Algorand Adds Ex-Comms Head at Visa, Fidelity as CMO

Michele Quintaglie tasked with helping blockchain company build brand, activate partnerships

article-image

Source: Algorand

share
  • Quintaglie formerly worked in Africa for the United Nations World Food Programme and UNICEF
  • Algorand revealed in May that it would become the official blockchain platform of FIFA

Algorand has hired a former communications executive at Fidelity Investments and Visa as its chief marketing officer as the blockchain company seeks to build its brand and reach through strategic growth initiatives.

Michele Quintaglie is tasked with helping the company with its narrative development and influencer marketing, and will be on the lookout for sponsorship opportunities, Algorand told Blockworks Wednesday. 

“Algorand represents the key values I look for in any great brand — amazing technology, global reach, proven leadership, and most importantly, a purpose-driven ethos to create technologies that offer meaningful societal and environmental impact,” Quintaglie said in a statement.  

The incoming Algorand CMO was head of communications for Fidelity Investments’ asset management arm from 2005 to 2014, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was global head of communications for Visa for three years after that.

More recently, she was the global external communications and corporate marketing head for United Technologies and head of global media relations and public affairs for Raytheon Technologies after it merged with United. She left the latter post in July 2021. 

Earlier in her career, Quintaglie spent more than a decade based in Africa working as an information officer and crisis spokeswoman for the United Nations World Food Programme and UNICEF.

“With an extensive track record of proven success in global communications and marketing across the corporate, agency and UN development world, Michele will continue to strengthen Algorand’s profile as a leading provider of Web3 infrastructure,” Algorand Interim CEO Sean Ford said in a statement. 

Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden told Blockworks in February the blockchain was seeking to bolster its marketing efforts by quadrupling the size of its community engagement team and expanding its developer relations unit. 

Algorand revealed in May that it would become the official blockchain platform of FIFA, serving as a regional supporter in North America and Europe for the FIFA World Cup — which begins in Qatar in November — as well as a sponsor for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The CMO hire comes after Algorand appointed Ford, formerly the company’s chief operating officer, as its interim CEO in July. He replaced Steven Kokinos, who is set to stay with Algorand as a senior advisor until mid-2023.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).png

Research

Aave’s revenues have doubled from April lows and are fast approaching all-time highs. With 35% of borrow interest coming from ETH and 55% from stablecoins, Aave is emerging as a powerful proxy as an ETH and stablecoin beta. As looping strategies accelerate growth and Horizon positions the protocol to ride the RWA wave, Aave is shaping up as one of DeFi’s most compelling multi-narrative plays.

article-image

Solana saw $78 million in REV for August

article-image

Lit Protocol’s Vincent is shifting agentic finance from toy demos to production rails

article-image

The new system aims to unify Europe’s fragmented tokenized asset settlement and cut cross-border costs

by Blockworks /
article-image

Tron slashed fees by 60% as Plasma looms, threatening its USDT moat

article-image

The acquisition adds evaluation-based funding to Kraken Pro, giving traders access to capital on performance

by Blockworks /
article-image

The deal merges real-time pricing data with on-chain credit ratings, aiming to boost institutional adoption of decentralized finance

by Blockworks /