Gavin Wood
Gavin Wood is one of the most important figures in cryptocurrency, best known as the Co-Founder and former Chief Technology Officer of Ethereum. He also founded Parity Technologies, a blockchain infrastructure company; the Web3 Foundation, an organization that funds the research and development of DeFi projects; and Polkadot, a network of interactive blockchains. Under his leadership, Polkadot has emerged as a pioneering force in the blockchain space. Before joining the blockchain industry, he spent over a decade at legacy industries. One of his most notable positions includes a Research and Software Consultant at Microsoft Research Cambridge.
Gavin Wood Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Founder
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Founder
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Founder and Lead Developer
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Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Academic History
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Ph.D., Music Visualization for Human-Computer Interfacing
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M.Eng., Computer Systems and Software Engineering
Wood co-founded Ethereum with Vitalik Buterin in 2014.
He wrote most of the code for the first version of Ethereum himself and served as CTO of the Ethereum Foundation for two years.
In 2015, Wood authored the Ethereum Yellow Paper, a seminal document that meticulously outlines the Ethereum Virtual Machine‘s (EVM) specifications.
He was also credited for initially proposing and writing the code for its smart contract programming language Solidity, which is the same language that Ethereum currently uses.
In 2016, he decided to leave Ethereum and work on a blockchain network of his own.
Wood is a computer scientist and tech entrepreneur.
He is one of the most competent individuals in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and has been a significant contributor to the advancement of blockchain technology.
Wood, who coined the term Web3 in 2014, believes decentralized technologies are the only hope of preserving liberal democracy.
OTHER CRYPTO CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
In 2016, Wood collaborated with Jutta Steiner, a former Ethereum Foundation colleague, to establish Parity Technologies, a core blockchain infrastructure company.
In 2017, Wood founded the Web3 Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research and development for dApps.
In 2019, Wood introduced Kusama, a scalable network of specialized blockchains.
In 2020, Polkadot made its debut through the collaborative efforts of Parity Technologies and the Web3 Foundation.
In October 2022, Wood transitioned from the CEO role at Parity Technologies to the position of Chief Architect.
MEDIA & SPEAKING
Wood gives seminars, sits on board, and presents to audiences all year on crypto.
He is a regular face at conferences and is always willing to share his experience with others.
He also speaks about the intersection between law and tech at renowned law schools.
He has appeared in Business Insider, Yahoo! Finance, Bloomberg, CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Real Vision, and many more.