Our new CEO

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bux
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After many technical distractions, the team has been able to build SAFE as it was meant to be. The results have been amazing and we have moved to running regular test networks to prove out and interrogate key protocol features. It’s still wildly ambitious to bootstrap such a network, even with perfect code, but it’s one we will tackle and get right. With the tech stack stable, we’re now finally able to move from what has essentially been a huge R&D project, into a viable decentralised alternative to the internet as we know it.

The time to find a leader to help us to launch had come. Someone who believed in the mission, comprehended the size of the vision and who had the experience and energy to step in and steer the ship as we grow. It would be no easy position to fill, MaidSafe having only had me as its CEO since 2006 (with a brief co-ceo for a year or so) and with us readying to launch, this hire would be one of the most critical decisions in the company’s history.

The challenge should have been immense and we started in the way that you might expect with a headhunter, we encountered some true serendipity … and were introduced to Sarah Buxton …

Sarah (or Bux as she is commonly known) seemed like a real go-getter and had a track record, right in our space. More than that she was available, if we fought hard enough to get her. And we did!

If you ever get a chance to talk with or listen to Bux, I would guess you’d see exactly what we did - a highly capable and passionate person, who obviously gets things done. Perhaps everyone looking to fill such a position would come across the same - but she really is made of something different.

Bux not only “gets it”, she has no fear, literally zero fear … she walks the walk, jumps in, creates momentum and pushes everyone forward, all while checking in to make sure she’s not pushing too hard or too far. Bux is a team player but I know her unique skill set and boundless energy will be felt far beyond it.

This wee Bux is taking us to launch - already reversing the MaidSafe rule of never providing a timescale (she wants us to live and breathe such things). Bux is now with us and I’ve no doubt that she will help us to ensure that folks all over the world will benefit from the truly decentralised, private network we’ve been building for these last many years. Fully encrypted; no middlemen and no leaks, built for you and designed exactly as it should be, for what comes next.

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First!

Edit:

So happy yo have the first reply on this because there really is something I want to say and I’m sure the entire community feels the same way.

David, you are absolutely amazing! You’ve taken this project this far, and it has been a bumpy ride (we even had our ups and downs). We all welcome Bux with open arms, not as a replacement but as a wonderful addition to the team. It took extraordinairy courage to “give” away such an important position, but I’m sure Bux made it a “wee” bit easier as you’d say it. This amazing team continues to expand into the future and if they bring 10% of the passion and commitment you bring, we’re absolutely golden.

Take this bad boy home and don’t forget to enjoy the ride. The world is not ready for the waves this project will make.

Shoutout to the rest of the community: you’ve all been amazing and contributed in so many different ways. 10 million maid raised, even before I could read the announcement back in the days. The consistent buys way beyond most their comfort zone for years. And not to mention all the people actively participating in those testnets and contributing to the code and discussions. Those who’ve made EMAID possible, you’re all legends. And BambooGarden, who’s fund is close to actually getting used, not too shabby of a hodl on those ethereums.

And last, I’d like to take a moment to commemorate Sharon. Her contributions to the project will never be forgotten.

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Finally top 3.:crazy_face:
It’s getting hot in here :hot_face: Big shout-out to the whole team for doing such an amazing job :clap:t3:

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Number 3 bronze cup :tada:

Official congrats to Bux :star2:

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Welcome, Bux! You are joining just the right project at just the right time. :rocket:

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I’ve never doubted this project, its team and its leader, and the tough, but correct decisions you make all the time David.

So I welcome Bux! Another stroke of genius.

This is only the beginning of who knows what; because the SafeNet will take on a life of its own, and become and integral part of our own. :balloon:

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Very excited to see what 2024 brings. Stable & well featured test nets. New CEO. Targets for launch. Soon to be clarified whitepaper and tokenomics. Focus on outward communications.

Huge, positive changes overall… all the best to Bux, and the whole team as these changes start to play out.

Glad to hear this. Everyone wants progress, but not by pushing people too hard.

The world needs what you’re all working on. Keep up the amazing work MaidSafe!

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David and the team have made another great decision at exactly the right time! I guess the Bux stops here! :grin:

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Don’t know anything about the new CEO so did a search and found some comments which I hope Maidsafe have checked out and are happy there are no future issues with……

https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaMusic/comments/11mkl9y/another_day_another_sec_complain_filed_against/

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I can’t comment on the veracity of any of that, though that particular thread seems weak (a screenshot of something somebody wrote in an online form and three identical comments from different people).

What I take from that is that Safe Network will encounter a lot of this kind of bad-mouthing online as soon as things get moving. There are lots of people who regard anything with a token as a scam, and will not see past that part of this project to the value and benefits simply because of that.

So I expect far worse - especially with the deep fakes and LLM driven spam etc. - we’ve had it in tiny bites on the forum and SM, but it is going to get far far worse and we’ll have to let it be and focus on getting this project into the hands of those who need it and aren’t discouraged by a few vocal detractors.

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this link in thread is real https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr-25659 but in this link isnt Bux name.

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The SEC link doesn’t mention GALA either - or at least I didn’t see it anywhere.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Utah-based company Green United, LLC, its founder Wright W. Thurston, and one of its promoters, Kristoffer A. Krohn, with allegedly defrauding investors in connection with an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities.

The connection seems to be that GALA was connected to these people somehow. So I don’t see any link to Bux being implicated and AFAIK, she could just be an innocent victim. That said, I don’t know if any of this has even been successfully litigated … and innocent until proven guilty.

@moderators maybe this could be in it’s own concerns thread?

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This was 6 months ago and it looks like Eric and Wight are fighting amongst themselves now?

Just seems it’s a them issue and Bux was caught in a power struggle?

If I have the dates right it looks like Bux came on right before this happened. I’ve been watching Suits too much lately and have to many outlandish ideas on what reasons they had when hiring.

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That’s what I love about this forum, there are cheerleaders and there are also skeptics. I’m not afraid to hear both sides of any issue.

I don’t see any problems with Maidsafe’s new changes. I always have my eyes open though.

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We did extensively. These days you will not find any CEO without negative comments. Look at what folk say and have said about me, you will have heard in personally to.

Folk will continue to bring that kind of junk up, but it’s just junk and it’s thrown at everyone. Especially if there are shares or tokens involved. That seems to drive people to believe they have absolute power over others and can make demands and these days claim class action suits or SEC complaints and so on.

This is what makes innovation much harder these days.

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I looked through the thread you linked to and it seems to me that there was a screen shot posted there that might be from her where she seems to be trying to steer that project away from a legal pitfall. And when that didn’t work she resigned.

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When I look at Bux Twitter and who she is I am more than happy that @maidsafe chose her for this role.
She appears energetic and refreshing, modest but same time making people engage in a fun and positive way. There’s always haters everywhere, and often without little reason.

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