Speaker | SALT Talks

Jeff Immelt

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Venture Partner, New Enterprise Associates (NEA)

Jeff Immelt is a Venture Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a global venture capital and private equity firm. He is the author of Hot Seat, a memoir of leadership in times of crisis. Prior to joining NEA in 2018, Jeff was the 9th Chairman of GE and served as CEO for 16 years. He has been named one of the “World’s Best CEOs” three times by Barron’s. During his tenure as CEO, GE was named “America’s Most Admired Company” by Fortune magazine and one of “The World’s Most Respected Companies” in polls by Barron’s and the Financial Times. He has received fifteen honorary degrees and numerous awards for business leadership and chaired the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness under the Obama administration. Jeff has a B.A. degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. He is a member of The American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Don Lemon

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Anchor, CNN Tonight

Don Lemon anchors CNN Tonight with Don Lemon airing weeknights at 10:00pm. He also serves as a correspondent across CNN/U.S. programming. Based out of the network’s New York bureau, Don joined CNN in September 2006.

A news veteran of Chicago, Lemon reported from Chicago in the days leading up to the 2008 presidential election, including an interview with then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel on the day he accepted the position of Chief of Staff for President-elect Barack Obama. He also interviewed Anne Cooper, the 106-year old voter President-elect Obama highlighted in his election night acceptance speech after he had seen Lemon's interview with Cooper on CNN.

He has served as moderator for CNN's political town halls, co-moderated first 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate and co-hosted Color of Covid special that addressed the pandemic's impact on communities of color.

Shabtai Shavit

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Director General, Mossad (1989-1996)

Mr. Shavit was the director of the Mossad, Israel's Intelligence Services, from 1989 to 1996. Mr. Shavit held a variety of positions within the Mossad for over 32 years, until becoming head of the agency in 1989. He served in "Sayeret Matkal" - Israel's s Elite Force, and received an advanced degree from Harvard University. After retiring from work in the security services, Shavit was the CEO of Maccabi Health Services Group for five years. Since 2001 Shavit has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT), Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Advisor to the Israeli National Security Council, Advisor to the Sub-Committee on intelligence of the Knesset, Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Member of the N.Y.F.D. Task Force for Future Preparedness against Terrorism.

He is also the author of Head of the Mossad: in Pursuit for a Safe and Secure Israel published by Notre Dame University Press.

Shabtai is the former Chairman of Athena, Mer Group Security Division, and currently a member of Mer Advisory Board.

Sheila Warren

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Head of Data, Blockchain & Digital Assets, World Economic Forum

Sheila Warren is the Head of Data, Blockchain, and Digital Assets, and a member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum. She founded the Blockchain and DLT team at the Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), where she serves as Deputy Head. Sheila co-hosts a weekly podcast/TV show called “Money Reimagined” on Coindesk TV and was the architect of the Presidio Principles, the groundbreaking ethical framework for blockchain applications. Her pioneering policy work is helping shape the data and technology spaces to be more inclusive, ethical, and equitable. Sheila began her career as a Wall Street attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP before turning to philanthropy and civic tech over a decade ago. She was most recently the VP of Strategic Alliances and General Counsel at TechSoup. Prior to that role, she designed and launched NGOsource, a SaaS product focused on international grantmaking. Sheila serves on the boards of the ACLU of Northern California, the Equal Justice Society, TechSoup, and the Filecoin Foundation, and has advised the World Bank, the OECD, the Digital Dollar project, the California government, and others. She is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Jeff Booth

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Author, The Price of Tomorrow

Jeff Booth is a visionary leader who has lived at the forefront of technology change for 20 years. He led BuildDirect, a technology company that aimed to simplify the building industry, for nearly two decades through the dot-com meltdown, the 2008 financial crisis, and many waves of technological disruption.

In January 2020, Jeff released his first book titled “The Price of Tomorrow – Why Deflation is Key to an Abundant Future”. In it, Jeff offers his provocative thesis about the current state of our economies and what must happen to enable a brighter future.

Jeff has been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, Inc.com, The Globe and Mail, BNN, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Bloomberg, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal. In 2015, he was named BC Technology Industry Association’s (BCTIA) Person of the Year, and in 2016 Goldman Sachs named him among its 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.

He is a Founding Partner of OtioLabs, Co-Founder of addyinvest.com and NocNoc, and serves on the boards of Terramera, Cubic Farms, LlamaZOO, Synthiam and the Richmond Hospital Foundation as well as numerous advisory boards.

He has been a Young Presidents Organization member since 2004 and contributes time as a Founding Fellow on the Creative Destruction Lab.

Richard Byworth

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Chief Executive Officer, Diginex

Richard is CEO of Diginex. He has 20+ years of experience spanning finance, start-ups, investment, and fintech sectors.

