SIMBA Chain Hires COO
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South Bend-based SIMBA Chain has hired Joe Matz as its chief operating officer. The company says Matz, a 25-year veteran in licensing and finance for Microsoft, had consulted with the blockchain company for the last two years before accepting a full-time leadership role.
In his new role, Matz will oversee the company’s enterprise, government, and education operations in the United States and Europe. He will also lead business development for SIMBA Chain’s NFT marketplaces and other joint ventures.
“Having worked with Joe in his advisory role, I developed a deep respect for his experience at Microsoft in creating and implementing global models to scale businesses, developing and executing global licensing and financing models, and building high performing teams,” said SIMBA Chain Chief Executive Officer Bryan Ritchie. “Joe also has deep insights into global companies’ current and future technology requirements. He is a tremendous asset to our team.”
Matz served as corporate vice president for worldwide licensing at Microsoft until his departure from the company in 2019. In the role, SIMBA Chain says he addressed limitations to rapid cloud adoption and cloud licensing.
“Seeing the great work and commercial traction happening at SIMBA Chain these last two years as an advisor, I jumped at the opportunity to engage through a full-time position,” said Matz. “The company has done something truly remarkable in creating a platform that overrides the complexities of blockchain technology so it’s simple for users to deploy and reap the rewards of trustless Web3 applications.”
The company recently appointed two other C-suite executives. Bryan Ritchie was appointed chief executive officer in November, and Rob van Es was appointed chief revenue officer in December.
Last year, SIMBA Chain raised $25 million in Series A funding.