The Algorand Foundation appointed William Herkelrath as chief executive officer as the blockchain organization seeks to expand its institutional business and position its technology against emerging quantum-computing threats.
Herkelrath, who formally took over on Aug. 31, succeeds Staci Warden after almost five years in the role, the Delaware based company said in a press release Wednesday.
He most recently co-founded K3 Labs, an artificial-intelligence automation platform, and previously held leadership positions at blockchain data provider Chainlink and crypto custody firm Curv.
Algorand is a proof-of-stake blockchain used for payments, asset tokenization, and digital identity, founded by cryptographer and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Silvio Micali.
“Algorand set out to build a quantum resilient world years before most of the industry saw it as a real threat, and that vision is now the benchmark,” Herkelrath said in emailed comments.
“Post-quantum accounts on Algorand are already live today, running in production rather than sitting on a roadmap. As institutions start to see the value in post-quantum readiness, I'm excited to lead this next chapter, turning that preparation into the standard the wider industry measures itself against,” he added.
Post-quantum cryptography is designed to protect systems from attacks by quantum computers powerful enough to break widely used encryption methods. While such machines are not yet considered capable of posing an immediate threat to major blockchains, developers have increasingly begun preparing for the possibility.
The network is among several blockchains preparing for the potential threat from quantum computers. Algorand has introduced accounts secured by Falcon-1024, a lattice-based signature system, while Ethereum, Solana and Bitcoin developers are researching or proposing quantum-resistant signatures and ways for users to migrate assets away from cryptography that could eventually become vulnerable.
Algorand said support for post-quantum signatures was included in its v42 consensus upgrade.
The organization also announced changes to its board.
Herkelrath and Alex Fowler, chief strategy officer at Nexus Laboratories, are joining, while Rebecca Rettig and Michael Mosier are departing.
Read more: Algorand unveils roadmap to achieve quantum resistance by 2028