Chad Anderson, MT Digital Assets, President
Chad “Aroo” Anderson is a blockchain + cryptocurrency expert and ICO advisor who serves as President and Co-Founder of www.MTDigitalAssets.com a leading fund in the hyper growth blockchain industry. Chad started his career working in the finance department at Hewitt Associates a fortune 500 company now called Aon. He worked directly with the CFO, Director of Budgeting and Forecasting, and the Controller. Chad then moved on to myspace.com from 2004-2008 as a strategic marketing consultant. During that time the site grew to over 500 Million active users, and was acquired for 580 Million Dollars. His team worked on events including Lollapalooza, Sundance Film Fest, Ultra Music Fest, SxSw, and more. Upon leaving Myspace he joined the team at Engage BDR an LA based Ad-Tech firm in Strategic Marketing and Biz Dev Role. He helped grow the company to reaching over 500 Million monthly uniques. Chad left there in 2014 to found Aroo Industries a talent management and marketing company. His clients have worked with some of the biggest brands in the world including Calvin Klein, Victoria Secret, Coca Cola, Virgin, Patron, Grey Goose, Google, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros and more. Follow on Twitter: @ChadArooLA / @MTDigitalAssets
Naveed Anwar, Capital One, Managing VP Platform, Strategic Integrations & Community
Naveed leads a team that shapes the platform for strategic partners and developers to interact with Capital One. In this role, he leads platform strategy, strategic partner integrations, and evangelism to the developer ecosystem. All aspects of serving customer needs are combined under one roof so that the team can solution design, integrate, iterate, and execute to win customers’ hearts and minds. A Silicon Valley technologist, Naveed is drawn to developing what’s next, creating processes, platforms, and products from scratch for customers and internal stakeholders. Follow on Twitter: @nanwar / @CapitalOne
Daniela Barbosa, The Linux Foundation, Hyperledger, VP World Wide Alliances
Daniela Barbosa serves as Vice President of World Wide Alliances at Hyperledger, where she is responsible for the full lifecycle management of Hyperledger’s membership community while overseeing the broader industry and business community outreach and network growth. Daniela has developed and led growth and innovation strategies for more than 18 years with a background working with financial services, media, and enterprise software. Daniela has led both partnerships and alliances teams as well as marketing and has been responsible for driving global partnerships, OEM integrations, market leadership, and global brand awareness. Daniela has a Master’s degree in library and information science from Rutgers University. A self-diagnosed information and data junkie, she is fascinated by trends in data and content delivery and consumption. Follow on Twitter: @danielabarbosa / @hyperledger
Bill Barhydt, Abra, CEO & Founder
Bill’s passion is information technology and how it can be used to improve people’s lives. Prior to Abra, he co-founded Boom Financial, where he also serves as Chairman. He gave the first TED talk on Bitcoin in 2012, and serves as an advisor and mentor to Boost.VC, a Bitcoin-focused incubator fund. Bill won the Technology Pioneer Award from the World Economic Forum in 2000 for his work at WebSentric, the first online meeting service that required no software install, and has consulted to federal and international regulators on the impact of digital currencies and decentralized transaction systems. In addition to co-founding and advising multiple start-ups, including m-Via, Sennari, Plaxo and KnowNow, Bill worked for Goldman Sachs, NASA and the CIA. Follow on Twitter: @AbraGlobal
Kaitlyn Bartley, Venture Capital Journal, Reporter
Bio coming soon. Check out: https://www.pehub.com/author/kaitlynbartley/
Steve Bassi, Swarm Technologies Inc., CEO
Steve is the CEO of Swarm Technologies Inc., the company behind PolySwarm. Steve previously founded Narf Industries, an information security R&D firm, with marquee clients from DARPA to members of the Fortune 500. He brings over 20 years of experience in Information Security focused development. He previously served in lead roles in a variety of projects for Government and Industry including: software development for advanced incident response, blockchain-based identity management R&D, and development of cutting-edge program analysis tools for DARPA’s CGC. Previously, he competed in several DEF CON Capture The Flags as a member of Sk3wl of R00t. Follow on Twitter: @_sbassi / @polyswarm
Shelita Burke, Artist & Data Scientist
Shelita Burke is an international pop star, technologist, and entrepreneur who uses blockchain technology and cryptology to innovate in the music industry. As a co-founder of the music technology company, Audience Academy, Shelita is disrupting the music industry and empowering recording artists and marketers with an innovative approach to growing large audiences. Using data science, behavioral science and AI technology, she has been able to generate over 29 million Twitter impressions and millions of Spotify plays on her latest releases. @ShelitaBurke
Paul Carroll, Insurance Thought Leadership, CEO & Editor-in-Chief
Paul is the CEO and editor-in-chief of Insurance Thought Leadership. He is also the co-author of The New Killer Apps: How Large Companies Can Out-Innovate Start-Ups and Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn From the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years and the author of Big Blues: The Unmaking of IBM, a major best-seller published in 1993. Paul spent 17 years at the Wall Street Journal as an editor and reporter. The paper nominated him twice for Pulitzer Prizes. In 1996, he founded Context, a thought-leadership magazine on the strategic importance of information technology that was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. He is a co-founder of the Devil’s Advocate Group consulting firm.
