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Thursday, October 14 at 8:00 am PTBlockchain + AI
Summit 2021Virtual Conference
EXPERIENCE FIRST-HAND THE NEW WORLD ENABLED BY BLOCKCHAIN AND AI
Experience first-hand the enormous impact that blockchain plus AI is having an in key sectors such as financial services & decentralized finance (DeFi), supply chains, NFTs, healthcare and impact.
Blockchain technology is experiencing widespread adoption in these key areas, clearly going well beyond cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Notably, enterprise blockchain is set to grow to a $19 billion opportunity by 2025 according to IDC, and Gartner has projected growth to $3.1 trillion by 2030. Meanwhile, Enterprise AI is expected to grow to about $300 million this year (IDC). Blockchain and AI combined also have a high growth projection of nearly $1 billion by 2025 (360iResearch). Deloitte’s Global Blockchain Survey published in August 2021 further underscores this high growth landscape with 81% of its senior-executive survey respondents acknowledging blockchain technology’s broad scalability and mainstream adoption.
Engage with powerful and thought-provoking discussions
A top-tier lineup of Global Leaders from Corporates to Venture Capitalists and hot Startups
SCHEDULE

Virtual Summit
Thursday , 14 Oct
8:00 AM
Opening Keynote – Blockchain & AI: Present and Future
- Radhika IyengarFounding Partner, StarChain Ventures, CEO, Barlea Corp
Radhika Iyengar is a TEDx speaker, Silicon Valley Woman of Influence, and serial entrepreneur. She is a Founding Partner at StarChain Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture studio focused on solving significant global challenges with advanced technologies such as Blockchain, AI, and IoT – a core thesis of her best-selling book, Enterprise Blockchain Has Arrived. She is also a Managing Partner at DoubleNova Group, a boutique Silicon Valley management consulting firm advising the Global 2000 and top startups on advanced tech and global markets. She is also CEO of Barlea Corp., a blockchain and AI
company transforming cybersecurity with a focus on healthcare.As an enterprise blockchain expert and thought leader, Radhika is a member of California Gov Ops Blockchain Working Group, a select taskforce advising Governor Newsom & California state legislature on the applications of blockchain technology. She has been interviewed by Forbes Japan, CNN International and Business/Tech Insider, and keynoted at prominent venues including Google, Intel, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, Draper University plus scores of leading international technology conferences. Multilingual in 10 languages, she advises governments, top international accelerators and startups in emerging technologies in the US, EU, LatAm and Africa.
Radhika is an Advisory Board member at the World Business Angel Investment Forum (WBAF-USA) which has a mandate for increasing diversity and sustainability. She is a Board Director at TiE Silicon Valley focused on fostering global entrepreneurship. She is also an Advisory Board member at healthfocused organizations such as Partners in Digital Health Institute (PHDInst), a premier global health ecosystem platform focused on advanced tech in healthcare, and Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY), the world’s first peer-reviewed journal on blockchain in healthcare.
A global citizen, Radhika is committed to solving pressing global challenges and works at the intersection of technology and policy to develop impactful frameworks. In 2021, she was invited to participate in the Digital Consultation initiative by the UN Secretary General and has put forth proposals leveraging advanced technologies in global digital inclusion and gender equity. She holds an MBA from Chapman University, an AB from Bryn Mawr College, and is a Certified Network Engineer.
8:25 AM
Opening Fireside Chat
- Prasad RaoEntrepreneur and Founded Four IT Services Companies, Moderator
Prasad Rao has been a successful entrepreneur and founded four IT Services companies. Currently CEO & Chairman of PrideVel Group, a specialty IT Services firm with business operations in the US and India. Extensive solution driven IT services and partner driven business development background. Led two IPOs in India, two rounds of VC investments in the USA and one exit through sale to a strategic buyer. Honored by E&Y as “IT Services Entrepreneur Of The Year” for Illinois/Northwest Indiana in 1999. Accomplished 5th and 7th positions in Inc500 as CEO of CyberTech in 1999 and 1998 respectively. Has been serving on the boards of several technology companies and helping them in business strategy and operations.
Honored by his Alma mater, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, a leading business school in India as a Distinguished Alumnus.
Angel investor, passionate about mentoring budding entrepreneurs & empowering younger generations with entrepreneurial skills. A TIE Silicon Valley Charter Member and a member of the TiE SV Angels screening committee.
