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XC

Xena Chernikova

Marketing Leader & Entrepreneur

Barcelona, Spain

🟒Aping In

Marketing leader and entrepreneur with 10+ years across brand, growth, and partnerships. Built Gydde to 150K users as a MetaMask Alpha partner, drove $20M+ TVL at Blueshift DEX, and led a WEF-selected urban initiative generating 1,000+ media features and $300K raised. Advised EY-Parthenon on Web3 strategy including a Dutch Central Bank RWA-DeFi initiative.

Work Preferences

Salary

USD 120,000 – 185,000

Skills

Partnerships & BD9/10
Growth Marketing9/10
DeFi / DEX Marketing9/10
Web3 Marketing8/10
Brand Strategy8/10
Community Growth (8/10)Fundraising & Investor Relations (8/10)Marketing Infrastructure (8/10)Performance Marketing (8/10)PR & Media Relations (8/10)Token Launch / GTM (8/10)B2B / Institutional Marketing (7/10)DAO & DePIN Strategy (7/10)Account Abstraction / MetaMask (7/10)KOL Activation (7/10)AI-driven Automation (7/10)Telegram Mini Apps (7/10)RWA / DeFi Policy (6/10)Financial Modelling (6/10)EVM / Cross-chain Ecosystems (6/10)

Work Experience

Head of Marketing

PAID (part of MV Global)

May 2025 β€” Feb 2026

Private-market platform for equity raises and token launches. Drove investor acquisition through brand strategy, positioning, global GTM campaigns, and equity/token raise support. Built full-stack marketing infrastructure including fundraising narratives, funnel design, founder onboarding, PR/KOL activation, and partner amplification. Implemented AI-driven automation across content, onboarding, and engagement workflows.

Co-Founder

Gydde - MetaMask Alpha Partner

Dec 2023 β€” Apr 2025

Web3 onboarding and questing platform; first project to integrate MetaMask's account abstraction into a Telegram Mini App. Grew to 150K registered users and 1M+ social followers at $0.26 CPA. Generated $4.2M+ in trading volume for partners including MetaMask, QuickSwap, and BOB L2. Won GDA Capital's 'Next Top Blockchain Startup'; admitted to Consensys Scale Program.

Web3 Marketing Advisor

EY-Parthenon

Nov 2022 β€” Jun 2024

Strategic Web3 advisory to institutional clients and policymakers. Co-authored a policy proposal for the Dutch Central Bank on integrating RWA security assets into DeFi. Developed marketing frameworks for DAOs and DePIN companies.

Head of Marketing

Blueshift DEX (backed by Shima Capital)

Jan 2022 β€” Jun 2024

Cross-chain EVM DEX on Cardano, Algorand, Polygon, and BOB. Drove $20M+ TVL through 127 partnerships, 89 articles, and 64 AMAs; grew community to 80K. Launched the Cardano Index with zero budget. Designed the Milkomeda Ecosystem Airdrop achieving 5x daily transaction increase and 10K unique wallets. Secured coverage in Cointelegraph, Yahoo Finance, Bitcoin.com.

Co-Founder & Partnership Lead

Philtech Initiative - WEF Global Future Council

Jan 2018 β€” Dec 2019

Conceived and pitched the Global City Hackathon selected as WEF Global Future Council on Russia flagship initiative for 2019. Secured $300K in sponsorship from Sberbank, VEB.RF, Rostelecom, Russian Venture Company, and Promsvyazbank. Recruited 182 experts from 11 cities, secured 25 partners, and delivered 1,000+ media features.

Project Leader

Torre del Governador

Jul 2017 β€” May 2022

5-star luxury hotel development project near Barcelona (99 rooms, €57M total investment). Led investor relations, marketing, and commercial negotiations. Secured €20M in bank financing commitments and Letters of Intent from Starwood Capital Group, Marriott, and Six Senses.

Senior EMEA Marketing Manager

Groupon

Feb 2014 β€” Nov 2015

Planned and executed up to 74 simultaneous brand and partnership campaigns across 13 European markets, managing relationships with Marriott, IHG, MΓΆvenpick, Hyatt, and Radisson, generating €7.5M in revenue.

Co-Founder

Dostoevsky Hostels

Jan 2010 β€” Jan 2014

Built Russia's second-largest hostel chain across 17 cities. Winner, Forbes 'School of the Young Billionaire.' Exited 2013.

VP External Relations & Project Leader

AIESEC, Novosibirsk State University

Jan 2007 β€” Dec 2009

Education

MIT

Executive Certificate Β· Analysis & Investment

2021 – 2021

Guanghua School of Management, Peking University

Exchange Program (ICBC)

2013 – 2013

Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam

MBA & MSc

2012 – 2013

Novosibirsk State University

BSc Β· Mathematics

2006 – 2010