Hello all,
My name is Ben, and I’ve recently joined Gnosis Ltd as Ecosystem & DAO Lead. I wanted to briefly introduce myself, outline what I’m here to do, and share the spirit in which I’m approaching the role.
My background
I’ve worked across blockchain and open-source ecosystems since 2017, with a focus on DAO operations and ecosystem growth since 2020. Most recently I was Ecosystem Lead at Eliza Labs, and before that Head of Ecosystem at API3 DAO, where I helped scale Total Value Secured from zero to over $1.3 billion through partnerships, developer relationships, and community building. In between, I’ve been fortunate to work on a number of projects within the industry, most recently contributing to the ERC-8004 project with EF’s dAI team.
I have genuine conviction that infrastructure for open finance should have distributed governance, and a clear-eyed view of the realities involved in making that work.
What I’m here to do
My role within Gnosis Ltd spans DAO operations, communications, ecosystem development and partnerships. The community sits at the core of all of this. In practice, that means being a consistent, reliable presence that helps the DAO function more smoothly. I am not steering it, but making it easier for the community to steer itself, while ensuring contributors, builders, and the broader Gnosis ecosystem are engaged with GnosisDAO.
Over the coming weeks, my short-term priorities are:
- Governance clarity — Refresh forum experience, streamline GIP process, and build a governance hub as the first touchpoint for $GNO holders and builders.
- Communications cadence — Establish engagement process on active proposals, revise product, ecosystem & governance communications, understand and engage governance audience needs.
- Governance participation — Surface governance health metrics, ensure clear process and devise strategy to drive higher voter turnout among $GNO holders.
- Tooling — Audit Snapshot, Discord, Telegram, and forum; fix silent friction points and explore new tools to support governance.
Beyond this initial phase, I will look to focus on longer-term, higher-value workflows that better connect Gnosis’s product ecosystem to the community, partners, and key DAO metrics. That includes making sure there’s clear visibility into what Gnosis’s product teams are building and shipping, strengthening relationships with projects across the ecosystem, and ensuring DAO-funded initiatives are communicating progress back to the community. I will share public updates as frequently as reasonably possible.
A personal note on approach
This is the first time someone has been dedicated to DAO operations and ecosystem development within Gnosis Ltd. I’m coming in with fresh eyes and a lot of respect for what’s already been built. I also know that trust is earned over time.
To me, earning that trust means building a flourishing community that’s enabled to drive ecosystem growth, innovate around new products or initiatives, and help facilitate the global Gnosis network.
Currently, we’re at a convergence of FinTech and blockchain that could see open finance go mainstream. If the technology and products are to reach that scale, our community and brand must be consumer-friendly, but while preserving the self-sovereignty, immutability, and permissionless values that define us. How a DAO fits into that picture is one of the most interesting questions ahead. I’m very optimistic about where Gnosis goes from here.
Whether you’re a delegate, a builder, a long-time $GNO holder, or someone who cares about how the DAO operates, I’d welcome hearing from you. It would be extremely helpful to understand your experiences and feedback via a short questionnaire which will be circulated soon.
I hope to engage with the community on upcoming roundtables, community updates and physical events. Where possible, I will default to keeping conversations public.
Finally, there will be things I get wrong or perspectives missed in the early days. I’d rather hear about it directly than have it go unsaid here on the forum or via DM.
Looking forward to getting stuck in. 