Blockchain enthusiast, currently leading Web3 Technologies, www.web3tech.biz, a PrideVel Group entity developing web3 technology solutions and decentralized applications (DApps) for its customers. Particularly focused on building decentralized applications on Polygon, layer2 Ethereum scaling network, contributing to Polygon’s vision of being the leading platform for scalable & secure decentralized applications.Has been investing in crypto-currencies and crypto hedge funds personally for the past couple of years, and recently launched a Crypto Hedge Fund as General Partner of the fund.
- Sandeep NailwalCo-founder of Polygon
Sandeep Nailwal, is an Indian entrepreneur, software developer and co-founder of one of the hottest protocols in the world of DeFi, Polygon. Sandeep is a long time developer who’s been dabbling in the space since way back in his college days. Originally known as the Matic Network, Polygon rebranded earlier this year with the aim to reach a global audience and they’ve certainly done just that.
8:45 AM
Beyond Fintech
How is blockchain creating pivotal transformation in fintech and how can digital assets disrupt the status quo? Will all major currencies soon be digital – digital Dollar, digital Euro, etc.? Can decentralized finance (DeFi) democratize access to capital? Our panel of global experts and practitioners will discuss these important trends plus look at the technology’s strategic implications and imperatives that can unlock tremendous value for enterprises, governments, and humanity. They will also put these topics into their real-world context by discussing which policies and regulation will either streamline or limit adoption.
- Katie K RichardsCEO, Cyber Capital, Moderator
Beyond Convention: A dynamic mobile executive professional with 25+ years of international experience in financial services, corporate and digital environments. A self-starter that’s passionate about innovation, fintech and blockchain, managing risks, lean operations, driving business through partnering and building brand equity.
- Emi YoshikawaVP, Corporate Strategy and Operations
Emi Yoshikawa is the VP of Corporate Strategy & Operations at Ripple and is responsible for the company’s corporate strategy and business operations as well as joint venture partnerships. She also serves as a board member of MoneyTap, Inc., which builds a next-gen payments platform by leveraging distributed ledger technology. Emi is a syndicated columnist for Forbes Japan. She is also an adjunct professor at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (GSAIS) as well as a founding core member of its Blockchain Research Center and is driving blockchain research collaboration between industry and academia. Earlier in her career, she managed the development of investment analytics solutions as a product manager at MSCI, previously part of Morgan Stanley. She also ran a US-Asia business consulting practice, with a focus on cross-border business development. With over 10 years of experience in the financial technology industry, she was selected as a top-50 “Women in Fintech” Influencer by Onalytica in 2017. Emi holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is also a CFA charter holder.
- Robert LevinCEO, Emerging Star Capital
Robert is an inventor, mobile & digital health expert, serial entrepreneur, and author. He is currently the CEO of Transclick, a real-time translation service with over 14 million digital client downloads. He has over 25 years of senior-level Wall Street & Technology experience and has raised $150 million for funds and technology companies.
- Dr. Agata FerreiraExpert Panel, EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum
Dr Agata Ferreira is an international lawyer, advisor and university assistant professor. She is a UK qualified solicitor and has knowledge and experience from several juridictions and legal systems. Agata spent over a decade practicing law in the City of London finance sector, in a leading law firm Clifford Chance and an in an investment bank Credit Suisse. Currently, she is an assistant professor and the Warsaw University of Technology and a guest professor at a number of academic institutions. She is also an expert at the EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum, and holds a number of advisory positions in blockchain industry.
- Dr. Amber GhaddarCIO, Alliance Block
Dr Amber Ghaddar is one of the founders of AllianceBlock, the blockchain startup building the framework for the world’s first globally compliant capital market by bridging CeFi and DeFi. AllianceBlock issued its token in September 2020 and is now in the top 200 global crypto projects by market capitalization. It however, ranks fourth in terms of women founded crypto projects by market capitalization.
9:30 AM
Amplifying Social Impact
Blockchain might be arriving just in time to help us solve some of the most difficult problems of our era – restoring equitable access to global markets and financing, creating sustainable solutions for the climate crisis and achieving social equity. What is abundantly clear is that blockchain and other advanced technologies can be successfully leveraged to build transformative solutions. This world-class panel of impact leaders will discuss important and innovative solutions that can enable humanity to bridge to a better tomorrow.
