XRP Ledger Foundation Appoints New Executive Director, CTO in “Big Life Update” for XRP Holders

The XRP Ledger Foundation has introduced a new leadership team that will help guide the future of the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

In a statement shared with the community, the Foundation said the new executives will focus on engineering, partnerships, validator relations, operations, and community growth. At the same time, they will be working with developers and stakeholders across the network.

Key Points

• XRP Ledger Foundation unveiled a new leadership team to guide XRPL growth, engineering, and operations.
• Brett Mollin is Executive Director, while Denis Angell became the Foundation’s new CTO.
• Former Ripple executive Rene Huijsen joined operations as the Foundation expands ecosystem support.
• XRP community figure Vet called his new Director of Community role a major “big life update.”

Brett Mollin Named Executive Director

Leading the new structure is Brett Mollin, who has been appointed Executive Director of the XRP Ledger Foundation. Mollin will oversee the Foundation’s long-term strategy, including engineering, partnerships, operations, and community programs.

He brings more than 10 years of crypto industry experience and will help support the growth of the XRPL ecosystem. The Foundation noted that many XRP community members had already seen Mollin become more active in XRPL discussions earlier this year.

Denis Angell Becomes CTO

Another major appointment is Denis Angell as Chief Technology Officer.

Angell is famous in the XRP Ledger developer community for his work on the XRPL codebase. He is moving from XRPL Labs to the XRP Ledger Foundation and will now lead technical development efforts.

His role includes overseeing protocol upgrades, technical standards, and engineering contributions while helping maintain the network’s core principles. The Foundation described him as one of the most active contributors to the XRPL protocol over the years.

Former Ripple Executive Joins Operations Team

The Foundation also announced Rene Huijsen as Director of Operations. Huijsen previously worked at Ripple as Director of Payment Operations. Moreover, he participated in a Bank for International Settlements task force focused on cross-border payments.

According to the Foundation, he will manage operational and financial coordination to support ecosystem growth.

Vet Calls New Role a “Big Life Update”

Meanwhile, one of the most discussed appointments in the XRP community was Hussein Zangana, better known as Vet, who was named Director of Community.

Vet has long been recognized within XRP circles for validator operations, educational content, amendment proposals, X Spaces, livestreams, and co-founding projects such as XRP Cafe.

Reacting to the announcement, Zangana described the move as a “big life update”. He said he is excited to help grow the XRP ecosystem alongside the new leadership team.

He also hinted that “a lot” is currently in development behind the scenes and said the timing for the transition was “perfect.”

The appointment drew reactions from the XRP community, with many users congratulating the new leadership team.

Among them was Mayukha Vadari, a Staff Software Engineer at RippleX. She publicly congratulated Vet and said she was looking forward to seeing great accomplishments in the role.

Congrats!! 🎉 Looking forward to what you will do in the role!

— Mayukha Vadari (@msvadari) May 8, 2026

XRP Ledger Foundation Signals More Ecosystem Collaboration

The XRP Ledger Foundation said the new leadership team will work more closely with developers, validators, projects, and community members across the XRPL ecosystem.

It added that future efforts will focus on transparency, collaboration, and strengthening the XRP Ledger community.