Jess Houlgrave
Jess Houlgrave is a prominent fintech executive, technology strategist, and the Chief Executive Officer of Reown, the commercial developer platform powering the WalletConnect Network. Recognized for her work bridging traditional finance, digital payments, and decentralized infrastructure, Houlgrave leads the development and expansion of essential developer toolkits, including AppKit and WalletKit. Under her leadership, Reown provides connectivity infrastructure utilized by tens of millions of users and thousands of decentralized applications globally. Prior to Reown, she served as Chief of Staff and Head of Crypto Strategy and Go-To-Market at Checkout.com, a leading global digital payments provider valued at over $15 billion. Houlgrave is also an active angel investor focused on early-stage opportunities across cryptocurrency, financial technology, and underrepresented founders.
Jess Houlgrave Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Chief Executive Officer
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Chief Executive Officer
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CBDC Engagement Forum Member
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Chief of Staff and Head of Crypto GTM & Strategy
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Analyst, UK Investment Banking
Academic History
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M.A., Art Business, Sotheby's Institute of Art
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M.A., Economics and Management
WALLETCONNECT & REOWN
Jess Houlgrave serves as Chief Executive Officer of Reown, the commercial infrastructure entity responsible for delivering core developer toolkits, including AppKit and WalletKit.
In this role, she guides commercial expansion while supporting the open-source WalletConnect Protocol and its native WCT token ecosystem.
A central focus of her strategy is driving the rollout of WalletConnect Pay, an infrastructure solution designed to facilitate low-friction cryptocurrency and stablecoin checkouts for both online and in-person merchants.
Houlgrave advocates for abstracting complex blockchain mechanics, such as gas fees and multi-chain routing, behind user-friendly interfaces to make Web3 transactions as intuitive as Web2 digital banking.
EARLY CAREER
Prior to leading Reown, Houlgrave was Head of Crypto Go-To-Market (GTM) and Strategy at digital payments provider Checkout.com. In this position, she scaled the firm's cryptocurrency offerings and established payment rails powering digital asset exchanges, fan token platforms, and Web3 wallets globally.
She began her career in corporate finance and investment banking at Credit Suisse, later managing institutional portfolio investments for a major pension fund.
She also founded Codex Protocol, an Ethereum-based registry focused on tracking asset provenance using non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Houlgrave served as a member of the Bank of England CBDC Engagement Forum, the UK Finance New Digital Money Steering Group, the Innovate Finance Fintech Strategy Group, and the Department for International Trade Fintech Group.
She also founded shEOS, a blockchain block producer dedicated to connecting women and girls with technology scholarships and mentorship programs.
MEDIA INFLUENCE & INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
As a key executive operating at the intersection of traditional payments, financial regulation, and decentralized technology, Houlgrave is a widely cited authority in business journalism.
Her commentary on digital asset adoption, stablecoin infrastructure, and Web3 user experience is regularly featured across global media outlets, including Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC, Cointelegraph, and Real Vision.