diff --git a/CODEOWNERS b/CODEOWNERS
index 1401dc8b..dea60f53 100644
--- a/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/CODEOWNERS
@@ -1 +1 @@
-* @dmcgowan @jzelinskie @jonjohnsonjr @jdolitsky @mikebrow @stevvooe @sudo-bmitch @vbatts
+* @dmcgowan @jzelinskie @jonjohnsonjr @jdolitsky @mikebrow @stevvooe @sudo-bmitch
diff --git a/EMERITUS.md b/EMERITUS.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..88eb277f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/EMERITUS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Emeritus
+
+We would like to acknowledge previous OCI distribution spec maintainers and their huge contributions to our collective success:
+
+- Vincent Batts (@vbatts)
+
+We thank these members for their service to the OCI community.
diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
index 9da91643..d552940f 100644
--- a/MAINTAINERS
+++ b/MAINTAINERS
@@ -5,4 +5,3 @@ Jon Johnson <jon.johnson@chainguard.dev> (@jonjohnsonjr)
 Josh Dolitsky <josh@bloodorange.io> (@jdolitsky)
 Mike Brown <brownwm@us.ibm.com> (@mikebrow)
 Stephen Day <stevvooe@gmail.com> (@stevvooe)
-Vincent Batts <vbatts@hashbangbash.com> (@vbatts)