David Washburn departed as chief executive of nChain on October 20, 2021. nChain AG announced his replacement, Hakan Yuksel, in a release from the company's Zug, Switzerland headquarters1.
The second CEO exit at nChain on the record since 2019
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Dec. 5, 2017 | Nguyen became CEO. Jimmy Nguyen was named Chief Executive Officer of nChain |
| March 7, 2019 | Nguyen left as CEO. Jimmy Nguyen left as Chief Executive Officer of nChain |
| March 7, 2019 | Washburn became CEO. David Washburn was named Chief Executive Officer of nChain |
| Oct. 20, 2021 | Washburn left as CEO. David Washburn left as Chief Executive Officer of nChain |
| Oct. 20, 2021 | Yuksel became CEO. Hakan Yuksel was named Chief Executive Officer of nChain |
Five CEO exits on the record in 2021
CEO exits CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2021: 5
- 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 20 |
| 2025 | 20 |
The handoff
Stefan Matthews, nChain's executive chairman, credited Washburn by name. “I would like to thank Dave for his leadership since 2019 and his significant achievements, not least of all was the commercial launch of Kensei, our data integrity platform, earlier this year,” Matthews said1. CityAM's independent report, published on October 20, carried the identical line and added that Washburn "will remain in an advisory role for the coming months"2.
Matthews framed the new hire as a shift in what the company needed next. “As we enter the next phase of nChain's growth, we are pleased to attract someone of Hakan's calibre,” he said. “He has significant experience leading and growing software as a service (SaaS) businesses, and is well equipped to lead nChain as we massively ramp up adoption of our technology”1.
nChain before and after
Washburn had taken the CEO job on March 7, 2019, arriving with a Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics and more than 15 years in capital markets. His tenure's signature product, Kensei, launched in July 2021 as a tool meant to remove the complexity of building tamper-evident data systems on blockchain1. Yuksel arrived from a different world. GlobeNewswire listed more than 20 years of executive experience at Oracle and SAP, including a stretch as Oracle's country leader in Germany.
What came next
CoinGeek reported on July 4, 2022 that Washburn had become president of FRNT Financial, a capital markets technology firm listed on Canada's TSX Venture Exchange. The outlet wrote that Ayre Ventures, an nChain-linked investor, had backed FRNT since 20193. Washburn called the move a fresh challenge. “Throughout my career I've been guided by the goal of increasing value for both investors and companies, and I look forward to expanding opportunities for FRNT that will create a positive impact operationally and financially,” he said.
Sources
- "nChain Appoints Hakan Yuksel as CEO," GlobeNewswire, October 20, 2021, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/10/20/2317070/0/en/nChain-Appoints-Hakan-Yuksel-as-CEO.html
- "New CEO appointed at nChain," CityAM, October 20, 2021, https://www.cityam.com/new-ceo-appointed-at-nchain/
- Jon Southurst, "Former nChain CEO David Washburn tapped to lead FRNT Financial," CoinGeek, July 4, 2022, https://coingeek.com/former-nchain-ceo-david-washburn-tapped-to-lead-frnt-financial/