Libra Association charter press release

Libra Association: moving to a formal governance structure

Geneva, 15 October, 2019 – Today, the 21 initial members of the Libra Association* formally signed onto the Libra Association charter, formalized the Libra Association council, elected the Board of Directors, and appointed members of the Libra Association executive team.

The meeting included representatives from the following organizations, who have now signed onto the Libra Association charter: Anchorage, Andreessen Horowitz, Bison Trails Co., Breakthrough Initiatives, L.P., Novi Financial**, Coinbase, Inc., Creative Destruction Lab, Farfetch UK Limited, Iliad, Kiva Microfunds, Lyft, Inc., Mercy Corps, PayU, Ribbit Capital, Spotify AB, Thrive Capital, Uber Technologies, Inc., Union Square Ventures, Vodafone, Women’s World Banking, Xapo Holdings Limited

In signing onto the Libra charter, these organization representatives became the initial members of the Libra Council, the body responsible for the governance of the Libra Association. In this meeting, the Libra Council also appointed a board of directors, which includes the following individuals: Matthew Davie (Kiva Microfunds); Patrick Ellis (PayU); Katie Haun (Andreessen Horowitz); David Marcus (Novi Financial); and Wences Casares (Xapo Holdings Limited). The Libra board then voted on and officially appointed the initial Association staff: Bertrand Perez, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Managing Director; Dante Disparte, Head of Policy and Communications; and Kurt Hemecker, Head of Business Development.

Since the Libra project was announced on June 18, 2019, it has generated excitement around the world. The Libra Association confirmed that over 1,500 entities have indicated interest in joining the Libra project effort, and approximately 180 entities have met the preliminary membership criteria shared at wp.diem.com.

The Association is eager to pursue its mission of building a better payment network, broadening access to essential financial services, and lowering costs for billions of people who need it the most. As an association, members will continue critical work with applicable regulators around the world, begin the important process of standing up a governance and policy structure and create a transparent membership criteria and admissions process that will be applied in a uniform and non-discriminatory manner to begin welcoming the first wave of new members.

Meeting minutes on the Libra charter and board process can be found here.

*On December 1, 2020, the Libra Association was renamed to Diem Association.
**Novi was first announced as Calibra in 2019.