Yuga Labs, the company behind the NFT, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks collections, has a new CEO: Daniel Alegre. The executive stepped down as president and COO of gaming giant Activision Blizzard to join the NFT startup on April 1.
“Couldn’t be more excited for this new chapter,” he wrote on Twitter. Alegre was instrumental in the growth of Activision Blizzard in recent years, overseeing popular game franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo and Candy Crush.
Today is my last day as President and COO of Activision Blizzard. Thank you to the incredible teams who create truly epic games. Tomorrow I officially start at CEO of Yuga Labs. Couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter. pic.twitter.com/eo3RfIyz0q
— Daniel Alegre (@dalegre) March 31, 2023
The executive has spent many years in the gaming, entertainment and technology sectors. According to According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked for the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann for nearly six years before joining Google, where he held various leadership roles for more than 16 years, overseeing areas such as global purchasing revenue, share of in the retail ecosystem, as well as operations in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Yuga Labs announced the arrival of Alegre in December. In a press release at the time, the executive said that “the company’s portfolio of products, partnerships, and intellectual property represent a tremendous opportunity to define the metaverse.”
Opportunities also bring challenges. A class action lawsuit filed in December in the United States Accuses BAYC Creators of Misleading Investors about the financial benefits of Yuga’s stock, as well as using famous promoters to attract more investors. Investors who purchased BAYC and APE between April 23, 2021 and December 8, 2022 may be entitled to compensation, Rosen Law Firm claims.
On the other hand, the co-founder of Yuga Labs, Wylie Aronow, took a break in January to prioritize your health after a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. It is not clear when he will be able to resume his responsibilities.
The arrival of Alegre has been considered a daring move in the GameFi industry. Kieran Warwick, co-founder of blockchain RPG Illuvium, said Yuga Labs’ new hire is “big for all of GameFi,” suggesting that Web3 gaming will spark the next cryptocurrency bull run.
OK. I believe @yugalabs is going to make a good game now. This is big for all of GameFi.
Every day more news comes out about new players from traditional gaming entering the space. DeFi 2.0 is cool. But gaming will be the narrative that kicks off the next run.
— Kieran.eth ♊️ (@KieranWarwick) December 19, 2022
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