Key Takeaways:
- Founders Andre Cronje, Michael Kong and David Richardson have resigned from the board at Sonic Labs.
- Matt Visser is new to the role of CEO and Kosta Kourkoumelis is new to the role of COO.
- At the same time, Sonic is rolling out governance reforms and developing its blockchain infrastructure.
Sonic Labs has announced a major shift in its leadership, which represents one of the largest organization changes since the project went from Fantom to Sonic. The shift follows the team’s struggle to keep up with declining token prices, less enthusiastic community sentiment and an increasing desire for accountability.
https://t.co/FIRsfTU6vg
— Sonic (@SonicLabs) June 19, 2026
The announcement acknowledges that some of the project’s most influential voices are moving out of the decision-making process on the board, with a new executive team to handle day-to-day operations.
Founding Leaders Leave the Board
According to Sonic Labs, Andre Cronje, Michael Kong and David Richardson have stepped down from the Sonic Lab’s board.
The three were instrumental in shaping the ecosystem and its development to a high-performance Layer-1 blockchain. They will still be project supporters, but not involved in business decisions or any governance issues, said Sonic.
The resignations mark a major change for the firm, particularly for the decentralized finance and blockchain development sector, where Cronje has long held a dominant position. Instead of touting the change as a typical executive shuffle, Sonic openly admitted its struggles with the project and described the change as a reset of the organization.
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New Management Focuses on Execution
Matt Visser has been appointed CEO and Kosta Kourkoumelis will become CFO.
The company says it’s not about new products or ambitious roadmaps at this time. Rather, the leadership team will emphasize discipline, transparency and restore confidence in the ecosystem.
A “1% Better Every Day” Approach
Visser described a plan that has a focus on gradual change instead of radical change.
The new CEO said that Sonic’s goal is to make strides visible each and every day, and let the benefits add up over time. The next 100 days will be one of steadfast implementation of the strategy and not of big announcements, the company said.
Sonic also admitted that its situation is bad today, and that token performance and community sentiment are down. The team said it would tackle the issues directly and not try to gloss over them.
Governance Reforms Take Center Stage
In the restructuring, Sonic Labs will introduce a few governance and operational changes. The company aims to increase transparency in the decision making process by giving more visibility of the key decisions and the rationale behind them.
A separate risk and compliance committee will also be set up to augment the risk and control framework and enhance internal controls. Sonic also promised to better articulate with the token holders and give clear updates on the progress and failures.
The changes seek to add the necessary accountability at a time when many crypto communities are calling for better standards from project teams.
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