Aya Miyaguchi is stepping down as CEO of the Ethereum Foundation to become its board chair, focusing on global partnerships. The leadership change follows a restructuring effort aimed at aligning long-term institutional strategy with the foundation’s future direction. Miyaguchi’s decision comes after years of fostering regulatory engagement and academic collaborations. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has led this restructuring, stating that it aligns Miyaguchi’s role as board chair with broader strategic goals. While the leadership transition was announced on July 15th, internal discussions about reshaping roles began a year ago. Miyaguchi’s successor will be appointed at a later date, although sources indicate an external candidate is being considered for the position. Criticism from members of the Ethereum community emerged following the announcement. Some developers and validators raised concerns about the network’s scalability challenges and delays in addressing congestion issues, with some asserting that leadership changes alone won’t solve these problems without concrete technical roadmaps.