The new chief financial officer of Algorand is no stranger to the Boston blockchain and fintech industries.
Matthew Commons, the newly named financial leader at the Boston blockchain startup, has more than 20 years of experience in this industry. He joins Algorand to lead its day-to-day financial operations, future growth initiatives and capital management.
Previously, Commons founded and served as president of Common Partners. His executive advisory firm served several blockchain and fintech companies. Before that, he co-founded and was CEO and chairman of Cambridge Blockchain Inc., which built blockchain products for banks and institutions. Cambridge Blockchain Inc. was acquired by Blockchains Inc. in 2020.
Commons attended Harvard Business School for his MBA and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for his bachelor’s program. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.
“I have long admired Algorand’s technology, and to be able to join at a moment of strategic evolution is incredibly exciting,” Commons said in a statement. “There are tremendous opportunities for Algorand to extend its leadership across many sectors of blockchain. One of my first priorities will be to help identify strategic growth areas with the leadership team, and then ensure we have the right financial plans in place to go after them.”
Algorand is still led by interim CEO W. Sean Ford. Ford, who joined the company as COO in 2018, became acting chief executive last July when CEO Steven Kokinos stepped down "to pursue other interests.”
A spokesperson for Algorand said Ford is still in an interim CEO position and said the company “(doesn’t) have further updates at this time” about the appointment of a permanent chief executive.
In a statement, Ford said Commons’ experiences as a founder and company leader would benefit Algorand and its growth goals.
“He understands blockchain technology, has been a successful entrepreneur and CEO within our industry, managed high-performing teams, led strategic planning and corresponding capital raises, executed M&A activities, and worked extensively with the investment community,” Ford said. “I have no doubt he’ll make significant contributions to Algorand as we continue to build on our earlier successes.”
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