Gwen Cheni, Angel Investor
Gwen Cheni’s experience includes Assistant Portfolio Manager on both the equity and convertible products at Pier 88, Senior Equity Analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman, Lord Abbett, and a Research Analyst at Legg Mason Capital Management. She also worked as an Associate Equity Analyst at J.P. Morgan, and started her career as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs. She received her B.A. from Yale University with a major in Economics and minor-equivalent in Computer Science Electrical Engineering, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She received her M.B.A. in four concentrations from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with Honors. She is a C.F.A. charterholder.
Brandon Dewitt, MT Technologies, Co-Founder & CTO
Brandon Dewitt, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at MX, uses his passion for helping people relieve financial stress to lead the charge of building and continually improving the company’s trusted banking platform. Taking lessons from his experience growing up with over a hundred foster brothers and sisters, Brandon has a unique management philosophy that focuses on team members taking responsibility and managing themselves. Brandon has a Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Illinois State University and moved to Utah when his personal finance company MyJibe merged with MoneyDesktop to become MX. Follow on Twitter: @abrandoned
Alida Draudt, Capital One & Threatcasting Lab, Futurist
Futurist, service design strategist, and business designer – Alida seeks to find and understand the fringe ideas that are poised for large disruption. Based out of San Francisco and Capital One’s first Futurist, Alida has a background in design and innovation firms, as well as an MBA in Strategic Foresight and Design Strategy from California College of the Arts. She also works as a Futurist with the Threatcasting Lab out of Arizona State University in conjunction with the Army Cyber Institute working to highlight possible cyber threats to America on the 10-year horizon. Her passion for bringing the future to bear in the present has driven both personal and professional projects. Recent futures projects span a variety of subjects including Implications of Autonomous Vehicles on the Gig Economy, Blockchain applications, Banking 2022, Diversity in Futurism, and The New Dogs of War: The Future of Weaponized AI. Her co-authored book with Julia Rose West, What the Foresight, launched on Amazon in September 2016. Follow on Twitter: @alida_p_d
Chandra Duggirala, AQUA.Foundation, Founder/CEO
Chandra Duggirala: Founder/CEO of AQUA.Foundation: the first blockchain-based biotech research crowdfunding platform for fractionalizing intellectual property rights as tradable tokens. – Practicing medical physician. – Inventor of several approved medical device patents in obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. – CEO/Founder @ Novobionics: medical device manufacturer to treat diabetes. – Principal Investigator @ RESET YOUTH trial to test reversal of aging in humans. – CEO/Co-founder @ FUEL: hyper-personalized nutrition. – Expert in digital health & bioinformatics. – 500 Startups graduate.
Paige Freeman, New Alchemy, Chief Business Development & Partnerships Officer
Paige Freeman is the Chief Business Development Officer at New Alchemy, a company that offers technology, token game strategy, smart contract audits and ICO advisory to the world’s most innovative companies. Prior to New Alchemy, Paige was part of the founding team at Bitpay as Vice President of Sales where she convinced thousands of merchants to accept bitcoin including Tiger Direct, Newegg, Sacramento Kings, Virgin Galactic and many others. Paige is the founder of Women in Bitcoin/Blockchain and the San Francisco Chapter Director for Ellevate Network. She has an Industrial Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Follow on Twitter: @paigefreeman / @womeninbitcoin
David Galvan, MasterCard International, VP Business Development & Strategic Alliances
David Galvan is a technology and internet veteran, with over 25 years of business and operating experience in Silicon Valley. He is currently VP of Business Development and Strategic Alliances for MasterCard International, where he focuses on digital partnerships, relationships and investments with emerging companies in the Fintech space in Silicon Valley. Prior to that, Galvan was Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for 24 Hour Fitness, the largest privately owned U.S. fitness club chain in the United States, serving nearly four million members in more than 420 clubs. Galvan was hired by Private Equity firm Forstmann Little to prep the Company for sale after a failed attempt in 2012. Galvan oversaw business and operational management of the 24HF Personal Fitness Business, Retail Business, Corp/Healthcare Sales, Sponsorship Sales, and Real Estate Development Team. He was also responsible for all new and legacy deals and strategic partnerships for entire Company. 24 Hour Fitness was successfully sold to an investor group led by AEA Investors for $1.85B in June 2014, after which the Forstmann Little team sold their stakes and left the organization.
Before 24HF, Galvan was Chief Executive Officer at The Learning Annex, where he was recruited by the founder, Bill Zanker, to bring the successful offline educational business to the web via an online marketplace. Galvan was also President/Head of BD at Schedulicity, a leading online scheduling service for appointment-based businesses. Galvan has also held senior leadership and operating roles at Topix, InfoGroup, Yahoo, AOL/Netscape, and Motorola.
He is a frequent speaker on the Payments, Digital Commerce and the Search/Local Marketplace scene. A native Californian, Galvan is a graduate of Stanford University.
