The Algorand Foundation Appoints Deirdre Halligan as Chief Operating Officer

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Sep 07, 2022, 09:02 ET

Former Revolut Executive brings strategic expertise and deep experience in multi-jurisdictional operations and global market expansion

SINGAPORE, Sept. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Algorand Foundation, whose mission is to empower the ecosystem of Algorand, the carbon-negative Layer 1 blockchain invented by Turing Award winner and MIT professor Silvio Micali, today announced the appointment of Deirdre Halligan as Chief Operating Officer.

Deirdre Halligan, Chief Operating Officer of the Algorand Foundation

Halligan's focus as COO of the Foundation will be to manage its activities across multiple jurisdictions and to ensure that it has the operational wherewithal to support the expanding activities of the foundation and those of the ecosystem as a whole. Core to this goal will be pursuing entry into new markets and working closely with regulators to spur mass adoption of the Algorand blockchain.

"I've always sought work with bleeding-edge technologists/disruptors, and Algorand is the blockchain with the requisite speed, security, and low carbon footprint to deliver financial innovation at a global scale," said Halligan. "The Algorand Foundation plays a vital role in empowering a vibrant ecosystem of builders and investors, and it will be my job to ensure that we work as effectively as possible for our community."

Halligan has a long, successful career in fintech and blockchain, leading global expansion initiatives and working with licensing and regulatory bodies for new market expansion. She comes from financial superapp Revolut, where she served as a member of the Group Executive team as the Head of Global Affairs and Wealth and Trading, as well as Chairperson and COO of Revolut Securities UAB. Before that, she served as COO for both crypto exchange Coinbase Ireland, and SaaS e-commerce technology company eDesk.

Halligan will report directly to CEO Staci Warden, who said, "The Algorand Foundation is laser-focused on promoting the global expansion of our ecosystem to solve problems at scale, and Deirdre brings both the operational expertise and strategic focus we need to deliver on our mission."

After joining the Algorand Foundation as CEO in January, Warden pledged to build a best-in-class leadership team. Halligan's appointment follows the appointments of John Woods as Chief Technology Officer, and Eric Wragge as Global Head of Business Development and Capital Markets.

ALGORAND FOUNDATION

The Algorand blockchain — designed by MIT professor and Turing Award winning cryptographer Silvio Micali — is uniquely capable of delivering on the promise of a borderless global economy. It achieves transaction throughputs at the speed of traditional finance, but with immediate finality, near zero transaction costs, and on a 24/7 basis. Its carbon-neutral platform and unique pure proof-of-stake consensus mechanism solves for the "blockchain trilemma" by achieving both security and scalability on a decentralized protocol, and without a second of downtime since it went live in 2019.

The Algorand Foundation is dedicated to helping fulfill the global promise of the Algorand blockchain by taking responsibility for its sound monetary supply economics, decentralized governance, and healthy and prosperous open-source ecosystem. For more information, visit https://algorand.foundation

CONTACTS
Prosek Partners, on behalf of Algorand Foundation
[email protected]

SOURCE Algorand Foundation