Sushi's governance token holders elected Jared Grey as Head Chef on Oct. 3, 2022, the DAO's blog post said1. Grey polled 11 million of the 13 million votes cast, over 83 percent, in a Snapshot vote that began Sept. 26 and closed at 8 a.m. EST on Oct. 3, The Block reported2. He beat four other candidates for the role, which the DAO describes as Sushi's chief executive position. The vote came just over a year after prior Head Chef 0xMaki stepped down to an advisory position in September 2021, Sushi's own post said.
Five leadership moves at Sushi on the record since 2021
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 |
|---|---|
| Sept. 18, 2021 | 0xMaki left as Core Contributor. 0xMaki left as Core Contributor of Sushi |
| Oct. 3, 2022 | Grey became Head Chef. Jared Grey was named Head Chef (CEO) of Sushi (SushiSwap DAO) |
| Oct. 3, 2022 | Grey became Head Chef. Jared Grey was named Head Chef of Sushi |
| Dec. 1, 2025 | Grey left as Managing Director. Jared Grey left as Managing Director, Sushi Labs of Sushi |
| Dec. 1, 2025 | McCurry became Chief Executive. Alex McCurry was named Chief Executive of Sushi |
37 executive hires on the record in 2022
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2022: 37
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 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 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
The move
Sushi's core team described the vote as binding. “This snapshot will culminate the Head Chef search process, and will be used to bind the Sushi protocol's decision on the next Head Chef,” the team said in its announcement, The Block reported2. Grey, in Sushi's own post, said his focus would include turning the protocol's infrastructure into revenue. “Aside from the day-to-day operations, a portion of my focus will be dedicated to monetizing the product stack to help increase revenue for the protocol,” Grey wrote1. Grey is an engineer with more than 20 years in technology, and had previously served as CEO of EONS and of Bitfineon, Sushi's post said.
A broader restructuring plan drove the search. Token holders had passed the Sushi 2.0 proposal on May 11, 2022, with 9.6 million votes in favor, which mandated the DAO find a Head Chef, Sushi's post said1. Five finalists went through community town halls, debates and a written proposal exercise before the final vote, according to that post. Turmoil over the role ran back further, The Block reported, noting that pseudonymous founder "Chef Nomi" had stepped down in September 2020 amid accusations he had taken more than $14 million from the project, funds he later returned2.
Sushi before the vote
Growth defined Sushi's first two years. Sushi launched in August 2020 and briefly overtook Uniswap by total value locked during a liquidity-mining campaign, The Block reported2. Internal power struggles and a failed takeover attempt followed 0xMaki's 2021 exit, leaving the remaining team and community to keep the protocol running, Sushi's post said1. A prior Head Chef candidate, Jonathan Howard, withdrew in August 2022 after DAO members objected to a proposed $800,000 salary plus $600,000 in vested tokens, The Block reported.
What came next
Grey ran Sushi for just over three years. Sushi announced on Dec. 16, 2025 that Grey, by then managing director of Sushi Labs, would step down and move into an advisory role as part of a new investment from Synthesis, led by Alex McCurry3. McCurry took over as Sushi's chief executive in that same transition, the Dec. 16, 2025 release said. The release credited the prior year with turning Sushi profitable, reporting more than $10 million in 2024 revenue across its exchange and aggregator products.
Sources
- 0x_Bella, "Introducing Sushi's New Head Chef: Jared Grey," Sushi, Oct. 4, 2022, https://www.sushi.com/blog/introducing-sushi-head-chef-jared-grey
- Osato Avan-Nomayo, "Sushi DAO votes Jared Grey as new 'Head Chef'," The Block, Oct. 3, 2022, https://www.theblock.co/post/174392/sushi-dao-votes-jared-grey-as-new-head-chef
- Sushi, "Sushi Announces Strategic Investment and New Leadership to Accelerate Next Phase of Growth," PR Newswire, Dec. 16, 2025, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sushi-announces-strategic-investment-and-new-leadership-to-accelerate-next-phase-of-growth-302644077.html