CRYO-8: Founding Steward Elections 2024

Submitted by: Eli Mohamad Team Members: CryoCore

1. Problem

CRYO-6 governance proposal set up the basic infrastructure for CryoDAO, including organizational Bodies and Working Groups. It is necessary to set up an election process for Founding Stewards, who once elected go on to found the Working Groups and author the DAO Strategic Plan for the year.

2. Solution

Every 12 months, CryoDAO Members will elect the following Stewards:

1. Operations Steward, leading the Operations Working Group
2. Awareness Steward, leading the Awareness Working Group
3. Dealflow Steward, leading the Dealflow Working Group

While Members hold legislative power in CryoDAO, Working Groups, led by their Stewards, are the execution layer. Stewards execute and make decisions on a day-to-day basis within the bounds empowered by the Members (see First Tasks below).

NOTE: This proposal addresses exclusively the first election of CryoDAO Stewards, i.e. the Founding Stewards. Founding Stewards will have a slightly different job description from those contributing to the DAO in a year and later, as they will have to set up project and contributor management structures for the first time. As such, they will play one of the most important roles in the continuous growth and efficient operation of the DAO. New governance should be drafted for subsequent elections, offering a more apt process for the DAO given its maturity stage.

2.1 Election Process

The electoral process advances through the following stages:

• I) Announcement. Founding Steward Elections are announced publicly.
• II) Applications. Candidates submit their CV and a free-form Motivational Letter explaining how they exceed the criteria for the role they are applying (5 days)
• III) Shortlist. CryoCore selects the most promising candidates, completes interviews, and publishes a shortlist with their reviews. (2 days)
• IV) Voting. The shortlisted candidates, their applications, and CryoCore’s reviews are all published in the form of governance proposals on Snapshot for Members to vote on. (7 days)

The results are then published and Stewards may formally begin work.

Any CryoDAO Member may apply for the role of a Founding Steward. Note that there are no special nominations ever, and each candidate will have to go through the same application process. Members support candidates by voting for them throughout the elections.

CryoCore members may apply to perform the role of a Founding Steward. Any such CryoCore member will be excluded from officially performing candidate reviews for the specific role they are applying for. Should a CryoCore member and another candidate apply for the same role and it is determined that they have equal qualifications, the CryoCore member shall withdraw their application.

The Founding Steward mandate is 12 months.

2.2 Key Prerequisites and Minimum Criteria

All Steward candidates must show how they meet the following criteria:

• A) Leadership. Clearly demonstrates a track record of outstanding leadership capabilities by having built and led multiple high-performing teams in the implementation of strategic initiatives. The candidate has failed before and can demonstrate the ability to learn from failures.
• B) Commitment to the Vision. Clearly understands the Vision and has demonstrated the ability to articulate it in a clear, compelling, passionate, and persuasive manner.
• C) Project management. Clearly demonstrates a track record of the ability to design and implement operational plans leading their team/department, aligned with the overall organizational strategy, as well as proficiency in the use of project management software. The candidate must be proficient in budget management and planning.
• D) Decision-making. Employs a data-driven, analytical, rational approach to decision-making; is confident and decisive in making critical judgments, even in ambiguous situations.
• E) Accountability. Has been held accountable for team and organizational results to superiors, and can clearly articulate why they loved it. Skilled in reporting on team performance and progress toward established goals.
• F) Team Building. Can clearly articulate how they will empower and foster ownership within their WG Members, creating a culture of high performance and accountability. Must be able to provide clear and consistent direction, feedback, and recognition to keep team members engaged and motivated. The candidate has demonstrated an outstanding ability to delegate tasks.
• G) Entrepreneurial Mindset. The candidate is clearly a self-starter and understands the multitudes necessary to build early-stage organizations.

