Yuga Labs, web3 leader and home of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), CryptoPunks, Meebits, and more, today announced the appointment of Daniel Alegre as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective in the first half of 2023. He succeeds Nicole Muniz, who will stay on as a partner and strategic advisor to the company. Alegre will work closely with Yuga Labs founders Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano in continuing to grow the business.
In just two years, Yuga Labs has achieved mainstream success by leading the web3 industry as a creative force that pushes the boundaries of NFT technology. Yuga made clear its ambitious metaverse plans earlier this year when they announced Otherside, a gamified metaverse inspired by MMORPGs. The company has scaled quickly to help make that dream a reality and will benefit from Alegre’s 25-plus years of experience building global, disruptive, and successful customer and community-centric businesses.
Alegre has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Activision Blizzard overseeing international delivery and commercialization of franchises such as Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Diablo®, Overwatch®, and Candy Crush™ since early 2020. Alegre also spent over 16 years at Google where he was the company’s President of Global and Strategic Partnerships, President of Shopping, and Payments as well as President of Asia Pacific and Latin America throughout his career there.
“Nicole, Greg, and I have been on the hunt for someone with Daniel’s skill set for some time. The business, our ambitions, and the complexity of the work have grown beyond our wildest expectations. We are thrilled to have him join the team to help with our vision of a truly interoperable metaverse. Daniel has held one of the highest level roles at one of the largest gaming companies in the world. He brings valuable experience across entertainment, e-commerce, and global strategic partnerships – all of which are critical aspects of an immersive web3 world built by creators and for creators,” said Yuga Labs co-founder Wylie Aronow.
“Since exploding onto the scene with Bored Ape Yacht Club in 2021, Yuga Labs has quickly made a name for itself through a powerful combination of storytelling and community-building,” said Alegre. “The company’s pipeline of products, partnerships, and IP represents a massive opportunity to define the metaverse in a way that empowers creators and provides users with true ownership of their identity and digital assets. I look forward to working with the passionate, creative team at Yuga to innovate, inspire, and shape the future of the internet together.”
“From initially joining us as an advisor in the company’s earliest days, to becoming a formal partner, to taking on the role as our first CEO, Nicole has been a trusted leader who helped set the company up with the infrastructure we needed to scale quickly. She’s not going far, as she’ll remain a Yuga Labs partner and strategic advisor helping with the transition and beyond,” added Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano.
“When I was first asked to advise Yuga Labs, I could tell right away that they had a fresh and exciting approach to building communities. I’ve always had a passion for helping set early-stage companies up for success and the growth we’ve achieved at Yuga over the last year has been incredible. I look forward to continuing to help from the sidelines as a partner and advisor. I am thrilled that we found Daniel to keep up the momentum and bring his gaming expertise to hugely ambitious projects like Otherside,” said Nicole Muniz.
About Yuga Labs
Yuga Labs is a web3 company shaping the future through storytelling, experiences, and community. Guided by the belief that the potential of web3 can be realized when we start with imagination, not limitations, Yuga’s initiatives aim to reinvent what real-world utility for NFTs look like and push the space forward as a whole. Since their launch in April 2021 with flagship collection Bored Ape Yacht Club, they’ve made headlines as one of the first companies to release IP licenses to their NFT holders, acquired and released rights to other top collections (CryptoPunks and Meebits), and made web3 history with record-breaking synchronized player participation in their newest initiative, Otherside. One of the most ambitious interactive metaverse projects to date, Otherside is built with the community, rebelling against traditional walled gardens in gaming spaces. In March 2022, Yuga Labs raised a $450M seed round at a $4B valuation.