Alexander Garcia-Tobar, ValiMail, CEO & Co-Founder
A serial entrepreneur and global executive, Alexander is CEO and Co-Founder of ValiMail and has been CEO at two previous firms and has run global sales teams for three companies that went IPO. He held analyst and executive positions at leading research companies such as The Boston Consulting Group and Forrester Research along with Silicon Valley startups such as ValiCert, Sygate, and SyncTV. Follow on Twitter: @AlexanderGTster / @ValiMail
Michael Gilroy, Canaan Partners, Principal
Michael invests in entrepreneurs building enterprise software and fintech companies. He is interested in talking to founders building the next generation enterprise tools and fintechs solving the structural issues in finance. Deeply passionate about building the entrepreneurial community in fintech, Michael launched Canaan’s FinTech Central in 2015, a quarterly event series covering trends in fintech. He is a board director with Beam Solutions and Hugo. He is also a board observer with Rocketrip and Bellhops. Previously, Michael advised technology companies with GCA Savvian and Matrix Capital. He received a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Follow on Twitter:
@canaanpartners / @MBGilroy
Rodolfo Gonzalez, Foundation Capital, Partner
Rodolfo is fascinated by financial disintermediation, peer-to-peer funding, and bringing transparency and simplicity to the consumer experience. As a kid, he wanted to be a professional soccer player or movie actor; but he grew into an adult with a passion for promoting economic growth and inclusion through innovation in financial services. He was 17 when he co-founded his first startup, Mexplosion, to host the Mexican qualifiers for the World Cyber Games e-gaming competition in 2001. His second and more recent entrepreneurial venture was a crowdfunding platform for social enterprises called YouVest. Follow on Twitter: @fifaifofo / @FoundationCap
Alex Gordon-Brander, Omega One, Chairman & CTO
Alex is one of the world’s leading designers of trading platforms, with a patent on the MarketAxess bond trading platform ($2 trillion traded to date). He managed portfolio construction applications and wrote the specifications for algorithmic trading at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund. He’s been designing alternative currency systems and financial markets since before the Bitcoin white paper. Follow on Twitter: @omegaoneproject
Marshall Hayner, Metal, CEO
Marshall Hayner is CEO of Metal, a blockchain based payment processing company. Marshall has an extensive background with digital currency and the legal cannabis industry. Having started the first Facebook integrated bitcoin wallet “QuickCoin” in 2014, Marshall has worked on numerous digital currency projects including Dogecoin, Stellar, Block.io and more. Follow on Twitter:@marshallhayner / @metalpaysme
Sean Ironstag, Auryn Capital, Founder
Sean Ironstag is the founder and managing partner of Auryn Capital–a Berkshire Hathaway style crypto holding company for a crypto hedge fund, a token accelerator, an algorithmic arbitrage platform, a light pool (rebranded crypto darkpool), and more.
Before founding Auryn, Sean made millions as a crypto trader (with a background in the foreign exchange markets). He then started the Advanced Crypto Asset Trading group to share his knowledge of the crypto markets with others.
Currently Sean, along with a handful of other titans in the realms of finance are developing a universal basic asset token called Karma to solve the fast approaching and major issue of job deletion.
Sean is also the founder of Portal, a decentralized, members owned property matrix with a 40 acre retreat space in the Santa Cruz Mountains and 500 acres in Uganda that will soon be handed over to refugees in the area and utilized as a testing ground for new systems of civilization on mass scale.
Joseph Johnson, Applied Materials, Mechanical Engineer
Joseph Johnson is a Mechanical Engineer at Applied Materials and works in the R&D division. Joseph has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University and a MS in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering from Stanford University. Joseph enjoys teaching high-schoolers how to set the timing on a motorcycle, sketching, designing PCBs, and machining metal. Joseph will also beat you in connect 4 and has flown on the vomit comet.
Steven Kirsch, Token, CEO
Steve Kirsch is the CEO of Token, a Silicon Valley startup company developing a modern platform for open banking. He has pioneered several core computer technologies (optical mouse, desktop publishing, Internet search, spam filtering, and secure identity) and founded 7 high tech companies, two with billion dollar market caps (Infoseek and Frame Technology). He received BS/MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 1980. Follow on Twitter: @stkirsch
Ken Kruszka, SnapCheck, Founder & CEO
Ken is a FinTech and Mobile Payments pioneer, who holds the distinction of being the first person to send $1 around the world by mobile. Ken’s 15+ years in FinTech have included commercializing the first mobile remittance service in the US as well as launching the first global mobile bank account.
In his current role, Ken leads SnapCheck in revolutionizing business-to-business payments: eliminating $50 Billion in costs, removing $20 Billion in fraud. Follow on Twitter: @kenkruszka / @goSnapCheck
Lindsay Lin, Lightyear.io, Counsel & Program Manager
Lindsay Lin is Counsel and Program Manager at Lightyear.io, a company powered by the Stellar Network. She has advised and written extensively on legal issues surrounding token sales, token exchanges, and asset-backed tokens. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Lindsay has experience with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division and is actively involved in the Silicon Valley blockchain community. Follow on Twitter: @StellarOrg
Rick Marini, Protocol Ventures, Managing Partner
Rick is the Managing Partner of Protocol Ventures. Protocol is the first fund of funds focused on crypto assets. Protocol invests in the top 10 crypto hedge funds to provide investors with diversification across various crypto assets and complimentary fund strategies through a single investment. Prior to founding Protocol, Rick was a 3-time founder with 3 successful exits. Rick is also an angel investor in 50 companies including Snapchat, Reddit, AngelList and many more. Follow on Twitter: @rmarini
Miko Matsumura, Evercoin, Founder
Miko Matsumura is a Limited Partner with the Pantera Capital ICO fund and a founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Evercoin. He is based in silicon valley and is an active angel investor as well as a former LP with Focus Ventures. He is also the co-organizer and founder of the San Francisco Crypto Underground Meetups. His career spans 25 years in Silicon Valley principally developing venture-backed startups. Follow on Twitter: @mikojava / @everc0in
Rod McLeod, Kik/Kin, Senior Director of Communications
Rod McLeod is senior director of communications at Kik. He oversees the communications program, which spans internal communications, public relations, and social media, and was a key member of the Kin token sale team. Prior to joining Kik, Rod was an account director at Bateman Group, a small PR agency specializing in enterprise tech, with clients including Google Cloud Platform, Ping Identity, and Qualys. He is a rugby fan and was previously head coach of the University of San Francisco’s Men’s Rugby Team. Follow on Twitter: @masrod
Bill Melton, Omnyway, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
Bill Melton is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Office of Omnyway. Bill Melton’s background also includes Founder of VeriFone (Acquired by HP), Board Member of AOL, Founder/ CEO of Cybercash, GP of GIV Venture Partners, Founder of Transaction Network Services (IPO), PayPal Angel Funder, Founder/ CEO of Real-Share.