Previously Managing Director at Nomura, the Japanese Investment Bank, Richard was running Derivative and Equity Linked product Sales for Asia Pacific product globally. The youngest Managing Director in the firm’s history, Richard led the build of the #1 franchise for Convertible Bonds in Asia from 2005. In both 2008 and 2009 he was the firm’s largest producing salesperson across Nomura’s global wholesale investment banking franchise. Richard led the syndication and distribution of some of Asia’s largest convertible bond deals in the last 15 years including China Unicom and Softbank.

In business, Richard has founded several companies and is an active investor, having started his first trading company in 1990. He is a board member of Bletchley Park Asset Management, Jersey, Diginex, and sits on the advisory board to PrivateMarket.io, a private equity fund marketplace.

Richard is Hong Kong Regional Ambassador for the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC), and has spoken extensively around the merits of blockchain for business and finance at WEF (Davos) and the United Nations (Geneva).

Richard holds a BA (Hons) in French with Management from University of London, Royal Holloway College and business school at ESC Montpellier (Montpellier Business School) and speaks French fluently.

Georgia Quinn

General Counsel, Anchorage Digital

Georgia Quinn is the general counsel of Anchorage, the premier digital asset platform for institutions and first federally chartered digital asset bank. Prior to that she was the general counsel of CoinList, a cryptocurrency exchange and platform that provides services to top token developers including compliant offering, distribution, and liquidity services. She is also the co-founder of iDisclose (now LawCloud), a legal technology company focused on the disclosure and legal document needs of small business and startup entrepreneurs. Ms. Quinn began her practice in capital markets at Weil, Gotshal and Manges and later moved to Seyfarth Shaw before founding iDisclose. Ms. Quinn received a JD from Columbia Law School, and received a BFA from New York University.

Meltem Demirors

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Chief Strategy Officer, CoinShares

Meltem Demirors is Chief Strategy Officer of CoinShares, a digital asset investment firm that manages $4B in assets on behalf of a global client base, and serves as a trusted partner to investors and entrepreneurs navigating the digital asset ecosystem.

An established veteran of digital asset investing, Meltem draws on her substantial experience and widespread influence to accelerate growth and acceptance of the asset class. Prior to joining CoinShares, Meltem helped build and grow Digital Currency Group, raising capital from the world’s largest corporations and managing a portfolio of 120 companies and 4 subsidiaries. Before she was bitten by the bitcoin bug, Meltem worked in the Oil & Gas industry in trading, corporate treasury, and M&A roles.

Meltem has been recognized for her personal contributions to the industry and serves as an outspoken advocate. She is a founding member and co-chair of the World Economic Forum Cryptocurrency Council and testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the importance of bitcoin.

Meltem teaches at her alma mater MIT as well as Oxford, and is passionate about privacy and civil rights.

Tegan Kline

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Co-Founder & Business Lead, Edge & Node

Tegan Kline is Co-Founder & Business Lead of Edge & Node. Tegan helps leaders and innovators connect more deeply with stakeholders across the blockchain ecosystem.

Tegan Kline is the former International Business Development Manager and OXT Relations Lead for Orchid, an A16z and Sequoia backed blockchain company that created tools and protocols for users to obtain digital freedom and an open and accessible internet. Tegan successfully helped to launch Orchid at a $400m valuation on Coinbase.

Tegan's professional experience has been with Fortune 500's and startups, prior to Orchid, Tegan was the Executive VP of a patent marketplace powered by blockchain, analyzed by AI. She began her career in Investment Banking at BAML and, prior to discovering blockchain, worked in Sales and Trading at Barclays.

Tegan is working to redistribute resources and income using blockchain and AI with Nature 2.0, Co-Author and Partner of Blockchain Code of Ethics, Head of the U.S. for Triangles, a group that supports female founders and Ambassador to Buckminster Fuller Institute, helping to make the world work for 100% of us.

Mike Levy

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Chief Executive Officer, Crow Holdings

Michael Levy is the Chief Executive Officer of Crow Holdings where he is responsible for leading and overseeing the Company’s overall business activities including strategy, investments, and organizational resources. Joining in 2016 from Morgan Stanley where he was Chief Operating Officer for the Investment Management Division and a member of the firm’s Management Committee, Michael had a longstanding career in real estate finance and investment management. He previously held various positions at Morgan Stanley including head of Traditional Asset Management, COO and CFO for Real Estate Investing and co-head for Real Estate Investment Banking. He joined Morgan Stanley in 1998 from Salomon Brothers and began his professional career at Prudential Securities.

