Yuga Labs, the parent company of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and Cryptopunks, has announced that Daniel Alegre will become the new CEO in 2023, replacing incumbent CEO Nicole Muniz who will continue as a partner and strategic advisor for the company. 

Meet Daniel Alegre

When looking at Alegre’s resume, it is clear why he was chosen to become the next CEO at Yuga Labs: his extensive experience in tech and gaming. His most recent role was COO for Activision Blizzard between 2020 and 2022, where he oversaw games including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Candy Crush. 

Before that, he also held distinguished roles at Google where he acted as president and vice-president for their business branches in Asia and South America respectively, giving him vast experience within Silicon Valley and internationally.

Moreover, Alegere is also an attorney, earning both his JD and MBA at Harvard in 1995, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Issues at Activision Blizzard

Though his credentials look great on paper for Yuga Labs, the last couple of years at Activision Blizzard have not been without controversy. 

Diablo Immortal, a game spawned from one of the company's most cherished IPs, was released with harsh criticism due to its intense monetization schemes, angering Diablo fans and gamers alike around the world despite its impressive sales figures.  

On a separate note, Activision Blizzard was also hit with a major lawsuit in 2021 that accused the company of running a “frat boy” culture that subjected female employees to sexual harassment akin to the #MeToo movement. 

While it’s unfair to point the finger at Alegre for either of these issues without any evidence, it does raise the question of why he was picked and if he has the integrity to lead web3’s flagship NFT collection. 

Fortunately, his time at Google was not met with any criticism like that at Activision Blizzard which suggests that the company itself was the problem and that Alegre was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Leading the Metaverse with Otherside

Yuga Labs, on the other hand, has been relatively quiet this year with regard to their Otherside metaverse development which has become a major focus for the NFT-based business. 

Although NFTs, GameFi, and the metaverse have all been harshly dismissed by the general public, Yuga has continued to push the boundaries of web3 with significant support from investors including Andreessen Horowitz. 

With an active audience of users that are familiar with the various web3, crypto, and NFT communities, Yuga Labs is still poised to provide one of the most well-built metaverses available compared to their competitor Meta which has run into a number of obstacles within the company and its shareholders. 

Still bullish on Yuga Labs?

Altogether, it’s hard to imagine that Alegre will tarnish the company. He is well-educated and highly qualified for the position at Yuga Labs which, for the majority of its lifespan, has been run by a small group of people that are unfamiliar with leading multi-billion dollar businesses. 

The NFT market is in dire straits right now and Alegre’s professionalism might be the perfect solution to keeping the most recognizable NFT collection afloat during a time when many hope to see the entire NFT ecosystem fail.