Erik Mendelson, RecordGram Inc., CEO & Co-Founder
Erik is currently the CEO of , the most recent winner of the and featured company on Apple Music’s original series “Planet of the Apps.” Erik is in the process of launching an ICO and implementing blockchain and crypto currency into the RecordGram ecosystem.
Erik Mendelson is a tenured music executive and the CEO of RecordGram” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>RecordGram Inc & Tune ICO.RecordGram is an all in one mobile producer marketplace, recording studio and social network that allows our users to create original songs with award winning music producers for under $5 all from the palm of their hand.
RecordGram has already received funding by globally recognized VC LightSpeed Venture Partners, New World Angels and Monique Mosley, and has world renowned music producer will.i.am as an ambassador. RecordGram’s most recent milestones include winning the highly coveted TechCrunch Disrupt Cup” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>TechCrunch Disrupt Cup in 2017 and being a featured company on Apple Music’s original series Planet of the Apps with celebrity mentors Jessica Alba, will.i.am, Gary Vaynerchuk and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Erik is at the forefront of integrating blockchain technology to create a new paradigm for music rights and royalty transparency. RecordGram has announced the Tune ICO in order to create a utility token that will be used for in app/platform transactions, community incentives, artist tipping, synchronization licensing and royalty payments. Erik has been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, Inc, Billboard, Mass Appeal and many others.Visit: http://tune.recordgram.com Follow on Twitter: @erikanswerman / @recordgram
Sheel Mohnot, 500 Startups, Partner
Sheel helps to design, build, and improve human ecosystems through technology, as a creator or an investor/partner. He is an investing partner with 500 startups, a seed-stage VC and accelerator. He leads FinTech investments for the fund. His recent startup experience includes 2 successful exits – one in the payments space and another in the high-stakes auction space. He also co-founded a food company called Thistle and runs a podcast called The Pitch. On the podcast, founders pitch Sheel and a panel of angel investors.
His past includes time at the management consulting firm BCG and the non-profit Kiva, an MBA from the University of Michigan and BS from Carnegie Mellon. Follow on Twitter: @pitdesi
Galen Moore, Token Report, CEO
Galen is the CEO and founder of Token Report, a financial data service covering digital currencies. He is an award-winning journalist and a financial media startup leader. His expertise is in startups and innovative companies, from consumer tech to biotech. He has studied the effects of accelerators, incubators and other outside influences on early-stage startups. He is on the volunteer board of Egleston Square Main Street, providing small businesses with assistance and advocacy. Galen is an advisor with Subforum, a multi-disciplinary research and design group. He’s a licensed sea captain and a certified instructor of Capoeira Angola, a Brazilian martial art and cultural form. Follow on Twitter: @galenmoore / @tokenreport
Brett Murray, JPMorgan Chase, Executive Director / Head of West Coast Innovation Studios
Brett Murray, with over 20 years of Silicon Valley experience, joined JPMorgan Chase in San Francisco to oversee and expand their west coast design and product innovation efforts beyond their current bases of San Francisco and Seattle. Acting as the Chief of Staff for JPMC’s global Chief Experience Officer, he was brought in due to his extensive customer-centric marketing background, as well as his expertise in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
Brett has a deep background in marketing and communications having run multiple executive-level groups at well-known companies such as NVIDIA Corporation, Nokia, Apple, TiVo, and Handspring. He also has held lead marketing roles at several Silicon Valley-based startups, most recently View, Inc. a 500+ person late stage startup that has raised over $750M.
Brett holds a degree in International Politics jointly granted by the University of California, Santa Cruz, and University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet), Denmark. Follow on Twitter: @oyinbo
Ben Narasin, NEA, Venture Partner
Ben Narasin is Venture Partner at NEA. A prolific entrepreneur and highly regarded early-stage investor with three decades of company-building expertise, Narasin has focused on emerging technologies and new markets throughout his investment career. With a portfolio comprising key early successes in some of today’s fastest growing sectors, such as fintech, digital marketplaces, mobile and connected devices. His overarching focus in seeking new investments is, in his words, “to find founders who make me say wow.”
Narasin is a 25-year entrepreneur and 10-year early-stage investor. His knack for spotting emerging trends led him to make seed investments in companies like Dropcam, Lending Club, TellApart, Kabbage and Zenefits. Before NEA, Narasin most recently served as a General Partner at Canvas Ventures, and was previously with TriplePoint Capital, where he oversaw the firm’s seed funding investment activities.