- Bridget GreenwoodCEO, The Bigger Pie,Moderator
Inspired by both blockchain's potential to fundamentally change the way we do business and the pioneering women working in this nascent space, Bridget is determined to see more #womeninblockchain succeed. Bridget has worked in financial services since 2000, originally an IFA, then running her own companies following the birth of her son. She became interested in Bitcoin and blockchain in 2017. She's worked with start ups in the sector, both retail facing and servicing institutional clients, gaining an insight into the market place, challenges, pitfalls, regulation and breadth of projects and businesses in this rapidly evolving space.
- Shaun FranksonCo-founder & CTO, Plastic Bank
Shaun Frankson is the co-founder of Plastic Bank, a social enterprise that makes plastic waste a currency to FIGHT Ocean plastic and global poverty. Plastic Bank uses a blockchain-powered platform to provide a life ascension program and universal income for the world’s poor that is earned through Social Plastic recycling programs.
- Moses KusasiraCEO, SMG PaySoko
Moses Kusasira’s leadership, vision, and creative innovation led him to become Founder and CEO of Social Media Gateways, Inc. Kusasira is an expert in enterprise high tech integration, FinTech, and marketing technologies, and has been repeatedly selected as a key advisor to major corporate CEO’s and decision makers. With over a decade of experience, Kusasira has extensive background in technology startups and has successfully managed multi-million dollar development and operational revenue initiatives. Kusasira has unique skill sets in translating vision and strategy into measurable operational objectives and results.
- Thessy MehrainCEO, Liquality.io
Creating innovative digital solutions for more than 15 years across several domains Thessy's focus at Consensys is on increasing social and economic inclusion through blockchain solutions. She is the Co-Founder of Liquality @Consensys, a project to enable decentralized value exchange for financial inclusion, and frictionless global interactions across different blockchains. In 2016 Thessy founded 'Women in Blockchain’, a decentralized global community that is governed only by common principles to be a catalyst for women defining the blockchain space. She also worked on self-sovereign identity and a supply chain solution and with the Consensys Social Impact team. Previously, Thessy was Vice President of Product Strategy at JPMorgan’s investment bank, worked with Occupy’s Alternative Banking Group, was a partner in a consultancy for digital solutions and transformation, and co-founded a scientific peer reviews system. She is a multi-national who embraces the global vibe of New York City. Fluent in English and German.
- Dr. Sindhu BhaskarCEO, EST Global
Dr. Sindhu Bhaskar is the Chairman and CEO of EST Group. EST Global Inc., is an enterprise based in the MIT ecosystem, incorporated and operating from Cambridge Innovation Center, MIT, USA. Dr. Sindhu has worked his career to global leadership in transforming the financial ecosystem through digital evolution, fintech revolution, and financial inclusion. He is now leading an initiative to impact a majority of the world’s population in the rural and farming sector, with an initial beginning in India. Dr. Sindhu, a New Age Technology Evangelist, is on a mission to create the new development mantra wherein the driving engine is the digital composite banking. Financial inclusion shall shore up the country's economy and growth-quotient. EST vision is to make banking as intuitive as unlocking your phone with your fingerprint. This vision is possible through unleashing the potential of emerging technology, understanding countries' problems, investing in alliances and partners to complement the ecosystem. Dr. Sindhu is a strong proponent of digital development banking, digital asset services, AI, IoT and Machine Learning. He is making all facilities interact with the classical banking principles to create the new development mantra. Dr. Sindhu is leading a global initiative to enable a program that is unified, secure, sovereign banking solution that is seamless and enables financial freedom. With 3 decades of niche experience, Dr. Sindhu is a firm believer in Innovation-driven entrepreneurship. He is a thought leader in the banking and financial services sector and has been a progress-seeking banker. Dr. Sindhu has brought together over 30 partners in this conglomerate of ventures and a market presence in 17 countries across the globe, EST Group is firmly set towards the goal of borderless banking. The bank shall become the engine of growth and financial inclusion. Dr. Sindhu remains a committed champion of great ideas especially with the focus on socio-economic development using fintech. He has an extensive network of accredited Investors and Venture Capitalists. Business-relationships & proven execution capabilities, make him a trusted advisor and valued resource to investors. He is a global speaker at various technology forums and platforms. He loves poems. His anthology of English poems has been published in the World Poet series. Dr. Sindhu authored books on banking and is also a visiting faculty at different management institutes and banks.
