Key Highlights
- Charley Cooper has been appointed president of Ava Labs.
- John Wu will transition from president to senior advisor.
- Lydia Chiu has been appointed chief financial officer after serving as interim CFO.
Ava Labs has made several changes to its executive team, appointing Charley Cooper as president while moving current President John Wu into a senior advisor role.
The company also appointed Lydia Chiu as chief financial officer after she previously served as interim CFO.
Founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer announced the changes in a post on X on August 18, saying his own role as CEO would remain unchanged.
He said he would continue overseeing Ava Labs’ long-term direction and Avalanche’s development.
The statement also reiterated the company’s focus on infrastructure for blockchain developers, institutions and enterprises.
Charley Cooper takes over as President
Cooper will take over the president role with a background spanning crypto policy, regulation and institutional markets.
In a separate post on X, Cooper said he was grateful to Wu and the Ava Labs team for the work that had built the company’s foundation over the past seven years.
“I’m excited to step into the role of President at Ava Labs.”
Cooper said Wu’s continued involvement as senior advisor would help provide continuity during the transition.
Looking ahead, Cooper identified several areas he believes could shape the company’s next phase, including the move toward 24/7 financial markets, tokenization and the growing use of artificial intelligence.
Cooper said his focus would be on turning those developments into sustainable business growth rather than simply expanding the company’s activities. He added that this would involve greater operational focus and closer engagement with builders, partners, customers and the Avalanche community.
John Wu moves to Senior Advisor
Wu will remain with Ava Labs after stepping down as president, taking on a Senior Advisor role focused on long-term strategy and relationships with financial institutions.
In his announcement, Wu said he intends to continue working on Avalanche’s relationships across Wall Street and Silicon Valley, while also spending more time with his family.
Wu also reflected on his seven years at Ava Labs, describing how the company developed from a small team working out of Brooklyn into an organization with more than 200 employees.
“It was not so long ago when we were a team of ten Cornellians working out of a modest office in Brooklyn.”
Wu made these remarks in the same X post announcing his transition. He said the company’s institutional relationships have changed significantly since he joined.
Wu said the broader industry had moved past the question of whether blockchain could support real-world assets and was now focused on which products could be brought onchain and at what scale.
He also thanked Sirer for their partnership and said he looked forward to continuing to work with Cooper and Chiu.
Lydia Chiu becomes CFO
Ava Labs has also appointed Lydia Chiu as CFO, making permanent a role she had been holding on an interim basis.
Chiu said she was proud to take on the position and credited Wu and Sirer with helping build the company.
Chiu also highlighted Wu’s role in building relationships between Ava Labs and traditional financial institutions.
“In 2019, John was one of the only people who could sit across the table from Wall Street and be taken seriously as a peer, as a bridge to blockchain.”
She said Wu’s transition would allow him to remain involved with the company and industry. Chiu added that she was looking forward to continuing to work with Sirer and Cooper.
Institutional focus remains in view
The changes come as Ava Labs continues pursuing institutional applications for Avalanche, particularly in areas such as tokenization, financial markets, and enterprise blockchain infrastructure.
Wu’s comments suggest that relationships with traditional financial institutions will remain an important part of his advisory work, while Cooper’s background in regulation and traditional finance could shape his approach to the company’s operational strategy.
For now, the transition is primarily a change in executive responsibilities rather than a departure from Ava Labs. The company will now enter its next phase with Cooper leading day-to-day operations, Wu remaining involved as a strategic advisor, Chiu overseeing finance, and Sirer continuing as CEO.
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