Like many of NEA’s partners, Narasin’s path to investing is rooted in entrepreneurship. He founded several consumer companies before launching his investing career, including Fashionmall.com, one of the first e-commerce companies, which he founded in 1993 and led to a successful IPO in 1999. Narasin frequently writes and speaks about technology and investing, as well as food and wine, a lifelong passion. He holds a B.A. in Entrepreneurial Studies from Babson College. Follow on Twitter: @BNarasin
Dawn Newton, Netki, Co-Founder & COO
Dawn is a technology startup veteran with over twenty years of experience building teams at innovative companies leading to successful exits. She grew support operations leading to a multi-billion-dollar IPO at NetZero/United Online. Prior to NetZero, she managed technology teams at Microcom (acquired by Compaq), and InterAccess (acquired by Allegiance Telecom). She is currently the Co-Founder and COO of Netki, a blockchain solutions provider focused on digital identity and regulatory compliance. Dawn recently spoke at TEDx Los Angeles on the challenges facing women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). She was named one of L.A.’s Women of Influence by the Business Journal and one of the Power Women in FinTech by InnoTribe’s Bridging the Gender Gap report. She currently serves on the Boards of The Threshold Foundation and BitGive, as well as being an advisor to the award-winning newspaper, The National Observer. Follow on Twitter: @dawnmnewton / @netkicorp
Stephen Palley, Anderson Kill, LLP, Attorney-at-Law
Stephen Palley is a Washington D.C. based trial lawyer with twenty years of experience handling and resolving complex high dollar disputes. He is currently affiliated with Anderson Kill, LLP, and maintains an active litigation and trial practice. A Fellow of the invitation only American College of Coverage and Extra-Contactual Counsel, Stephen is nationally known for subject matter expertise in the areas of consruction, insurance and emerging technology including the development of compliance driven sofware. He is a prolific writer and speaker, and the lead editor of the ABA Forum on Construction Law’s “Construction Inurance.” Stephen has also advised numerous technology startups as a business and technical advisor across a range of industry verticals, including dispute resolution, digital advertising, and blockchain based process automation. Stephen is a graduate of Tufts University (B.A. cum laude), the University of Delaware (M.A.), and Washington University in St. Louis (J.D.). Follow on Twitter: @palleylaw
Sankaet Pathak, Synapse Financial Technologies, CEO & Founder
Sankaet, founder of SynapseFI, completed a Master’s in computer engineering at the University of Memphis, where he previously majored in computer engineering, physics and mathematics. A scientist at heart, much of Pathak’s academic work was focused on physics and research related to the solar corona. Sankaet has a passion for AI/Machine Learning in the Fintech space and how to use this technology for back office automation in Banking. Making banking accessible to all.
Necessity breeds ingenuity. As a student at the University of Memphis and a recent immigrant to the USA, Sankaet Pathak needed to open a bank account. He was surprised to learn that wasn’t an easy task. Even an online financial technology platform that considered itself a “simple” banking alternative was unable to open an account for him on the grounds of insufficient data/credit history. Sankaet knew he had to develop a better option not only for himself but for the over 20% of adults in the USA with poor or limited credit history. Follow on Twitter:
@sankaet / @synapsefi
Dave Peck, Kind Financial, President
At PayPal, Mr. Peck oversaw the company’s social strategy and influencer relations, and also led the development and execution of integrated digital marketing. Earlier, he helped build online communities and develop social media strategies for several major brands, including Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo and the Grammys. He is also the author of “Think Before You Engage: 100 Questions to Ask Before Starting a Social Media Marketing Campaign.” Mr. Peck has been profiled or interviewed on CNBC, NBC, The Today Show and USA Today for his social media, digital, and influencer marketing strategies. Follow on Twitter: @davepeck
Samvit Ramadurgam, Equidate, Co-CEO
Samvit went through the Y Combinator program and started his first venture-backed company when he was nineteen years old. Prior to starting Equidate, Samvit co-founded Streem, a cloud storage company which was acquired by Box before it’s IPO in 2014. Samvit is an active angel investor and has invested in over 80 startups through S2 Capital, where he serves as founding partner. Follow on Twitter: @rsamvit / @equidate
Scott Robinson, Plug and Play FinTech, VP and Founder
Scott Robinson is the founder and VP of Plug and Play FinTech, the financial technology focused startup innovation platform in partnership with BNP Paribas, Banco do Brasil, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, TD Bank, Cathay Financial, USAA, Mitsubishi, Capital One, Sumitomo, Intuit and many more global financial institutions. Since the launch of the program in February 2015, Scott and his team have accelerated over 130 FinTech startups and has led over 30 investments into the domain. Additionally, Scott leads FinTech activity globally with satellites in Paris (with BNP Paribas) and Tokyo (with MUFJ). Scott has worked with Plug and Play, a global startup accelerator headquartered in Silicon Valley, for the past four years managing a number of FinTech, Blockchain, Cybersecurity and Bitcoin-related initiatives.
Additionally, Scott is the founder of Plug and Play Bitcoin, the co-organizer of the world’s oldest Bitcoin Meetup and founder of the first nationally syndicated Bitcoin Job Fair and technical editor of Blockchain for Dummies, a Wiley publication. Prior to joining Plug and Play, Scott worked in various roles with a number of early stage startups where he led fundraising, product development and marketing activities. Follow on Twitter: @thescottrob / @PlugandPlayTC
Dan Robles, The Ingenesist Project, Director
Dan Robles is the Founder of the Integrated Engineering Blockchain Consortium which specializes in blockchain applications specific to the engineering professions. IEBC is currently planning an ICO for QuantChain which promises to decentralize engineers and associated creative professionals worldwide, measuring true value of engineering with Quant.