- Genevieve LeveilleCEO, AgriLedger
Genevieve Leveille, originally from Haiti, is the principal founder and CEO of AgriLedger. She has more than 25 years’ experience dealing with large corporations and banks in financial supply chain optimization. Her background is in corporate and institutional banking. With a reputation for the delivery of disruptive technologies in large-scale projects, Genevieve is recognized as an authority in the realm of digital identity and financial transformation. Exploring the powers of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) for over three years, her work in the financial inclusion for Africa with her previous employer, the global bank consortium IdenTrust, is well known. A finalist in the Women in IT Awards 2016 (Security Champion), her recognition on the Women in 2016/17 Fintech Power List published by Innovate Finance testifies to her resilience and leadership. She serves as the vice-chair for the techUK Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) Working Group, an organization that provides strategic direction for all UK activities related to blockchain and DLT and is an inaugural member of the Advisory Group for the Estonian Government’s eResidency initiative for the digital identity. Genevieve has qualifications in Bachelor of Science in Biology, is a Certified Treasury Professional and has a Six Sigma Black Belt in process improvement. She is adept in leading or participating in cross-functional teams on a global basis and is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.
10:15 AM
Reviving Healthcare
The healthcare industry is undergoing significant transformation in areas such as cybersecurity, revenue cycle management, and personalized healthcare. With rampant large-scale ransomware attacks with some of the largest health systems, administration inefficiencies in health providers, and a one-size-fits-all approach that still prevails, the healthcare industry is exploring new innovative solutions. Blockchain and AI-based systems are now poised to revive the delivery of healthcare. Join leading companies and experts who are embracing blockchain and AI to deliver more robust, comprehensive, and personalized healthcare.
- Tory CenajPublisher, Blockchain in Healthcare Today, Moderator
Tory Cenaj is the founder and publisher of Partners in Digital Health. The portfolio forecasts, shapes, and reflects market potential, innovation, research, blazing trials, and igniting zeitgeist for blockchain technology and telehealth healthcare sectors. Tory launched the world’s first breakthrough peer-reviewed journal, disseminating distributed ledger technology research and innovations in the healthcare marketplace – Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY). She is also the publisher of Telehealth and Medicine Today (TMT) peer-reviewed journal and curates the companion Converge2Xcelerate (ConV2X) annual conference and Pitch Competition. She has been named as a female leader in blockchain in the Introducer Magazine, making the international roster of blockchain female game changers in 2019 (https://view.joomag.com/the-introducer-volume-11/0508448001544981706/p8?short) and again in 2020 as the Top 101 Women in blockchain and cryptocurrency in the world for evidence-based journalism (https://www.cryptocurryclub.com/100-women-in-blockchain-report). In 2019, she was invited to join the US Business and Innovation Delegation to the Republic of Kosovo. Tory is a sought-after speaker presenting insights into future innovations in healthcare, editor & author, interviewed on podcasts + radio shows, and has co-authored several papers with global thought-leaders in the field of blockchain. She has advised healthcare startups, students, and women in business. She spearheads the PDH portfolio and growth, including two dozen worldwide ambassador chapters, global licensing, and is executive advisor to IEEE SA decentralized clinical trials and telehealth workgroup initiatives. Ms. Cenaj has established a reputation for integrity and innovation as a recognized new independent academic publisher. BHTY and TMT journals are widely-read and frequently-cited in academia, media, and bloggers. She is a graduate of Smith College and the New York School of Interior Design. Tory’s passion is harnessing breakthrough innovations in the health communications and technology landscapes. She’s inspired by the hope, and change discoveries bring health communities worldwide – especially if they provide affordable, quality care and cure.
- Dr. Ben GoertzelCEO, Singularity-Net
Dr. Ben Goertzel is co-founder and CEO of SingularityNet, an open, decentralized platform for connecting and orchestrating interactions between artificial general intelligence (AGI) agents and other software. He has been a leader in the pursuit of AGI for over 20 years. Goertzel is also an innovator and researcher in NLP including a recent paper on unsupervised grammar induction.
