14 April 2025 - Intersect Board of Directors Special Session with Petitioners

Attendees:

#	Board Seat	Designator
1	IOG	Gerard Moroney
2	EMURGO	Nikhil Joshi
3	Education	Steven Lupien
4	Membership	Kavinda Kariyapperuma
5	Membership	Adam Rusch
	Others	Name
	Intersect Executive Team	Jack Briggs
	Intersect Executive Team	Nick Cook
	Intersect - Facilitator	Simo Simovic
	Intersect Member	Kyle Solomon
	Intersect Member	Hosky
	Intersect Member	Thiago Nunes

Absentees:

Kavinda Kariyapperuma

Agenda:

Opening of the Meeting

• Welcome remarks by Chair of the Board of Directors.

• Roll call of Board Directors.

Presentation of Membership Issues

• Presentation and discussion of issues currently facing the membership.

Adjournment

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Meeting Recording: Intersect Board of Directors Special Session with Petitioners - April_16_2025.mp4

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Key Outcomes & Discussion

1. Opening of the Meeting (Remarks and Board Introduction)

The meeting opened with remarks from the Board Chair, who acknowledged the concerns raised by the community and emphasized the board's commitment to transparency, responsiveness, and collaborative problem-solving. The Chair confirmed that the board would carefully consider all issues presented and committed to providing a clear timeline outlining the board's approach to addressing these issues.

Board members introduced themselves, reinforcing their willingness to listen actively and gain a thorough understanding of membership and community concerns before formulating responses.

2. Presentation and Discussion of Membership Issues and Concerns

Membership representatives shared key concerns currently affecting the membership and the broader ecosystem:

Closed Budget Process:

• Members highlighted a highly opaque and closed budget process. Despite multiple warnings, the process lacked necessary community visibility and involvement, incompatible with a decentralized community.

• The Intersect Budget Committee reportedly lacked necessary insights into budgetary decisions, damaging trust and preventing effective community feedback.

• Concerns were expressed about rushed development and deployment of incomplete and inadequate voting tools, resulting in low participation from decentralized representatives (DReps), thus weakening governance.

• Concerns about hastily implemented smart contracts and financial mechanisms potentially compromising security and operational effectiveness.

• The absence of transparency in decision-making and processes severely damaged trust between community members and Intersect governance structures.

Missing Feedback Loop and Leadership Challenges:

• Members explicitly pointed out the absence of a functional feedback loop within Intersect, meaning early concerns went unaddressed and only surfaced when they became significant risks. The leadership was criticized for relying heavily on closed processes and assumptions rather than open engagement with the community.

• Members underscored severe fragmentation and existential threats to Intersect due to mismanaged leadership decisions, exemplified by independent budgeting actions taken by committees without broader organizational alignment.

Vendor Selection and Conflict of Interest:

• Concerns were raised about the transparency and integrity of vendor selection processes. Representatives pointed to the appearance of conflicts of interest and a lack of clear oversight in how certain vendors were selected and included in the budget. This was seen as a failure of internal governance controls and a missed opportunity to uphold transparency and accountability standards.

• Representatives discussed potential vendor conflicts arising from disputed selection processes by committees (specifically the Technical Steering Committee), potentially affecting vendor willingness to participate.

After the presentation, the board clarified that the purpose of the session was to listen, not to provide immediate responses. The board committed to discussing the issues in depth internally and returning with a clear, actionable response.

3. Adjournment

The meeting concluded with board members thanking the representatives for openly sharing their concerns, reiterating their commitment to a transparent and structured response, and emphasizing that community input is critical to the organization's success and governance improvements.

4. Action Items

Board of Directors:

• Conduct internal discussions regarding all presented concerns.

• Formulate and share a clear timeline by the week's end outlining planned actions to address these issues.

Membership Representatives:

• Optionally provide the board with additional documented points or supporting materials from their presentation for further clarity and review.

• Remain engaged and collaborate with the board to co-develop solutions