For more information, read the IEBC Whitepaper.
Dan is also the founder of several organizations including Coengineers.com (operational), The Ingenesist Project (now IEBC) and Social Flights (acquired). His prior work includes commissioning agent for B777 commercial aircraft acquisitions, space flight and satellite hardware design, Space Shuttle test engineering, and animatronics for television and film. Mr. Robles has been an adjunct professor of engineering and business at multiple universities. He holds a BSME, PE license in WA and CA, and an MBA in international business.
Dan serves on the planning board for the city of Edmonds, Washington where he resides with his family. Follow on Twitter: @ingenesist
David S. Rose, Gust, Founder & CEO
David S. Rose is an Inc. 500 CEO, serial entrepreneur, super angel investor, best selling author and keynote speaker who has founded or funded over 100 pioneering companies.
Founder and CEO of Gust, and Founder and Chairman Emeritus of New York Angels, David has been described by Forbes as “New York’s Archangel”, by BusinessWeek as a “world conquering entrepreneur”, by Crain’s New York Business as “the father of angel investing in New York”, and by Red Herring magazine as “patriarch of Silicon Alley”. He is the New York Times best selling author of Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money & Having Fun Investing in Startups and The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business. Follow on Twitter: @davidsrose / @gustly
Jennifer Sanders, CNS Equity Partners/ AURA Ventures,
Founder, Director Risk Management and Strategy
With CNS Equity Partners and AURA Ventures Funds, Jennifer leverages her expertise in the alternative agriculture and holistic health industries as a corporate consultant for institutional firms and investments. As a founder of CNS Equity Partners, a virtue-based private equity firm, she launched the nation’s first holistic health and cannabis herbal retailer. The fully integrated retailer, The Green Heart, is actively franchising across the United States. Jennifer specializes in international investment regulatory compliance and enterprise risk management with over 15 years of experience in leadership and business management. She has the following certifications: Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional, NRS Investment Advisor Certified Compliance Professional, Chief Compliance Officer Qualifying Examination of Canada, and a combination of investment securities licenses. Jennifer has also worked with foreign licensure and regulatory authorities in Canada, China and other countries. Jennifer is an avid philanthropist and serves as a Board Member for The Green Heart Foundation, a 501(c)3 non profit that educates the public on the health benefits of the superfoods and medicinal herbs, including hemp and cannabis.
Lee Schneider, McDermott, Will & Emery, Partner
Lee A. Schneider is a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery. At the beginning of 2017, he started the podcast “Appetite for Disruption”, which focuses on the FinTech industry. He is also a co-author of a securities law framework for blockchain tokens. Lee focuses his practice on representing US and non-US broker-dealers, banks, blockchain projects, private fund sponsors and financial services technology companies. He counsels clients on a wide range of matters and works with transactional lawyers on structuring and negotiations when deals involve financial services and technology companies, and on blockchain token offerings, including so-called ICOs. He regularly assists both financial services firms and their vendors in negotiating technology agreements for all types of services and considering the regulatory issues associated with such technologies.
Matthew Schutte, Holo, Director of Communications
Matthew is Director of Communications at Holo, where his team is creating a peer-to-peer application hosting network fueled by a mutual credit crypto-accounting system. Holo allows anyone with spare computing capacity to earn crypto-currency by providing processing, storage or bandwidth services to other users. Hosts can run Holo in the background on their laptop or can dedicate a full machine such as a Holo Tiny Hosting Box to performing work on Holo.
Holo is built on top of, and supports, applications running Holochain, a new, open-source infrastructure for truly distributed applications. Compared with alternatives such as blockchains, Holochain applications are faster, cheaper, fit-for-purpose, extendable and adaptable. Holochain’s lightweight infrastructure allows for economically viable accounting for microtransactions such as the small “pay to compute” transactions common in the Holo system. The Holo team anticipates that other communities will follow the hosting-backed currency design that Holo is using and may create other asset-backed currency systems on top of Holochain. Holo is hosting a crowdfunding campaign Fall of 2017.
Prior to Holo, Matthew graduated from Berkeley Law School, served as the managing director of an angel investment firm, and has lectured on topics such as “How to Balance Privacy and Transparency in a Digitally Connected World.” In addition, Matthew works on the design of distributed identity infrastructures, and occasionally surfs 50 foot waves at the world famous Mavericks in Northern California. Twitter: @matthewjosef / @H_O_L_O
Wes Smith, AEC Cloud, Cloud Executive Officer
Passionate about people and process driven technology, Wes Smith has 20 years experience enabling AEC Industry leaders & participants with business focused technology. He has participated in thought leadership sessions with AGC, Constructech and ENR Magazines as well as Citrix, Oracle, Trimble and Viewpoint.
His company, AEC Cloud, is a certified Microsoft Cloud Service Provider (CSP) and developer with extensive experience providing intranets, hosting, integration, and business technology consulting services to the AEC Industry. Major clients include Hensel Phelps, The New York Times, The Pentagon Renovation Program, and Turner Construction.
