David Schwartz Joins XRP Ledger Foundation as Honorary Adviser

On May 11 the XRP Ledger Foundation announced on X that Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz joined its board as an honorary adviser to provide technical guidance while the foundation formalizes its engineering, operations and community leadership.

Schwartz, who helped design the XRP Ledger and previously served as Ripple’s chief technology officer, will supply long-term technical perspective. The foundation said the appointment does not change the operational chain of command; a new executive team will handle day-to-day work.

The foundation published a separate leadership post on May 8 naming Brett Mollin executive director, Denis Angell chief technology officer, Rene Huijsen director of operations and Hussein “Vet” Zangana director of community. Mollin will set strategy in coordination with the board. Angell, who joined from XRPL Labs, will lead engineering work on ledger amendments, standards and production contributions. Huijsen will oversee finance and operations; his background includes payment operations at Ripple and participation in a Bank for International Settlements cross-border payments taskforce. Zangana will manage communications, validator and developer engagement, events and content.

In its announcement the foundation wrote, “David brings deep technical insight and a long-term perspective that will help strengthen the Foundation’s technical stewardship of the ecosystem.” The foundation described Schwartz’s role as an honorary board position that adds a technical advisory layer alongside the staff.

The foundation defined Zangana’s community portfolio to include infrastructure work, amendment proposals, documentation, educational content, livestreams and spaces for developer and validator engagement. The May 8 and May 11 posts together present a formal staff structure with a named technical adviser while the foundation continues work to support the ledger and those building on it.