TON Foundation named Gerardo Carucci its chief marketing officer on October 1, 2025. Carucci had spent years staging product launches for Apple and Nike1. TON Foundation's announcement said Carucci would take the role "effective immediately." Carucci would “develop executive marketing and creative strategies that unite brand, growth, and community” around TON's link to the messaging app Telegram.
Five leadership moves at the TON Foundation on the record since 2025
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 |
|---|---|
| Jan. 14, 2025 | Stotz became President. Manuel Stotz was named President of the TON Foundation |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | Yun left as President. Steve Yun left as President of the TON Foundation |
| April 24, 2025 | Crown became CEO. Maximilian Crown was named Chief Executive Officer of the TON Foundation |
| Aug. 20, 2025 | Stotz left as President. Manuel Stotz left as President of the TON Foundation |
| Oct. 1, 2025 | Carucci became CMO. Gerardo Carucci was named Chief Marketing Officer of the TON Foundation |
59 executive hires on the record in 2025, the most of any year
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 59
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 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 hire
Carucci built his career on big public events. At Apple, the announcement said, he “helped redefine product launches and established a center of excellence for brand experiences, transforming live moments, including the opening of Apple Park and the Steve Jobs Theater, into digital-first cultural events”1. His Nike years brought campaigns tied to the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. Carucci described the move in his own words: “There's a great opportunity, momentum, and energy at TON Foundation that really resonates with me,” he said. “TON's Telegram-native integration gives it a unique advantage over every other blockchain, and makes it a powerful platform from which to build an enduring brand.”
Max Crown, TON Foundation's president and chief executive, announced the hire alongside Carucci's own statement. “We are incredibly excited to welcome Gerardo to TON Foundation, and I have full confidence he will leave a lasting mark on TON's brand,” Crown said. “Gerardo has worked with some of the world's most iconic brands on their most celebrated events and campaigns, elevating them through creative storytelling and strategic amplification.”1 Coinspeaker's report, published Oct. 1, 2025, said Toncoin had risen more than 4.5 percent over the prior 24 hours, with a 20 percent jump in trading volume, as TON Foundation announced the hire2.
Before and after
Crown had been named TON Foundation's president and chief executive in a post dated Aug. 20, 2025, as Manuel Stotz stepped down, according to the foundation's list of related posts1. The Carucci hire gave Crown a marketing chief; the announcement left the role's prior occupant, if any, unnamed. TON Foundation describes itself as a nonprofit that funds and supports developers building on TON Blockchain. The group advocates for the TON network while leaving control of it to the open-source community.
What came next
Seven months after Carucci joined on Oct. 1, 2025, the organization he had been hired to promote lost its central role. Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that Telegram would take control of The Open Network, replacing the TON Foundation, cutting fees to near zero and becoming the blockchain's largest validator, Decrypt reported on May 5, 20263. “The focus shifts to tech superiority. New ton.org, new dev tools, new performance upgrades. Timeline: 2-3 weeks,” Durov wrote. The ton.org domain began displaying a holding page reading, "ton.org is now controlled by MTONGA. Expect changes soon." Decrypt said it had reached out to the TON Foundation for comment.
Sources
- TON Foundation, "TON Foundation Appoints Gerardo Carucci as Chief Marketing Officer to Lead Global Brand Strategy," Oct. 1, 2025, https://web.archive.org/web/20260121071920/https://blog.ton.org/ton-foundation-appoints-gerardo-carucci-as-chief-marketing-officer-to-lead-global-brand-strategy
- Parth Dubey, "TON Foundation Brings Former Nike, Apple Exec as Marketing Chief," Coinspeaker, Oct. 1, 2025, https://www.coinspeaker.com/ton-foundation-brings-former-nike-apple-exec-as-marketing-chief/
- Vismaya V, "TON Surges 36% as Telegram ‘Replaces’ TON Foundation," Decrypt (via Yahoo Finance), May 5, 2026, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinAFBVV95cUxNREJ2cHFlTjhnby1yTzkwZmlwSl91aTF4dWRVcFVwVUR2YTk3WHJ2a3o1R1A1cWEyeUhIeTVoTmthRlFudmJYV1EzVHc5Z3JfRmctOGFpUkNKX0VOaEVFck90MDY4UEZIbHBZbXhtcDVhUnlqbDloOEh6aVFMeVJzT1J5N1lfQzRaWk5DbXNYYkJDdzlIbnJjQmNvUE8?oc=5