John Shinal, CNBC.com, Technology reporter
John Shinal is a technology reporter for CNBC.com in San Francisco, covering consumer internet companies, including Google and Facebook, and their impact on consumers, advertisers, and investors. Previously, shinal wrote the New Tech Economy column for USAToday.com. He’s covered tech and financial markets for two decades at Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal Digital Network, and Entrepreneur.com. Follow on Twitter: @johnshinal
Mike Sigal, 500 Startups Fintech Fund, Partner
Mike Sigal is a Partner at 500 Startups Fintech Fund and San Francisco-based Fintech accelerator. With over 200 investments in 26 countries, including Credit Karma, Grab, RealtyShares, Simple (acquired by BBVA) and Stripe, 500 Startups is the world’s most active early-stage venture fund and accelerator supporting the digital transformation of financial services.
Over the past 8 years, Mike’s been aligned with the accelerating innovation in the global financial services industry. As Founding Executive Producer of SWIFT’s Innotribe Startup Challenge and Industry Challenge programs, Mike built the world’s largest FinTech startup competition that has resulted in an estimated $650M in investments, acquisitions and partnerships between participating startups, SWIFT’s member institutions and FinTech investors globally. He current serves as Senior Advisor to SWIFT Innotribe, Silicon Valley Ambassador for InnovateFinance, and an Advisor to the Direct Finance Institute and the UN’s ID2020 initiative.
Mike’s spent 25 years working in the global startup ecosystem as an entrepreneur & innovation advisor, including as founder of 6 companies (3 exits, 1 IPO) and advisor to dozens of institutions on startup-led innovation strategies. He’s an active startup mentor and frequent speaker at startup and FinTech conferences. Follow on Twitter: @mikesigal
Sonny Singh, BitPay, CCO
Sonny is one of the leading FinTech experts in Silicon Valley and is currently the Chief Commercial Officer at BitPay. BitPay is the largest processor of bitcoin in the world and has raised over $30M in funding from top investors like Founders Fund, Richard Brandson, and Index Ventures.
Previously, Sonny was part of the first executive team at Jumio where he was the first Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Jumio is a revolutionary mobile payments and ID verification company that has raised over $40M from Andreessen Horowitz, and Citibank.
Sonny is a frequent speaker on payments and ecommerce and is a Venture Advisor for Fintech to Lumia Capital. He is also an angel investor in several companies including TubeMogul (IPO), Estate Assist (acquired by DocuSign), Getaround, Jumio, Sendhub, and Naritiv. Sonny has an MBA from Thunderbird, is a graduate of Binghamton University (NY) and studied at Cambridge University in England.
Kelli Thompson, CannaCraft, Inc., VP Finance
Kelli Thompson is the Vice President of Finance at CannaCraft, Inc, the largest vertically integrated cannabis company in California. Previously, Kelli worked for The Project Foundry providing leadership and project management expertise to the European technology market. In addition to her previously role as Finance Manager of Three Twins Ice Cream, she also founded KL Thompson Consulting which offered strategic design, project and program management, full cycle accounting and client relations support. Kelli graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a Master of Business Administration.
Richard Titus, Ark Advisors, Managing Partner
Richard is an experienced Blockchain investor and is an active strategic ICO Advisor and managing partner for Ark Advisors, whose recently completed projects include AdEx, HIVE PROJECT, PO.ET and raised +$300m over the last sixty days. He is currently advising BlockV, CROWDWIZ, GUARDIAN CIRCLE, OMEGA ONE and SCIENCE. Companies Richard (co-) founded include Razorfish, Schematic & Videoplaza. His most recent start-up, Prompt.ly, was founded in 2013 and sold in 2016 to Breezeworks, his fifth exit in a row. Until February 2017, Richard led customer experience for Samsung Electronics. Named one of the Wired 100 in 2010, serial entrepreneur and executive Richard D. Titus has a passion for technology & innovation. He lives in the Bay Area with his two children. Follow on Twitter: @richardtitus / @arkicoeadvisors
Peter Vessenes, New Alchemy, Managing Director
Peter Vessenes has deep roots in digital currency, tokenization, and blockchain technology. He founded the first U.S. venture-backed Bitcoin corporation, the international Bitcoin Foundation (an oversight organization for the Bitcoin community), and the original large-scale 65nm Bitcoin mining company. He also holds the fundamental patent for de-anonymizing Bitcoin transactions. In recent years Mr. Vessenes has provided digital currency consulting services for private and public software, security and law-related entities, including the U.S. Treasury Department, FinCEN, Department of Homeland Security, and F.B.I. An expert in smart contracts functionality, he was also the first to publicly identify and comment on specific security vulnerabilities in the DAO, a community funded, decentralized organization that ultimately lost its value in 2016 as a result of a “re-entrance attack”originally pinpointed by Mr. Vessenes. In New Alchemy in-house smart contracts and its audit review work for third parties, Mr. Vessenes and his team rigorously examine and test software code for bugs, flaws and public and private areas that could be exploited, misused or attacked by bad actors and create safe math functions, correct errors and solidify smart contract efficiencies and securitization. He holds a degree in theoretical mathematics from Brown University.
