The Aura Blockchain Consortium, an association of luxury brands dedicated to using blockchain to improve traceability and transparency of their goods, has appointed tech entrepreneur Romain Carrere its new chief executive and general secretary.

Carrere, whose background includes advising web3 start-ups and luxury companies on their digital strategies, is tasked with driving the group’s “new phase of growth” as it scales its platform globally, the consortium said in a release. He succeeds Daniela Ott, who helped establish Aura’s foundations as it sought to give blockchain-based digital twins to millions of items.

Aura was founded as a non-profit in April 2021 by LVMH, Prada and Richemont-owned Cartier to provide luxury companies a single blockchain on which they could record their products, offering consumers a way to verify their authenticity and in some cases information such as the product’s history. OTB Group, owner of Maison Margiela, entered the partnership shortly after, and since, others such as the Mercedes-Benz Group have joined as well.

Despite the broader struggles faced by the crypto world and NFTs, Aura has charged ahead with its vision for a luxury blockchain. By Dec. 2021, Ott told BoF they had logged “double-digit millions of products,” and the group has continued scaling its platform.

In a statement, Lorenzo Bertelli, Aura’s chairman and Prada’s group marketing director and head of corporate social responsibility, said Carrere “will help steer the Consortium into a new strategic phase and fulfil our vision on a global scale.”

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