We are thrilled to welcome Caleb Applegate as Passage's new Chief Executive Officer, along with Chief of Staff Bryana Kortendick!
At Passage, we believe the Metaverse is far more than just a digital experience.
It’s not just pixels on a screen or land plots in a virtual world. It will be an extension of reality, where value flows freely and our experiences connect to the real world.
But achieving this vision requires more than just code. It takes a passionate team of forward-thinkers and builders, innovative partners—and caffeine, of course.
Today, we are excited to welcome Caleb Applegate as Chief Executive Officer to lead this team.
With this addition, our fearless leader Lex Avellino will continue to evangelize Passage as our Chief Marketing Officer, working between the creative and product teams to help communicate the Passage experience to builders and communities.
“Caleb has an incredible background in creative and blockchain thought leadership. This dual perspective is essential to building a platform that is both technically strong and has mass appeal. For the Metaverse to see mainstream adoption, we need people like Caleb at the frontier. This also positions me to be closer to the creative development of the platform and the user experience.”
– Lex Avellino, Founder & CMO of Passage
A veteran of web3, Caleb has a wealth of executive experience in blockchain, gaming, and entertainment. In his most recent role as COO of Enjin, he led a $38.9M raise and helped rally $200M in retail support to secure one of the first-ever Polkadot parachain slots.
As we prepare for Closed Beta in early 2023 and work to close our ongoing $9.2M private sale of the PASG token, Caleb’s experience will be critical.
Prior to Enjin, Caleb was co-owner of Mineplex, one of the world’s largest Minecraft gaming servers, where he helped pioneer the Minecraft Marketplace. He also moonlights as a Hollywood filmmaker, with his first feature film, Dear Eleanor, acquired and distributed by Sony Pictures.
Beyond his professional acumen, Caleb’s focus on supporting people and creating meaningful experiences is perhaps the most important.
“I am thrilled to join Passage at such a pivotal time. The Passage team understands the Metaverse is more than just a game or digital world, it’s a new layer of value that everyone should be able to access.
Passage will open up doors to this space, allowing people to connect better to new value and experiences. I look forward to contributing to a vision that will not only shape a company, but the future of virtual and physical experiences.”
– Caleb Applegate, CEO of Passage
Alongside Caleb, we are excited to welcome Bryana Kortendick as our new Chief of Staff. Bryana is former VP of Operations & Communications at Enjin, where she played an integral role in the company’s marketing, communications, and partnerships since 2018.
Together, Caleb and Bryana helped grow Enjin’s NFT ecosystem to over 100 adopters and led key relationships with clients like Microsoft. At Passage, Bryana’s skillset and communications know-how will support the Passage leadership team, marketing, and beyond.
Today marks a promising new chapter in the Passage book.
Whether you’ve been along for the ride since the beginning, or you’re new to our community: thank you for being part of our story!
We have some really exciting developments and events in store, so stay tuned! And keep an eye out for our brand new podcast episode to learn more about Caleb’s story this week.
In the meantime, follow us over on Twitter AND TikTok to keep tabs on what we're working on.