Anne Ahola Ward, CircleClick, CEO
Anne Ahola Ward is a Growth Scientist, O’Reilly Author and the CEO of CircleClick Media. Ward has written the latest SEO book for O’Reilly, entitled “The SEO Battlefield: Winning Strategies for Search Marketing Programs. Ward spent over 10 years mastering all things web development before transitioning into the then nascent field of SEO. She was named as one of Entrepreneur’s “27 Top Masters of Marketing and PR that everyone can learn from) in 2014. In 2015 Anne was invited to become an Influencer for the elite IBM Futurist program. Anne was named one of the “Top 50 Inspirational Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017” by Entrepreneur magazine. Follow on Twitter: @annebot / @circleclick
Steven Waterhouse, Orchid Labs, CEO & Co-Founder
Dr. Steven Waterhouse (SEVEN) is the CEO and co founder of Orchid Labs. Orchid Labs is developing an open source protocol to open up the entire Internet to everyone.
From its inception in 2013 until July 2016, Steve was a partner at Pantera Capital, focused on blockchain investments. He served on the board of Bitstamp till 2016.
Steve was a cofounder and CTO of RPX (Nasdaq: RPXC) and previously Director and founder of the Honeycomb product group at Sun Microsystems.
He holds a PhD in Engineering from Cambridge with a focus in speech recognition and machine learning. Steve is an avid waterman and loves the kelp filled cold waters of the Pacific west coast. Follow on Twitter: @deseventral / @orchidprotocol
Thomas Wendling, CH2M, Systems Engineer
Thomas Wendling has 30 years’ experience in infrastructure project and program management working at the ministerial level as an international business development manager with Suez Environnement and currently as a professional systems engineer with CH2M (soon to be Jacobs) where he has served on CH2M’s Aging Infrastructure Innovation Task Force focused on the commercialization of digital technologies in construction and new applications of actuarial science in operation management delivery. He currently serves on the board of advisors of the Integrated Engineering Blockchain Consortium, an organization that fosters engineering applications of distributed ledger technology. He has also served on the program committee of the Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, which provides thought leadership and best practices in risk management for the insurance and banking industries.
Julia Rose West, Ancestry / Arizona State University, Futurist
Julia is a futurist, product designer, and leader at Ancestry. Recent futures work includes working with Arizona State University and the Army Cyber Institute at West Point to envision cyber security threats ten years out. She is co-author of What the Foresight, a personal futures workbook. Other work has spanned subjects such as – The Uberization of American Public Housing 2025, which received a recognition award by the Association of Professional Futurists, The Implications of Do-it-Yourself CRISPR, Governance Systems on Mars 2050, The Future of Search, and research on the Space Elevator. Julia believes the future cannot be predicted but it can be designed. Follow on Twitter: @juliarosewest
Ginger Wilcox, Bloom, Strategist
Ginger Wilcox is a startup veteran and accomplished leader and strategist in real estate and fintech. Most recently, Ginger was Chief Marketing & Industry Officer for Sindeo, a mortgage startup that raised $20 million-plus to reinvent the home loan experience, making it simpler and more transparent.
Prior to Sindeo, Ginger helped build Trulia’s Industry Services Division and was responsible for translating Trulia’s industry vision into a multi-channel strategy to drive marketplace business and build long-term partnerships with major real estate brands.
Ginger is recognized for solving tough business problems with an innovative approach to business strategy, customer acquisition and growth. Follow on Twitter: @gingerw
Mary Wisniewski, American Banker, Fintech Reporter & Deputy Editor
Mary is the deputy editor of American Banker’s BankThink blog. She also writes on a variety of subjects as part of American Banker‘s fintech team. Previously, she was a blogger and editor at Bank Innovation. She also served as a fashion editor for National Jeweler, where she reported on fashion shows and jewelry news. Mary grew up in the Michigan suburbs and now lives in LA with a maltipoo, two record players and an espresso machine. Mary is endlessly curious and follows anything that grabs her. Current interests include fintech, literature, travel, good conversation, Cat Stevens and whiskey. Follow on Twitter: @MaryMWisniewski / @AmerBanker
Ugur Yildirim, Hive Project, CFO
Ugur Yildirim is a renowned international businessman with over 15 years of investment management experience. In addition to his responsibilities as Hive Project’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the Hive Project board, Ugur is also a co-founder and partner of Elements Capital Partners, which specialises in distressed investment opportunities and turnaround cases. Trusted by leading institutional investors around the world, his firm currently advises and manages approx. €800 million of NPL transactions in Eastern Europe. A member of the World Turnaround Management Association (TMA), Ugur has also served on the boards of several investment management firms in the SEE region. Ugur studied at Ljubljana University, Harvard Business School and the London School of Business & Finance.
Brian Zisk, Future of Money & Technology Summit, Executive Producer
Brian Zisk is a serial entrepreneur specializing in digital media, web broadcasting and distribution technologies. He is a founder of BuzzMakers, Inc., which produces the Future of Money & Technology Summit and the SF MusicTech Summit. He is a co-founder of the SF MusicTech Fund. Additionally, Brian is a Co-Founder and Technologies Director of the Future of Music Coalition and a Board Member and/or Strategic Advisor for a wide variety of tech companies and non-profits. Brian was previously a founder of The Green Witch Internet Radio which was sold to CMGI (NASDAQ: CMGI) at the turn of the millennium. He is active in many influential computer-mediated forums, is quoted and published extensively in the media, frequently appears on panels and at industry events domestically and abroad, and is an expert at frenzy whipping, brand awareness, and in creating new business models. Follow Brian on Twitter: @zisk