- Dr. Ingrid Vasiliu-FeltesCIO, GBA
WBAF World Excellence Award-Social Entrepreneurship 2021 Top 20 Global Leaders in Digital Twins Technologies Top 50 Global Leaders in Health Tech Top 100 Visionary In Education Award 2021 Top 100 Global Women in Leadership Award 2021 Top 100 World Women Vision Award 2021-Innovation & Tech Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise 2021 ( nominee) Nations of Women Change Makers Award ( finalist) Top 100 Healthcare Leader 2020 Award Top 100 Finance Leader 2020 Award Top 100 Women in Crypto 2020 Excellence In Education Award 2020 Women Leader Award 2016 Teaching Award 2010 Excellence in Research Award 2001
- Radhika IyengarFounding Partner, StarChain Ventures, CEO, Barlea Corp
Radhika Iyengar is a TEDx speaker, Silicon Valley Woman of Influence, and serial entrepreneur. She is a Founding Partner at StarChain Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture studio focused on solving significant global challenges with advanced technologies such as Blockchain, AI, and IoT – a core thesis of her best-selling book, Enterprise Blockchain Has Arrived. She is also a Managing Partner at DoubleNova Group, a boutique Silicon Valley management consulting firm advising the Global 2000 and top startups on advanced tech and global markets. She is also CEO of Barlea Corp., a blockchain and AI
company transforming cybersecurity with a focus on healthcare.As an enterprise blockchain expert and thought leader, Radhika is a member of California Gov Ops Blockchain Working Group, a select taskforce advising Governor Newsom & California state legislature on the applications of blockchain technology. She has been interviewed by Forbes Japan, CNN International and Business/Tech Insider, and keynoted at prominent venues including Google, Intel, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, Draper University plus scores of leading international technology conferences. Multilingual in 10 languages, she advises governments, top international accelerators and startups in emerging technologies in the US, EU, LatAm and Africa.
Radhika is an Advisory Board member at the World Business Angel Investment Forum (WBAF-USA) which has a mandate for increasing diversity and sustainability. She is a Board Director at TiE Silicon Valley focused on fostering global entrepreneurship. She is also an Advisory Board member at healthfocused organizations such as Partners in Digital Health Institute (PHDInst), a premier global health ecosystem platform focused on advanced tech in healthcare, and Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY), the world’s first peer-reviewed journal on blockchain in healthcare.
A global citizen, Radhika is committed to solving pressing global challenges and works at the intersection of technology and policy to develop impactful frameworks. In 2021, she was invited to participate in the Digital Consultation initiative by the UN Secretary General and has put forth proposals leveraging advanced technologies in global digital inclusion and gender equity. She holds an MBA from Chapman University, an AB from Bryn Mawr College, and is a Certified Network Engineer.
- Mike McCoyAssociate Director, Humana
As Associate Director of Emerging Technology at Humana, Mike helps internal leadership understand how to use new software, hardware, technical systems and methods on the cutting edge to enhance experiences in health care, life science and public sector use cases. Previously at Accenture and ConsenSys, Mike has worked in technical strategy, development, integration and growth to use and scale emerging technologies to industry standards. Outside of Humana Mike is an Adjunct Professor at Thomas Jefferson University's Institute of Emerging Health Professions as a lecturer and course developer for their graduate certificate programs. He is also Chair The Linux Foundation, Hyperledger Healthcare Special Interest Group and an active member of IEEE, HIMSS, Frontiers, Blockchain in Healthcare Today, Blockchain for Social Impact and other technical and social working groups.
- Mini SuriCEO, Velmeni
Mini Suri is the co-founder of Velmeni. An entrepreneur, seasoned tech professional, & AI/ML expert, Mini has held leadership positions at organizations like Kore.ai, Uber, & Citi among others. She has an MBA from MIT & MS in Computer Science from NJIT. She is passionate about women's initiatives & advises young startup founders.
11:00 AM
Lunch
11:45 AM
Upgrading Supply Chains
As has become evident at scale during the pandemic, centralized supply chain systems are not resilient in the face of sudden change and data is often unreliable. The result is that it can take many months to fix disruptions. Additionally, counterfeiting is on an exponential rise with the total value of counterfeit and pirated goods forecast to exceed $2.3 trillion by 2022. Blockchain and AI working in tandem have the ability to rapidly increase the reliability of the supply chains that the world depends on by increasing transparency, reducing fraud, and creating a more resilient infrastructure. Our panel of experts will discuss the leading trends in upgrading global supply chain systems.
