; Alex Popowycz, Chief Information Officer; Tom Sylvester, General Counsel; and Sam Brylski, Chief Compliance Officer and Regulatory Counsel. Brett McDowell also continues to serve as the Chair of the Hedera Governing Council and its Board of Directors. For more information about these organizational changes and the Council’s decision to further decentralization of the Hedera hashgraph network, please view Hedera’s FAQs and past Hedera Governing Council meeting minutes.
