The Hedera Council announced on December 13, 2023, that it had appointed Charles Adkins as its new president1. Adkins had held prior roles at the web3 platforms Aptos and Polygon Labs. Genfinity reported the same day that Adkins had also held marketing leadership positions at Nike, Red Bull and the Walt Disney Company before he moved into blockchain2. Hedera's blog said Adkins had worked in a security-cleared role at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and at Morgan Stanley.
One of Hedera's 6 leadership moves on the record came in 2023
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Hedera, by year
- 2023: 1
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
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 | 2 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
Four board appointments on the record in 2023
Board appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2023: 4
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026
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 | 3 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 |
| 2025 | 20 |
| 2026 | 29 |
The move
Adkins described what drew him to the role in Hedera's own announcement. “I've always been very interested in the Hedera protocol and the technology, but equally, if not more importantly, in the governance model and the impressive, global Governing Council,” he said1. He had watched enterprise and government adoption open new technology to "the masses" over his decades in the industry, he said.
Brett McDowell, chair of the Hedera Council, explained the hire from the board's side. “His caliber of experience and expertise in financial services, government administration, go-to-market strategy, and web3 technology uniquely qualifies Charles to serve as the next President of Hedera,” McDowell said1.
Hedera before and after
Hedera's blog listed Adkins' most recent post before the appointment. He was global lead of business development at Aptos, where he built relationships with Microsoft, EY and Google1. Before that, he was vice president of strategy at LandVault. He also oversaw enterprise applications and financial services at Polygon Labs. Hedera's network runs on a council that, at the time of the announcement, included Google, IBM, Boeing, Deutsche Telekom and more than two dozen other organizations, by the company's own description.
What came next
Adkins held the Hedera Council presidency for just over a year. Hedera's blog announced on December 20, 2024, that Adkins would resign as president “to become the HBAR Foundation's CEO and oversee its launch as Hedera Foundation in early 2025”3. The Hedera Council endorsed that move by vote. Hedera's board named Tom Sylvester as interim president, effective January 1, 2025. Sylvester had served as Hedera's general counsel since January 2022, and he kept that title alongside the new one, the post said. McDowell thanked Adkins "for his valuable contributions over the past year" and said he looked forward to seeing what Adkins would accomplish leading the new foundation.
Sources
- "Charles Adkins Appointed as President of the Hedera Council," Hedera, December 13, 2023, https://hedera.com/blog/charles-adkins-appointed-as-president-of-the-hedera-council
- Generation Infinity, "Charles Adkins Takes the Helm as President of the Hedera Council," Genfinity, December 13, 2023, https://genfinity.io/2023/12/13/charles-adkins-takes-the-helm-as-president-of-the-hedera-council/
- "Hedera Ecosystem Leadership Changes," Hedera, December 20, 2024, https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-ecosystem-leadership-changes