- Daniela BarbosaVP, Worldwide Alliances, Linux Foundation, Moderator
Daniela Barbosa serves as Vice President of World Wide Alliances for 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.
- Gurwinder AhluwaliaCEO, Digital Twin Labs
Gurvinder Ahluwalia is the Founder & CEO of Digital Twin Labs based in the US and an Advisor on Digitization to the Gates Foundation. Previously, he was Chief Technology Officer at IBM for Blockchain, Cloud, and IoT for North America and an alumnus of the IBM Academy of Technology. He co-pioneered Blockchain use in enterprise for the first time in the world in 2014, which culminated into co-founded IBM Blockchain and Hyperledger in 2015-16. Gurvinder has stewarded industry, business, public, and open source organizations through recent waves of tech disruption in Internet, Mobile, Cloud, and now Blockchain, IoT, Digital Assets and AI/ML. Under Gurvinder’s leadership, Digital Twin Labs has co-created for clients and partners new investments and a new denomination of digital assets, tokenization, digital platforms, and digital ventures. These include blockchain based supply chains for global and ethical trade of diamonds, market-making platform for mortgage servicing, provenance in supply of food and nutrition, blockchain based industrial 3D printed parts in aerospace and automotive, cloud-based streaming video analytics for brand activism, and provenance of containers in global shipping using frontier technologies. These digital platforms and initiatives tackle burning commerce, societal, and policy problems, such as: double spend, money laundering, terrorist financing, compliance, counterfeiting, trade finance, double spend, privacy, ethics, data sharing vs ownership, incentive alignment, provenance, sustainability, deforestation, operational efficiency, and ecosystem governance. @guriahluwalia.
- Raja SharifCEO, FarmaTrust
Raja is the Founder and CEO of FarmaTrust, and is driving the company’s vision and mission of creating innovative solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries to protect consumers of medicines and create efficiencies in the industry. Raja is a UK qualified barrister; he has been General Counsel and Board Member of number European companies, with over 20 years business experience in the global media and technology companies.
- R. Paul SinghChief Revenue Officer (CRO), Tada Cognitive Solutions
Paul brings years of experience in sales and marketing at various companies including Ascend/Lucent, Telebit/Cisco, Sun Microsystems/Oracle and 3Com.
He is a successful entrepreneur having founded multiple startups with Veraz Networks going public and three other companies acquired. Before coming to Tada, he has been advising various SaaS companies on their sales and marketing strategies to grow their business. Paul is an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship at both Northeastern University and UC Berkeley and also mentors at Google Launchpad and TiE Silicon Valley.
- Sunil CherianCEO, Copperwire
Sunil Cherian is the founder and CEO of Copperwire Systems, a Silicon Valley blockchain applications company, that helps easily unlock, accelerate and maximize value from Blockchain technologies, without having to reinvent the wheel or deal with setup risks and headaches. Copperwire Conductor suite of services, pre-built applications and solutions bridges the gap between the blockchain and existing systems, offering up potential to drive efficiency, visibility and security in your supply chain, tech systems and more. Sunil was a founding team member of Array Networks, a company that he was involved all the way from founding through IPO and beyond. He has held various senior management roles in Marketing, Product Management, Engineering and Business Development and been involved in companies in the networking, cloud & security space. He started his career at VMX/Octel/Lucent and was part of Alteon WebSystems before Array Networks. He has a B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Kerala, India and a Masters in Computer Science from SUNY Albany, New York. He was also responsible for one of the largest IT job creation programs in N. America for minority women and veterans (Step IT Up America) through Mentor Global, a company he co-founded with other alumni from College of Engineering, Trivandrum. He is an investor and advisor/mentor to many startups and tech enabled companies.
12:30 PM
Digital Ownership Revolution & the Metaverse
After 30 years of the Web, Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) finally enable everyone to own digital assets online. This is a dramatic shift – an ownership revolution – since we can now verifiably own anything online including art, music, text, collectibles, etc. With this foundation we can now begin to really create and explore the 3D Web, often known as the Metaverse, that we will inhabit virtually online. Though this is new technology, the space is exploding with billions of dollars of virtual goods changing hands on a monthly basis. Our panel of top NFT experts and leading companies will lend insights into this dynamic and fast growth space.
