In a vote consisting of five ayes and one abstention, the Bitcoin Foundation has chosen a new Executive Director.
On April 13, the Bitcoin Foundation greeted Bruce Fenton as a new Executive Director. Mr. Fenton replaced Patrick Murck who held the position for the five months following Jon Matonis’s resignation.
According to an announcement posted via the Bitcoin Foundation blog on Monday afternoon, Fenton is considered to be “the best candidate for the job.”
“Bruce Fenton is pleased to step into this new role to strengthen the Foundation and continue to work with individual and industry members. The Bitcoin Foundation Board had a vote of 5 ayes to 1 abstain to support Bruce in taking on this role,” reads the announcement.
“Bruce Fenton is a solid leader for individual and industry members. His experience is extensive and he has an understanding of the Bitcoin space and Bitcoin Foundation,” Elizabeth Ploshay, Board member, told Bitcoin Magazine.
It is my privilege to share that @brucefenton will serve as the Bitcoin Foundation's new Executive Director https://t.co/KvWISNxdKv
— Elizabeth McCauley (@etmccauley) April 13, 2015
Fenton posted a message via the Foundation’s blog describing all the events that led to his election. Fenton stated that his position is part-time and volunteer (it had historically been a paid position), and his name had been put forward in consultation with the rest of the Board members.
According to Bruce’s personal website, he began his career in the financial sector at Morgan Stanley specializing in emerging technologies and emerging markets. He also founded Atlantic Financial which, in 1994, became the first full-service investment firm to use the Internet. Bio on Twitter reads that Fenton is a “Bitcoiner, traveler & freedom loving techno geek”. In addition, he is a lifetime member of the Bitcoin Foundation, an investor, consultant and advisor in the Bitcoin space and the organizer of the Dubai Bitcoin Conference and the Satoshi Roundtable retreat. Moreover, he is also Managing Director of a company which focuses on emerging markets, economic, Bitcoin and tech consulting.
However, Fenton expects a broader role for the Foundation. Unlike Murck, his predecessor, who supported a “pivot” in the Foundation’s direction toward core development, Fenton wants to concentrate “on those activities with highest impact and lowest costs.” “The space moves fast and I think that the Foundation found that a focus on core development has some challenges — for example, funding it is expensive and relies on large donors who may have their own ideas or plans which might not mesh with an elected board and member-driven organization,” claimed the brand new Executive Director.
Fenton also added, “Going forward, I think the Bitcoin Foundation can be an asset to Bitcoin by working in education, financial inclusion, advocacy and other areas.”
Eugenia graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University with a degree in Intercultural Communication, Translation/Interpretation (Italian, English). Currently she works as a business analyst, freelance interpreter and tutor. She’s fond of numismatics, photos, good books and sports, adores travelling and cooking.
