Calling All Superheroes: Who Can Fill Brantly’s Shoes at ENS Foundation?

Earlier this week, brantly.eth posted his intent to resign as one of the three directors of the ENS Foundation. His resignation will take effect following the appointment of a new director, and judging by the nomination and election timeline, a new director will be appointed on or around May 5, 2023.

How Did We Get Here?

While we don’t know the exact circumstances that led to his resignation, one could venture a guess. Most of us remember the firestorm of backlash that the ENS community unleashed upon Brantly in March 2022, prompted by a 2016 tweet that resurfaced. This led to a community-wide vote to unseat him (which ultimately failed),but it seems that the continued negative feelings and constant social media bashing may have driven him to wave the white flag.

That’s not to say that all DAO members wanted Brantly to leave; quite the contrary. He has many supporters in the community who will gravely miss having him at the helm.

Looking Ahead

Soon, the focus of the discussion will shift from examining the past to anticipating the future. Who will be voted in as the new director? What traits are essential for the position? What skills should the new director possess?

A few of the most important qualities the incoming director should have include:

• Commitment to the mission: The director should be dedicated to the ENS Foundation’s mission and willing to work towards achieving its goals.
• Strategic thinking: The director should be able to think strategically and provide direction to the organization, considering its long-term goals.
• Financial acumen: The director should have a solid understanding of financial management, including budgeting, financial reporting, and risk management.
• Strong communication: The director should have strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and be able to communicate effectively with different audiences.
• Leadership: The director should be a strong leader who can inspire and motivate others to work towards the organization’s objectives. An effective leader will also know which projects to take on and which ones to delegate or postpone.

Leadership teams that possess most of these traits tend to enact better decision-making, improved problem-solving, enhanced creativity and innovation, increased efficiency, and better risk management than teams that fall short of these skills.

The Other Players

The two other directors of the ENS Foundation are Nick Johnson (nick.eth) and Kevin Gaspar (validator.eth).

Nick is an experienced entrepreneur and software developer through and through. He has a passion for technology, innovation, and solutions that scale. Nick is also the creator and lead developer of ENS Labs.

Kevin is a software engineer with experience in the telecommunications industry and is also a full-time support lead for ENS Labs.

Nick and Kevin are clearly both very accomplished software developers and they understand the intricacies of web3 technology. They have similar skill sets and are essential to the ENS ecosystem.

The Missing Link

There are certain proficiencies that technically-leaning people tend not to possess, and thus, the current director team is lacking. In order to round-out the team, I propose that the incoming director be competent in these areas (as well as the above-mentioned leadership qualities):

• Marketing acumen: The director must effectively communicate ideas and be able to sell the benefits of the Foundation to the community and outsiders.
• Marketing acumen: The director must understand the needs and wants of the customers (read: community) and use this focus to direct proper resources to execute their requests.
• Marketing acumen: The director must use various techniques to continue building the brand, including creating a more focused brand strategy and building awareness, loyalty, and equity.
• Marketing acumen: The director must develop strategies to drive ENS adoption and achieve the Foundation’s objectives.

To be clear, I believe the new director should be less focused on the technical aspects of ENS and must be superior in his or her sales and marketing expertise. Being able to translate complex ideas into layman’s terms for the masses is critical. It’s also crucial to have a leader who isn’t afraid to be a champion for the industry.

The new director must be the integrator, both internally — synthesizing technological capability with market needs — and externally — bringing the masses into the community as participants and allies.

Several names have been thrown around the ENS forums and crypto twitter for Brantly’s replacement, but it’s yet to be determined who will be confident enough to throw their hat in the ring for nomination.

Nominations open on April 10 and close on April 30. You can be sure that ENS HQ will be watching this closely and will keep you informed along the way.