GM Badger Community,
I would like to say hello to you all and introduce myself as the new Business Lead for the Badger Association and President of the Badger Association Board.
The Association Board has entrusted me with key projects and objectives aimed at fostering the growth and development of our ecosystem:
- Establish and deliver on objectives for eBTC ecosystem growth and product development.
- Build a continuous improvement process with the product and engineering contributors
- Lead innovation and commercial growth of the overall Badger ecosystem, capitalizing on opportunities to grow the $BADGER market cap
- Lead operational and transparency initiatives for the Association.
- Lead financial strategy, performance, and compliance for the Association.
My responsibilities will encompass strategy, product, business development, marketing, community, operations, finance, supplier management and more. This responsibility will demand diligence, respect, transparency, and a strong focus on security. One of my work philosophies is that respect is earned, and I will do my very best to ensure that through my actions with you all, that I will grow that respect and trust.
I have a practiced 90 Day Plan that I’ve delivered many times before and the key first step is (from Stephen Covey): “Seek to understand, before being understood”. I will continuously be meeting with many people to find out what we need to improve, what’s broken that needs fixing, and what we do well as it’s always important to celebrate the wins.
With over three decades of experience across different sectors within the software industry, my career has been filled with a diverse array of technical and strategic accomplishments. Some technical highlights:
- Defence Signals (Australian version of NSA) – C++ developer on Solaris, vi
- Defence Intelligence – Sybase DBA
- Intermine (co-founding my first start-up) – C++, Python, Java (Sun Certified Engineer)
- Atturra (Defence Contractor) – First blockchain experience, built my own wallet with Python and Solidity, and built a mining rig for Ethereum.
- Swyftx (Crypto Exchange): helped architect the omnibus backend and built out the engineering team from a handful to over 100 engineers.
- Path (SEC Registered Crypto Financial Advisory Service): implemented the omnibus model (again) and worked with a Quantum Neural Network to train for patterns in 90-day trading across dozens of coins to help our Finance team rebalance the portfolios.
Strategic highlights:
- Establishing partnership channels and managing technology collaborations with major financial institutions such as PayPal, Citibank, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Mizuho Bank, Macquarie Bank, Equity Trust.
- Serving on the board of multiple entities, including publicly traded companies.
- Lead in executive positions for 20 years (CEO, CTO, COO), working in blockchain and crypto for the last 7 years.
- Developing and implementing strategic agility planning and operational excellence initiatives, e.g.:
- Strategic initiative to transition to channel partners doubled revenue year on year for 3 years.
- Implemented cost savings initiative on AWS pooling infrastructure, saving $2m (USD) over 9 months.
- Leading software development teams across various countries (USA, UK, France, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia), managing annual revenues exceeding $250 million, and leading engineering teams of over 100 people.
- Designing and executing cybersecurity frameworks compliant with NIST, FIPS, and ISO 27001 standards to satisfy SEC regulations for crypto Registered Investment Advisors at numerous firms.
Personal highlights:
- Born in New Zealand and moved to Australia when I was 8 years old. Grew up in Queensland playing with big venomous spiders, snakes, and insects.
- Played Rugby Union since I was 8 years old.
- I love motorbikes and have had a few over the years.
- I still build all my own PCs.
- I was a Radio DJ in Canberra co-hosting a metal and punk show every Sunday night for many years.
Why did I take the plunge on this opportunity?
I am intrinsically motivated by solving unique challenges and I am passionate about creating positive change. I love the tech and believe eBTC and the Badger ecosystem are strongly positioned for a massive new stage of growth. The DAO has proven its resiliency in the bear, driven innovation, and is now ready to crush the comeback and I want to be an integral part of that journey.
I’m thrilled to have joined the Association and to help drive the growth of the Badger ecosystem.
Martyn