Alfonso De Gaetano

Founder & CEO

Originally from Naples, Italy, Alfonso de Gaetano has spent the past 18 years in Dubai. After sustaining an ankle injury, he made the leap from being a professional football player to a career in business, marketing and technology. He spent the past decade at Google, where he was the Director of Google Publishers’ business across EMEA and thereafter Director of Google Global Partnerships, Emerging Markets. Prior to Google, Alfonso was fast-tracked to a Principal role at Global Consultancy firm Booz & Company supporting large Telecoms conglomerates in the Middle East in creating new business opportunities, investment strategy and M&A projects. In 2021, Alfonso founded Crurated, his vision; to foster passions and connect curious minds by giving access to curated products and experiences. Crurated, a visionary and innovative wine and spirits destination, was the first blockchain-based high-quality wine-community that certifies the provenance of every bottle it sells with an NFT. Today, collections, bottles, and hard to obtain barrels of fine wines remain the core business, however the company is quickly expanding with prestige spirits now available to purchase through direct partnerships with the world’s most celebrated distilleries. Designed for a new generation of aficionados and collectors, Alfonso has combined his passion for wine with his technological expertise to oversee the creation of the Crurated Metaverse. The first real-world asset blockchain-backed Metaverse is a virtual embodiment of each member’s private cellars, using the latest spatial technology and allowing them to access, organise and virtually walk guests through their wine and spirits libraries, interact with the virtual sommelier and ask questions to the Crurated AI. It was the Burgundy region that made Alfonso first fall in love with fine wine, as Crurated grows it is his keen eye which has seen many up-and-coming producers from lesser-known regions join the Crurated portfolio. He brings this passion for fine wine and hospitality to the company’s overall corporate strategy and growth objectives. Along with his C-level team, hired from some of the world’s leading technology and hospitality brands, he helps direct the global acquisition of new members, builds and maintains producer relationships, and works to evolve the company’s blockchain-based technology platform.