- Jorden WoodsFounding Partner, StarChain Ventures, Moderator
Jorden is a successful 3-time serial entrepreneur with exits and a pioneer in decentralized technology and globalization strategy. He is a Founding Partner of StarChain Ventures, a venture studio focused on solving significant global challenges with advanced technology solutions. Jorden is also a Managing Partner at DoubleNova Group, a boutique management consulting firm based in Silicon Valley. Jorden has raised over $48 million from top tier Silicon Valley and global investors for his own companies and an additional $150 million for advised startups. He has also generated millions of dollars in revenue and expanded startups both nationally and internationally. Jorden is an expert in enterprise blockchain (Author of Enterprise Blockchain Has Arrived), fundraising, startup acceleration, and global entrepreneurship. He has been an invited guest speaker at Stanford University, Google, UC Berkeley, and leading blockchain and AI conferences in Silicon Valley. Jorden holds a BS in astrophysics from Caltech and an MS in physics from University of Washington.
- Mickey MaherSVP Partnerships, Dapper Labs
The majority of Maher's experience has been managing teams and selling solutions in the mobile app space. He has experience selling adtech, SAAS, eSports, social and virtual currency solutions to enterprise mobile customers as well as game developers.
- Neda WhitneySVP, Head of Marketing, Christie's
Neda Whitney is the head of marketing for the Americas at Christie's. In her role, she has helped push the 254-year-old auction house into the digital world. Her biggest claim to fame: Helping sell Beeple's Everydays, which captivated the art world when it sold for nearly $70 million in March.
- Miko MatsumuraGP, Gumi Cryptos Capital
Miko is a General Partner with Gumi Ventures, a US $30M investment fund focused early-stage blockchain startups and a cofounder of crypto exchange Evercoin.
1:15 PM
Closing Fireside Chat – Regenerative Finance
- Dr. Mihaela UlieruStrategic Impact Leader at Input-Output (the developers of Cardano blockchain , President, Impact Institute, ModeratorDr. Mihaela UlieruStrategic Impact Leader at Input-Output (the developers of Cardano blockchain , President, Impact Institute, Moderator
Dr. Mihaela Ulieru is a technology alchemist and is an innovator at the edge of the impossible. She is founder and President of the IMPACT Institute for the Digital Economy (IMPACT stands for ” Innovation Management and Policy Accelerated with Communication Technologies”), which she founded as a consulting arm of her work aiming at policy reforms for the adoption of the latest digital technologies in all areas of society and sectors of the economy. Since her early career she kept inspiring and supporting young entrepreneurs – one of her first MSc students was Garret Camp, co-founder of Uber and StumbleUpon – and she currently advises several startups aiming to put the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” technologies (AI, Blockchain, IoT) to work to make the world a better place.
Among these, most notable are Endor.com which is an MIT powered Artificial Intelligence engine for “the 99%” at 1% of the cost; Sapien.network which aims to build a fair Facebook using Blockchain; Esprezzo.io which enables easy deployment of Blockchain applications, Snakt.com which will put You-Tube on Blockchain to reward fairly all contributors, RedPen, a “wisdom” engine which aims to help us from drowning in the tsunami of information by consolidating news and public opinion capturing what the Internet thinks, feels and says “CommonWealth Resilience 4.0 a social networking platform aiming to reduce losses during a disaster by seamlessly connecting those who need help with those who can help, and FreedomX which aims to eradicate homelessness through economic inclusion.”
Dr. Ulieru is a world traveler to promote the advantages of leveraging Blockchain and its potential to create equality and a fairer society through the inclusion of the 99% in the economy and she advocated successfully at the World Economic Forum for the inclusion of Blockchain among the Top 10 future and emerging technologies in 2016. Dr. Ulieru has been involved with major multi-stakeholder programs leading the scaling-up of operations through strategic partnerships and networks in Industrial Informatics, the Future of Medicine, Self-Organizing Security, the EnergyWeb, Global Manufacturing Systems, and Sustainable Personal Living Technologies. She has authored over 200 scientific articles, works on several Boards and Councils and still has time to write poetry
- Ernesto van PeborghCo-Founder en RegenDesigners
Ernesto van Peborgh, is an , Entrepreneur, writer, filmmaker, engineer and holds an MBA from Harvard University. Ernesto creates systemic interactive networks by applying social technology and knowledge management. He applies the potential of social media to catalyze a cultural change from the collaborative ways of working.
