diff --git a/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.21.md b/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.21.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..58ab84827
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.21.md
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Changelog
+
+Changelog for the K8ssandra Operator, new PRs should update the `unreleased` section below with entries describing the changes like:
+
+```markdown
+* [CHANGE]
+* [FEATURE]
+* [ENHANCEMENT]
+* [BUGFIX]
+* [DOCS]
+* [TESTING]
+```
+
+When cutting a new release, update the `unreleased` heading to the tag being generated and date, like `## vX.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD` and create a new placeholder section for  `unreleased` entries.
+
+## unreleased
diff --git a/charts/k8ssandra-operator/Chart.yaml b/charts/k8ssandra-operator/Chart.yaml
index 6abf3a221..f20d4039b 100644
--- a/charts/k8ssandra-operator/Chart.yaml
+++ b/charts/k8ssandra-operator/Chart.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: k8ssandra-operator
 description: |
   Kubernetes operator which handles the provisioning and management of K8ssandra clusters.
 type: application
-version: 1.20.0-SNAPSHOT
+version: 1.21.0-SNAPSHOT
 dependencies:
   - name: k8ssandra-common
     version: 0.29.0