Business Wire

MA-ALGORAND

17.12.2018 10:02:12 CET | Business Wire | Press release

Share
Algorand Appoints Pablo Azar as Chief Economist

Algorand , a foundational blockchain and cryptocurrency company, announced today that it has named Pablo Azar as Chief Economist. Given Algorand's focus on creating sustainable value in a decentralized economy, Mr. Azar will be responsible for guiding Algorand’s economic policies.

On the heels of announcing Steve Kokinos and W. Sean Ford as CEO and COO, respectively, Mr. Azar’s appointment as Chief Economist is another advancement for Algorand as it continues to develop its executive team. With a double Ph.D. from MIT, Mr. Azar will bring his unique expertise regarding the application of computer science and cryptography toward the creation of better market mechanisms. Further, he will be responsible for expanding the visibility of Algorand’s economic policy and enhancing the tools necessary for developers to build on the Algorand platform.

“As momentum around tokenization increases, so does the need for sound economic management,” said Steve Kokinos, CEO at Algorand. “With his deep background in economics and computer science, Pablo will ensure our community has economic policies and tools necessary for businesses to build on our foundational platform.”

As consumers drive economies toward an increasingly digital, transparent, and borderless reality, businesses must embrace technology that supports decentralization to both remain strategically relevant and to participate in the economic potential of this new decentralized world. As a scalable, secure and decentralized platform and digital currency that solves the “blockchain trilemma,” Algorand serves as the foundation for existing businesses and new projects to operate globally in the emerging decentralized economy.

“Algorand’s main goal is to build a blockchain that adds real value to the economy,” said Pablo Azar, Chief Economist at Algorand. “The kind of research problems being undertaken by Algorand intersect with many subfields of economics. My initial focus is on key issues such as mitigating the risk faced by our users and collaborating with industry partners in order to design new economic applications. I look forward to being part of a team of outstanding academics, engineers, and business experts.”

Pablo is joining Algorand from a 10-year stint at MIT, where he worked on cryptography and macroeconomics, including the development of rational interactive proofs, using software engineering metrics to understand the complexity of US Financial regulations, and developing models on the formation of supply chains and their effects on economic growth. His work has been featured on Bloomberg, The Atlantic, and US News and World Report. He received a B.A. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard, a Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT in 2014, and will receive a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT in 2019.

About Algorand

Based in Boston, and founded by cryptography pioneer and Turing award winner Silvio Micali, Algorand solves the “blockchain trilemma ” with a platform that delivers decentralization, scalability and security. Algorand provides a foundation for existing businesses and new projects to operate globally in the emerging decentralized economy. Algorand’s first-of-its-kind, permissionless, pure proof-of-stake protocol supports the scale, open participation, and transaction finality required to build systems for billions of users.

For more information, visit https://www.algorand.com/ .

Contact:

Samantha Powers March Communications algorand@marchcomms.com 617-960-8896

Link:

ClickThru

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Takeda’s Zasocitinib Demonstrates Consistent, High Rates of Skin Clearance Across the Body, Including Hard-to-Treat and High-Impact Sites, in Phase 3 Psoriasis Studies17.7.2026 00:00:00 CEST | Press release

On average, about 75% of patients with scalp psoriasis treated with zasocitinib achieved clear or almost clear skin at week 16 Approximately 70% of patients with palmoplantar disease treated with zasocitinib achieved clear or almost clear skin at week 16 Zasocitinib demonstrated statistically significant improvements in Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI) versus placebo Results reinforce the potential of zasocitinib to deliver rapid and durable skin clearance, including in the hardest-to-treat areas, in a convenient once-daily pill Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) announced new data from the two pivotal Phase 3 studies of zasocitinib (TAK-279), a next-generation, highly selective and potent oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO).1 Presented at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Innovation Academy, these secondary endpoint data show that zasocitinib demonstrated consistent and high rates of skin clearance across hard-to-

Merz Completes Inaugural €450 Million Schuldschein Loan Issuance16.7.2026 23:36:00 CEST | Press release

Debut transaction more than three times oversubscribed The Merz Group has successfully completed its first-ever Schuldschein loan issuance, placing a total volume of €450 million in the debt capital market – a multiple of three relating to the launch volume. The debut transaction was significantly oversubscribed and attracted strong interest from all investor groups. The proceeds were settled and paid out today. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260716926041/en/ Dr. Almuth Steinkühler, Chief Financial Officer Merz Group The transaction comprises both fixed- and floating-rate tranches with maturities of three, five, seven, and ten years. Around 50 German and international investors participated, representing a broad range of institutions, including private banks, German federal state-owned banks, public savings banks, cooperative banks, pension funds and occupational pension institutions. With the successful plac

The Estée Lauder Companies Appoints Madeleine Boyd as Senior Vice President, Global Brand Communications16.7.2026 22:22:00 CEST | Press release

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) today announced the appointment of Madeleine Boyd as Senior Vice President, Global Brand Communications, effective July 20, 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260716738393/en/ Photo by Esteban La Tessa As part of the company’s continued efforts to strengthen how its brands better connect with consumers, Ms. Boyd will establish and lead a newly integrated Global Brand Communications team. In this role, she will ensure the company’s diverse portfolio is anchored by a cohesive enterprise communications strategy, while accelerating bold, consumer-first storytelling that drives earned media, cultural relevance, and brand desirability. She will also strengthen creator engagement, helping the company’s brands gain attention where culture is being shaped. Ms. Boyd brings extensive experience spanning brand strategy, communications, consumer engagement, and cultural insight

Grid Dynamics Enters Strategic Partnership with Doosan Robotics to Accelerate Physical AI Adoption Across Manufacturing and Logistics16.7.2026 22:05:00 CEST | Press release

Key Takeaways: Grid Dynamics partners with Doosan Robotics to provide industrial cobot users with a turnkey software stack for physical AI and corresponding integration services. Grid Dynamics offerings enable Doosan cobot users to solve advanced robotic automation use cases such as processing and inspection of complex-geometry objects, assembly with variability, and packaging of unseen and deformable items. This partnership positions Grid Dynamics to address the fast-growing physical AI market with applied end-to-end solutions including foundational AI components, software platforms, integration services, and hardware for a broad range of manufacturing and logistics companies. Grid Dynamics Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: GDYN) (Grid Dynamics), a premier AI transformation partner for the Fortune 1000, announced today it has entered into a strategic partnership with Doosan Robotics, a global leader in collaborative robot solutions, delivering cutting-edge AI robotics to 45 countries worldwide.

NetApp Acquires DataPelago, Making Data AI-Ready at the Infrastructure Layer16.7.2026 18:30:00 CEST | Press release

Embedding GPU-accelerated intelligence enables enterprises to easily discover, govern, and activate data for AI and analytics at the source NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, today announced it has acquired DataPelago, a California-based AI data infrastructure company recognized for its innovative approach to eliminating data processing bottlenecks for AI and analytics workloads. The acquisition marks a foundational expansion of NetApp's portfolio, enabling GPU-accelerated data processing aligned directly with the storage layer. With this acquisition, NetApp establishes itself as the company that makes zero-copy activation of enterprise data for AI real. AI is the defining platform shift of our era, but enterprises are discovering that their greatest bottleneck is preparing, governing, and activating their data fast enough to put AI into production. The key to accomplishing this objective is to enable accelerated computing where the data is created and

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye