Fast-growing NFT marketplace OpenSea has secured outgoing Lyft CFO Brian Roberts as its first-ever finance chief. Roberts will join OpenSea in early 2022. Lyft previously said that Roberts’ replacement, Elaine Paul, will officially take over on January 3.
Roberts has served as Lyft's CFO since 2014 and brings additional experience from his time as the SVP of Business Development & Strategy for Walmart's e-commerce division and as the CVP of Corporate Development at Microsoft.
In his blog post announcing Roberts’ hire, Devin Finzer, the co-founder and CEO of OpenSea, highlighted Roberts's experience guiding Lyft through its own period of hypergrowth, including multiple fundraising rounds and an IPO. He also stated, "I'm confident that his experience and guidance will be invaluable as we navigate the journey of bringing NFTs to the world while scaling the company and serving the community."
NFTs have burst into the spotlight in 2021. They’ve captured headlines with the mind-boggling sale prices each piece can command. OpenSea, which was founded in 2017, has been able to channel this success to drive its own meteoric growth. For instance, the company eclipsed $3 billion in trading volume for August 2021, up around 800% compared to July 2021.
"I have spent my career seeking out companies with mission-driven leadership, commitment to building strong community, and an ambition to shape the world using frontier tech," Roberts said in a LinkedIn post. "From my first meeting with Devin and Alex, it was clear to me that OpenSea was a perfect fit. The team, the moment, and the space are all there, and I can't wait to be part of the magic."
Roberts' expertise will be put to the test right away as Finzer confirmed to Bloomberg that OpenSea is currently in conversations with investors about raising additional funds but that it still needs to decide what kind of investor it wants to add. Currently, OpenSea is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Coinbase and Blockchain Capital.