Ernesto is leading the incubation of Capital Institute’s RegenDesigners, whose mission is to change the way investors think, catalyze the transformation of economics and finance, in theory, and practice, into alignment with the patterns and principles of living systems..
Ernesto is also Co-funder of Rehumans, a co-creative innovation lab operating in the US, Brazil, and Mexico that delivers capacity-building programs and conducts action research worldwide in order to support and scale profound societal innovation.
In 2017, he Co-funded Taqe Brasil.
He is also the founder of a multidisciplinary team called El Viaje de Odiseo, a B Corp, Top ten Honoree 2017 and 2018 in the category Change Makers.
He has published a number of books, among them, "Sustainability 2.0" (2007, Amazon), is the first formulation of the catalytic role that can be played by social media to create new collaborative business and governance models.
"Networks: the planetary consciousness awakening" (2013, DVS Brazil), explains why Web 2.0 is a network of interaction and media platform, the carrier and promoter of a new logic, that can develop a new cognitive organization, a knowledge commons system, enabling us to develop an urgent response to the environmental and social crisis.
“Homohacker” (2016, Paidos) describes how the human system, challenged by an increase of complexity, is reconstituted, and, by an exponential increase in interconnectivity, begins to decentralize towards new organizational systems and develop tools that, with new languages, allow a cognitive emerging and with it the emergence of a new more committed individual that uses the knowledge as new capital to meet our new challenges.
He a columnist for the newspaper "La Nación", and also teaches lectures in educational and business organizations and events such as TEDx.
In his former life, he was vice president of Citicorp Equity Investments and the founder and director of the fund AVP-AIG Southern Cone Fund investments.
CO-CHAIRS
- Radhika IyengarFounding Partner, StarChain Ventures, CEO, Barlea Corp
Radhika Iyengar is a TEDx speaker, Silicon Valley Woman of Influence, and serial entrepreneur. She is a Founding Partner at StarChain Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture studio focused on solving significant global challenges with advanced technologies such as Blockchain, AI, and IoT – a core thesis of her best-selling book, Enterprise Blockchain Has Arrived. She is also a Managing Partner at DoubleNova Group, a boutique Silicon Valley management consulting firm advising the Global 2000 and top startups on advanced tech and global markets. She is also CEO of Barlea Corp., a blockchain and AI
company transforming cybersecurity with a focus on healthcare.As an enterprise blockchain expert and thought leader, Radhika is a member of California Gov Ops Blockchain Working Group, a select taskforce advising Governor Newsom & California state legislature on the applications of blockchain technology. She has been interviewed by Forbes Japan, CNN International and Business/Tech Insider, and keynoted at prominent venues including Google, Intel, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, Draper University plus scores of leading international technology conferences. Multilingual in 10 languages, she advises governments, top international accelerators and startups in emerging technologies in the US, EU, LatAm and Africa.
Radhika is an Advisory Board member at the World Business Angel Investment Forum (WBAF-USA) which has a mandate for increasing diversity and sustainability. She is a Board Director at TiE Silicon Valley focused on fostering global entrepreneurship. She is also an Advisory Board member at healthfocused organizations such as Partners in Digital Health Institute (PHDInst), a premier global health ecosystem platform focused on advanced tech in healthcare, and Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY), the world’s first peer-reviewed journal on blockchain in healthcare.
A global citizen, Radhika is committed to solving pressing global challenges and works at the intersection of technology and policy to develop impactful frameworks. In 2021, she was invited to participate in the Digital Consultation initiative by the UN Secretary General and has put forth proposals leveraging advanced technologies in global digital inclusion and gender equity. She holds an MBA from Chapman University, an AB from Bryn Mawr College, and is a Certified Network Engineer.
- Mini SuriCEO, Velmeni
Mini Suri is the co-founder of Velmeni. An entrepreneur, seasoned tech professional, & AI/ML expert, Mini has held leadership positions at organizations like Kore.ai, Uber, & Citi among others. She has an MBA from MIT & MS in Computer Science from NJIT. She is passionate about women's initiatives & advises young startup founders.