WalletConnect appoints former Checkout.com Crypto GTM Lead Jess Houlgrave as new COO

NEW YORK -- September 11, 2023 -- WalletConnect, the web3 protocol and developer toolkit company, has appointed Jess Houlgrave as its new COO. With a multidisciplinary background that spans finance, private equity, and blockchain technology, Houlgrave will lead GTM, Strategy, Operations, and People as the company expands its developer product suite while simultaneously moving forward on decentralizing and federating the WalletConnect Protocol into the WalletConnect Network. 

Houlgrave was previously the first Crypto GTM & Strategy Lead at Checkout.com, a global fintech company, from 2022 to 2023. In this role, she worked with both web3-native and web3-curious companies to bridge the worlds of fiat and crypto and open up more optionality and better experiences for consumers. Prior to this, she served as the company’s Chief of Staff during a period of significant growth, helping scale the business from Series A to Series D between 2020 and 2022. She is a founder and trustee of the Foundation for Art and Blockchain and was previously a member of the Bank of England CBDC Engagement Forum. 

“I am extremely pleased to welcome Jess to the WalletConnect team as we embark on a new phase of growth,” says Pedro Gomes, founder and CEO of WalletConnect. “With her experience building teams and scaling businesses, Jess will help steer WalletConnect forward on our ambitious roadmap, which not only includes the launch of new developer toolkits for app notifications and wallet messaging but the launch of the WalletConnect Network.”

“I am excited to join WalletConnect, an industry innovator that has truly enabled global web3 adoption,” says Houlgrave. “As one of the most recognizable names in web3, WalletConnect’s infrastructure makes it possible for the ecosystem to interoperate, and its developer products are bringing to life brand-new, web3-native user experiences. It’s a company with an extraordinary mission to define the future web3 experience, and I am thrilled to help drive it forward.”

WalletConnect recently announced its plans to progressively decentralize the WalletConnect Protocol to pave the way for the launch of the open, permissionless WalletConnect Network. The WalletConnect Protocol is currently used by 500+ wallets and 3,000+ apps across 150+ chains to interoperate, providing the infrastructure that enables two million monthly users in 200+ countries to log into apps and websites with their wallet. The WalletConnect Network will see an open community of infrastructure providers run and secure the WalletConnect Protocol, and is expected to launch in late 2025. WalletConnect will also release developer toolkits for wallet-based app notifications and wallet messaging later this year.