Greg Solano stepped down as Yuga Labs chief executive on April 16, 2026, moving into the role of chairman of the board after about two years in the top job, The Block reported2. Michael Figge, who had worked at the company since 2021, succeeded him as chief executive. Solano is a co-founder of Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
The third CEO exit at Yuga Labs on the record since 2022
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Yuga Labs, by year
- 2026: 2
- 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 |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 | 2 |
18 CEO exits on the record in 2026 so far
CEO exits CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2026: 18
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 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 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 20 |
| 2025 | 20 |
| 2026 | 18 |
The move
Solano announced the change himself on X. “After serving as CEO the past couple years, I'm moving into the role of Chairman of the Board, and @mfigge will become Yuga's next CEO,” he wrote1. He explained the reason for the shift in a separate line. “Creative direction, writing, and figuring out insane ideas is still where I do my best work. And with Figge taking over the CEO role, I get to go back to it,” Solano wrote, a line The Block also quoted2.
The Block described the change as "sliding into the role of chairman of the board," since Solano made the announcement on social media rather than through a company release2. Solano praised his successor directly. “Figge is the absolute best person for the job. There's no one I trust more to lead Yuga through this next chapter,” he said1.
Before and after the handoff
Solano had taken the chief executive job on February 21, 2024. He succeeded Daniel Alegre, the former Activision Blizzard chief operating officer who had held the role for about ten months, The Block reported2. Yuga Labs continued developing its metaverse project, Otherside, through Solano's tenure. The company calls it a “metaRPG where the players own the world, the currencies are real, and thousands can play together in real time,” according to The Block. Figge, who joined Yuga Labs in 2021, told The Block he had already been chief executive for a few weeks before the public announcement.
What to watch
Solano said his creative return would focus on Otherside and new ideas for the company, so the project's public progress is the evidence to track1. Watch, too, how Yuga Labs' board functions with its co-founder in the chairman's seat rather than the chief executive's, and whether Figge changes the pace of the company's releases2.
Sources
- Greg Solano, post on X, April 16, 2026, https://x.com/CryptoGarga/status/2044856475244286172
- RT Watson, "Bored Apes-creator Yuga Labs taps new CEO as Greg Solano moves to chairman role," The Block, April 16, 2026, https://www.theblock.co/post/397818/bored-apes-creator-yuga-labs-taps-new-ceo-greg-solano-chairman