The Operations and Dealflow Stewards must additionally meet the following requirements:

• a) Exceptional ability to manage and coordinate multiple stakeholders and teams remotely.
• b) Knowledge of DAO operations.
• c) Exceptional ability to design and implement organizational operational plans and budgets equally.
• d) Ability to persuasively communicate and engage with scientists, CEOs, and venture capitalists, equally.
• e) In-depth, hands-on knowledge of the cryopreservation field, including key players.
• f) Has successfully fundraised, from any source, and has led a due diligence process, for any organization.
• g) Has demonstrated unparalleled adherence to compliance and regulatory needs.

The Awareness Steward must additionally meet the following requirements:

• a) Exceptional forum moderation skills.
• b) Demonstrated ability to grow online communities evidenced by metrics.
• c) In-depth knowledge of crypto and blockchain communities’ mentality, behavior, and what makes them tick.
• d) In-depth knowledge of governance tokens and their compliance and regulatory peculiarities.
• e) Experience in managing and scheduling social media content on multiple platforms, engaging with followers, and monitoring online conversations.
• f) Experienced in the creation and use of various content formats.

Stewards are known to Members by their full legal name and surname in Discord and must be willing to undergo a KYC procedure if asked to do so in line with regulatory and compliance needs. This is not a 9-5 role. This is not a junior role. Significant work experience in multiple teams is a core criterion.

2.3 First tasks

The newly elected Founding Stewards shall author the DAO Strategic Plan and the WG Yearly Plans and put them through the governance process within 30 days of the Voting phase of the elections. The Founding Stewards shall refer to governance CRYO-6 Operational Framework, section 2.3. for the Plans’ content and drafting process.

The Stewards are encouraged to act within DAO governance frameworks to fulfill their role even before the Plans are voted in to create momentum and avoid delays. In such cases, CryoCore shall use critical thinking and a rational approach to approve such formally proposed activities and the accompanying budgets, within sensible limits.

2.4 Operational principles, responsibilities, and accountability

The Steward is a uniquely qualified individual, as determined and elected by the community annually, and is ultimately responsible for the achievement of the Working Group’s goals. The Steward’s main responsibility is not just to enable Working Group members to get “more” done, but rather that the WG goals stated in the Yearly Plan are achieved. The Steward is directly accountable for WG performance to the DAO Members, and goal achievement is the key criterion in Steward performance reviews.

The Steward actively applies the principles of smart budgets, decentralization, and efficiency, as detailed in governance CRYO-6, section 2.1, to WG operations and management.

The Steward recruits WG members from the CryoDAO community, oversees the achievement of the WG’s objectives, and holds the WG Members accountable. The Steward’s role is not to recruit as many Members as possible, nor to cater to each individual Member purely because they are token holders. The Steward must not allow unqualified individuals to become WG contributors, and must actively remove WG Members who do not constructively contribute to the achievement of WG goals. Smaller, specialized, empowered, and uniquely qualified teams are preferred.

The Stewards manage and deliver bounties and compensations for the Working Group Members in a timely manner and in concordance with the DAO Compensation Framework governance, and perform administrative duties as required.

The Steward designates a person among the WG members who can replace them in case of emergency, or in case the elected Steward isn’t able to perform WG duties.

2.5 Performance Reviews and Offboarding

Stewards serve in their role to the benefit of DAO Members. Stewards present WG performance every four months publicly in a Review, addressing the WG Yearly Plan, goal achievement progress, and approved budget adherence.

If the Steward underperforms, Members may use the DAO governance process to initiate a vote of no confidence. Stewards offboarded within this process may not apply for a Steward role again.

If a Steward underperforms twice during their mandate (i.e. the Review shows the WG has failed to achieve its goals for the second time in a row, and an offboarding process is not initiated, the Members are encouraged to initiate a vote of no confidence for CryoCore.

Extraordinarily, a combination of at least three CryoCore Members and/or Stewards may initiate a vote of no confidence for legitimate reasons, gross negligence or incompetence, or when the Steward’s actions resulted in significant legal or reputational risk to the DAO.

3. Requested Budget

No budget is requested for the implementation of this proposal.

4. Timeline

This proposal should be executed immediately upon a positive community vote.