Exclusive Q&A with Anna Ladyshenski, Page Executive’s In-House Blockchain Expert

Curious about a leadership career in blockchain? We caught up with Anna Ladyshenski (Partner, Blockchain & Web3) to ask her about the current state of this rapidly-evolving sector. With its potential to revolutionise industries from finance to supply chain management, Blockchain is attracting a growing pool of tech leadership talent.

But where are the jobs, and who's hiring? Let's find out! 👇 

What types of companies are currently seeking blockchain professionals—are they predominantly startups, tech firms, financial institutions, or others?

Unsurprisingly, the highest demand for blockchain professionals comes from the blockchain industry itself. These are mainly startups and smaller companies looking for skilled professionals in core technologies like Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols, DeFi projects, along with emerging applications like Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization and Decentralised Physical Infrastructure (DePin).

There is also some demand within traditional companies to hire blockchain professionals, with the largest demand coming from financial institutions. Big tech companies often have small blockchain divisions, but most of the time they prefer to transfer employees into Web3 roles, instead of hiring externally.

How does the demand for blockchain leaders vary across different regions or countries?

Blockchain is by far the most international, remote-friendly industry there is. Companies often hire the best talent regardless of their country of residency, offering a high degree of flexibility for professionals. However, collaboration is still important, so companies usually prefer their key hires to be in overlapping time zones for smoother coordination.

Page Executive's Talent Trends 2024 report revealed that flexibility is no longer a nice-to-have, it's a top priority for today's workforce. Even as companies encourage a return to the office, employees increasingly expect the ability to work flexibly. The Talent Trends 2024 report is a comprehensive global survey of nearly 50,000 skilled professionals conducted by PageGroup. Read the full insights here.

What advice would you give to tech leaders looking to pivot or advance their careers in blockchain?

The global blockchain space is attracting a lot of talent, so standing out is key for an international career with leading protocols. You have great chances if you come from a leading Web2 corporation, yet you should also be aware that the space is extremely popular among the top tech talents, and therefore competition is very high for the best roles at the leading protocols and foundations. Consider attending industry conferences to connect with hiring protocols in person.

Real stories of tech professionals who made the career switch to blockchain

Building a fairer, more open digital ecosystem is a shared goal. A career in blockchain is one path to contribute to this future. Ready to make the leap? Get inspired by these tech professionals who transitioned into successful blockchain careers.

We asked Jens why he decided to go into blockchain, here's what he had to say:

Jens Porup (Ava Labs / Avalanche) 

Jens Porup is the Chief Information Security Officer at Ava Labs, a leading international Layer 1 blockchain. Jens holds a master's degree in Cybersecurity (MICS) from UC Berkeley and was working in cybersecurity for more than 20 years before making the jump to blockchain.

There are difficult security problems to solve in blockchain. When your real security risk exceeds your regulatory compliance risk by several orders of magnitude, companies hire great security people to solve hard problems. This unique challenge inspired me to make the switch. While cybersecurity skills like reasoning from first principles are useful, most normative security strategies in other industries don’t apply in the blockchain space. What's more, the security risk is much, much greater. That means you need to tailor bespoke solutions for extreme security situations.

Adam Bates (ex-Cardano / IOHK) 

Adam Bates is the former CMO of Cardano, a public blockchain platform and the highest-ranking crypto brand in the 2022 Top Brand Intimacy Report. Before embarking on a career in blockchain, Adam worked for some of the best global advertising agencies creating marketing campaigns for tech and financial brands.

Adam told us which skills he found most valuable for working in blockchain:

“Energy. Enthusiasm. Inquisitiveness. Thick skin. Tolerance for pain. They’re the obvious ones. But understanding and appreciating that you’re working with tech that has never been built before and therefore your creativity and marketing has to be like nothing done before, that’s probably the most important thing. Never forget, the worst thing anyone can say to a marketer is, ‘that’s not creative enough’. Blockchain is the raw bleeding edge of tech and it is challenging the big players. And it won’t succeed by being a wallflower. So download your ideas and insanity every day. Reject nothing. Enjoy everything. Be relentless.”

If you're thinking about taking a career leap into the blockchain space, or would like to discuss your recruitment needs, reach out to Anna now.