Ethereum Foundation (EF) co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak announced his resignation after just one year on the job. As the community buzzed with speculation, longtime consensus-layer core contributor and ChainSafe co-founder Gregory Markou (Greg) posted a detailed exposé.
Greg, whose team built the Lodestar client, said they talked early on. "I told Tomasz his only KPI was getting fired in the first year," Greg wrote. One year later, the prediction came true — and Greg said he wasn't surprised.
'It's not how we do things at the EF'
Greg pinned the blame on the EF's entrenched culture. "That phrase is way too common internally," he wrote. Nothing had changed. He singled out former executive director Aya Miyaguchi, who moved to chair last year but still wields real influence. Greg called her "flowery garden shit" exhausting — a management philosophy many in the community see as hollow and disconnected from Ethereum's competitive pressures.
He described internal rot: "Leeches everywhere, dead products clinging to $1m budgets, and god knows what else." Tomasz was brought in to break the inertia — reform, reorganize, and re-engage Vitalik Buterin. Reform started, but "a bunch of internal changes made many people unhappy, and then we saw him leave after a year."
The Nethermind conflict of interest
Greg acknowledged Tomasz's background: founder and CEO of execution-layer client Nethermind, with deep ties to Flashbots and venture capital. Despite disclosed conflicts, many inside the EF were unhappy. Last year, core developer Péter Szilágyi revealed the EF had secretly set up a second Geth team inside Nethermind without telling the original Geth team. Szilágyi was fired and later rejected a $5 million "spin-off" offer, openly criticizing opaque management.
Tomasz's dignified exit
Tomasz replied to Greg's post with self-deprecation: "As you predicted, I'm gone in a year." In his official blog, he claimed the departure was voluntary but added a pointed remark: "The EF management team needs to prove it is willing to move faster." The comment subtly echoes Greg's account of failed reforms and business-as-usual.
Leadership carousel
Bastian Aue will temporarily replace Tomasz, pairing with Hsiao-Wei Wang. This is the EF's third leadership change in a year: Aya stepped aside, Tomasz and Hsiao-Wei took over, and now Tomasz leaves. Vitalik Buterin praised Tomasz's work ethic, but the community remains skeptical. Greg's final shot: "There aren't many grown-ups with real business experience left in the foundation. I just hope we get some real strong leadership in there."