The Ethereum Foundation has lost another senior leader, with co-executive director and board member Hsiao-Wei Wang stepping down effective Thursday. Her exit leaves both co-executive director positions vacant after the earlier departure of Tomasz Stańczak.
Wang’s resignation brings the number of senior departures at the Switzerland-based nonprofit to at least eight in the past five months. The turnover has drawn sharper attention to the Foundation’s governance, spending priorities, and organizational design, while questions around internal decision-making have become harder to ignore.
Eight years at the Foundation and work across major upgrades
Wang joined the Ethereum Foundation’s research team in 2017 and spent eight years at the organization. She was appointed co-executive director in April 2025 during a broader leadership transition.
In her own account, a recent sabbatical gave her time to reassess personal priorities. She later announced her resignation on X, saying she felt it was the right time to step away.
Her contributions covered several of Ethereum’s biggest technical milestones, including the Beacon Chain, The Merge, Shapella, and Dencun upgrades. Beyond protocol research and consensus work, she also helped build the Taipei community through ETHTaipei and the Taipei Seminar.
Leadership transition deepens after Stańczak’s exit
Wang’s departure came after fellow co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak had already left following a period in which he helped oversee a management transition. With both roles now unfilled, Bastian Aue has taken on a larger leadership remit and is serving as interim executive director.
This latest move adds to a broader pattern. Since early 2026, at least eight senior members have exited the Foundation. Reported departures include Josh Stark, Trent Van Epps, Tim Beiko, Barnabé Monnot, Carl Beek, and Julian Ma, several of whom were involved in Ethereum research, engineering, and ecosystem development.
Governance scrutiny grows inside the Ethereum community
As the list of departures lengthens, community discussion has centered more heavily on how the Foundation is governed, how spending priorities are set, and whether the current structure still fits the organization’s role. Frequent leadership changes have also intensified scrutiny of how decisions are made inside the Foundation.
After Wang announced her resignation, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin praised her contributions over the past decade, pointing to her work in research, consensus development, and community building in Taipei. Ethereum Foundation developer Marius Van Der Wijden also thanked her for backing protocol development during a difficult period.
In her farewell message, Wang said Ethereum is bigger than any single position, organization, or individual contributor.