Another Facebook Executive Plans to Exit

Just weeks after Facebook’s head of Novi David Marcus left the company, Tomer Barel, the co-creator of the social media tech giant’s cryptocurrency initiative, is planning his exit in February.

Like Marcus, Barel said he has no immediate plans following his departure and is not leaving Facebook to take a new position elsewhere.

“Getting Libra/Diem and Calibra/Novi off the ground was a once-in-a-lifetime experience: exhilarating, fascinating, challenging, at times frustrating. It stretched me and taught me new stuff every day,” Barel said in a LinkedIn post. “I am forever thankful to my friend and boss David Marcus for pulling me in. I am also incredibly appreciative of the choice Meta and its top leadership made to back such an ambitious project despite the hostile environment it has been operating in. Few other companies, if any, would have had the courage and conviction to do so.”

See also: David Marcus Departs Facebook, Along With the Last Remnant of Libra’s Battered Brand

“As for what’s next for me — I don’t know yet. The vines in the vineyard are growing slowly, the winery will soon start being built, but both will take time to bear fruit. More adventures may come along the way,” Barel added.

He also said he didn’t think he accomplished what he set out to do at Novi, and pointed to the work environment as “hostile” — however, he expressed appreciation for the leadership and what they created.

“I leave without being able to say to myself ‘mission accomplished.’ We created amazing tech, a state-of-the-art digital wallet, world-class risk, compliance and care capabilities, brought them to life through the launch of the Novi wallet in beta mode, including on WhatsApp, and certainly made many people think and talk about the excluding nature of our financial system and the underlying favoritism,” he said in the post.

Read more: Meta’s WhatsApp Launches Payments Pilot With Novi Crypto Wallet

“But the goal of making a real difference in the lives of two billion unbanked people is still to be reached. It remains a mission I care deeply about. I know the Novi team feels the same way,” Barel added.

Marcus responded to Barel’s post, writing, “Tomer – thank you for being foolish enough to join me as a wingman on this incredible journey of ours. This adventure has brought us closer than ever and for that alone, it was all worth it! Of course, for many other reasons too, including building a kickass team together. Incredibly grateful for everything.”