Artifact Labs nabs Animoca Brands' digital strategy director as new CCO

Animoca Brands’ Zaf Chow (pictured second right) has stepped down as director of digital strategy and partnerships. She will continue to serve as an advisor of the firm while taking on a new role as Artifact Labs’ chief commercial officer. 

Chow joins Artifact Labs with extensive experience in business innovation and promoting the mass adoption of NFTs and metaverses. Bringing her experience in facilitating partners' Web3 transitions, Chow will be leading the sales and business development team at Artifact Labs, guiding the company's commercial strategy and revenue generation.

As part of the firm’s effort to bolster its executive team amid Web2 giants’ growing enthusiasm for Web3 initiatives, Artifact Labs has also onboarded Brian Liang (pictured far left) as its new chief operating officer, who has worked with CEO Phillip Pon in a previous business venture. Meanwhile, Artifact Labs’ co-founder Henry Chan (pictured far right) has taken on the additional role of head of product and innovation. 

Liang first joined Artifact Labs from Peak Capital, where he served as investment director in Web3 and fintech investments. He brings considerable experience in deal sourcing, investment structuring and negotiation, due diligence and post investment management. In his new position, he will oversee the firm's strategic expansion as well as day-to-day operations.

As the head of product and innovation, Chan is responsible for driving the long-term product roadmap for Artifact Labs, the evolution of the ERC-6596 token standard, and product delivery for the firm’s customers and partners. His responsibilities include ideating and developing a product suite that empowers institutions, and guardians of culturally significant intellectual property, to embrace Web3.

The appointments come as museums, cultural institutions and corporations are accelerating their adoption of Web3-powered asset preservation work and brand marketing activities. Names from Gucci to RMS Titanic are experimenting with new, digital-first strategies to re-engage their existing fan bases, and connect with younger generations.

Artifact Labs noticed that Web3 is offering these organisations a revolutionary approach by bringing their audiences into the centre of brand activation and cultural preservation initiatives, hence it wishes to strengthen its Web3 offerings.

Commenting on the appointments, Artifact Labs CEO Phillip Pon (pictured second left) said: “We’ve seen a fantastic market response to the projects launched over the past several months. Those partnerships have ranged from our work with South China Morning Post, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s Metaverse Symphony, to RMS Titanic and the iconic Hong Kong G.O.D. brand. These projects have all re-invigorated existing fan bases and generated fresh interest in the work of these time-honored organisations,” said Pon.

Following its recent seed fundraising, Pon said it was imperative to bolster its executive team, bringing on seasoned Web3 experts to support this next phase of growth for our company and our partners.

Last month, the firm announced US$3.25M in seed fundraising, led by family office Blue Pool Capital and with participation from Animoca Ventures. Earlier this year, the firm also submitted an Ethereum Improvement Proposal, EIP-6596.

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