To say that the last fourteen months has been an interesting ride would be the understatement of the century. I joined Oyster in December 2017 as the CFO of the project, took over the CEO role in June 2018 and transitioned over into the Opacity CEO role after the now infamous events of late October 2018. While our team has faced its share of challenges since inception, I am extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish and am excited about Opacity’s future.

It is on that note that I pass along, in bittersweet fashion, that I will be stepping down as CEO of Opacity. While this is an incredibly difficult decision, I believe that the timing is right to allow Opacity to continue to move forward with a laser focus on further product development and further separate this project from its genesis form. I know this may come as a surprise to many in our community, but I am confident that this will be in the best interest of the project long-term.

Jason Coppola, who we officially announced as joining the team in our previous update, will be taking over my role. While this may seem a bit sudden, Jason has been an active advisor and key role player behind the scenes for the project for several months before fully joining the team this year. He quickly helped develop a product strategy for Opacity and helped the team organize around the plan.

Jason joins Opacity with 20 years in software product development, with experience in Engineering, Product, and as an Executive leader. He has led teams within large enterprises such as Microsoft, Boeing, Paypal, and Salesforce, as well as within startups including Credit Karma and ReferralMD.

I’m confident that Jason and the entire team are fully capable of continuing our work and will successfully deliver on Opacity’s vision. Onwards and upwards.

-Bill