Michael is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable, the Policy Advisory Board at the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at Berkeley, the Advisory Board at the Institute for Real Estate Operating Companies and a ULI Foundation Governor. He is also a National Council member of the American Enterprise Institute. He earned his B.S. at NYU’s Stern School of Business and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Robin Potts

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Co-Head of Real Estate Investments, Canyon Partners Real Estate

Robin Potts is the Co-Head of Real Estate Investments and Director of Acquisitions for CPRE. Ms. Potts has been with Canyon Partners for 14 years, is responsible for overseeing the origination and acquisitions of debt and equity investments across Canyon Partners’ real estate platforms and holds a seat on all Canyon Partners real estate investment committees. During her tenure at Canyon Partners, Ms. Potts has facilitated the acquisition, financing and development of over $10 billion of commercial real estate transactions across all asset classes including multifamily, condominium, office, retail, hospitality, industrial, senior housing, student housing and mixed-use. Ms. Potts previously worked in the Financial Institutions Group of Credit Suisse in Los Angeles where she focused on equity, debt and M&A transactions in the mortgage real estate investment trust sector. Ms. Potts is a graduate of Harvard University, where she earned a B.A. degree in Economics.

Francis X. Suarez

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

43rd Mayor of Miami

Francis X. Suarez serves the City of Miami as Mayor. He currently also serves as Vice-Chair of the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization, tasked with approving federally-required plans and transportation policies, and as President of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities.

The oldest of four siblings, Mayor Suarez was born into a family where, as he describes, “being socially conscious was a kind of requirement.” Mayor Suarez is focusing on transportation and connectivity issues within the city and beyond, nurturing the growth of a tech-based economy in the area and, by extension, job creation and international opportunities with Latin America. His priorities also include affordable housing, tackling the poverty pandemic and reducing crime.

Mayor Suarez graduated from Florida International University, where he majored in finance and graduated in the top ten percent of his class. He graduated cum laude from the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law. Prior to running for public office, Mayor Suarez founded a successful real estate firm. He is also a practicing attorney with the law firm of Carlton Fields, specializing in real-estate and corporate transactions.

Dan Held

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Growth Lead, Kraken

Dan is currently the Growth Lead for Kraken. His former company Interchange, a portfolio reconciliation tool for crypto institutional traders, was acquired by Kraken in 7/2019. Prior to that, he was at Uber on Rider Growth/Global Data. Before Uber, Dan built some of the most popular early crypto products including ChangeTip (acquired by AirBnB), and ZeroBlock (acquired by Blockchain.com in the second ever all Bitcoin acquisition). He was part of the original 2013 crypto meetup group in SF which was comprised with the founders of Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and others.

Betsy Z. Cohen

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Chairman, FinTech Masala

Betsy Z. Cohen is Chairman of FinTech Masala, a sponsor of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) focused on fintech innovation, that has raised $3 billion in nine SPACs and announced six mergers. Cohen is recognized as a business visionary in law, banking, and real estate. Before age 30 she had founded a shipping business in Hong Kong, a leasing company in Brazil, and a joint venture with a bank in Spain, and co-founded a Philadelphia law firm that specialized in representing financial institutions and industry clients in complex real estate and financial matters. She was also the second female law professor on the East Coast, teaching banking and antitrust law at Rutgers University Law School.

Betsy founded Jefferson Bank in 1974 and at age 32 became the first female bank CEO in Pennsylvania, growing the bank to become a public company and the Philadelphia region’s largest local financial institution until its sale in 1999. She then founded and as CEO led The Bancorp, a revolutionary, commercial internet bank that provides financial services to non-bank fintech companies. In December 2014 she retired—for eight days—before launching her first SPAC in January 2015.

 

John Streur

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

President & Chief Executive Officer, Calvert Research & Management

John Streur is president and chief executive officer for Calvert Research and Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eaton Vance Management specializing in responsible and sustainable investing across global capital markets. John is also president and a trustee of the Calvert Funds as well as a board director

of Calvert Impact Capital and chair of its Audit and Finance Committee. He guided the creation of the Calvert Principles for Responsible Investment, the Calvert Research System and the Calvert Indices, and has placed focus on investment research and emphasis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors integrated with investment decisions. He joined Calvert Research and Management in 2016.

John began his career in the investment management industry in 1987. Before joining Calvert Research and Management, he was president and chief executive officer with Calvert Investments. He has managed socially responsible investments at the request of institutional clients, including public funds, religious institutions, and college and university endowments since 1991. Previously, he was president, director and principal of Portfolio 21, a boutique firm specializing in global environmental investing, and spent 20 years at AMG Funds (and its predecessors), a firm he co-founded and where he served as president, CEO and chair of the Investment Committee.

John is a founding member of the Investor Advisory Group for the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB), a group of leading asset owners and asset managers committed to improving the quality and comparability of sustainability-related disclosure by corporations for use by investors. He is also one of eight members of the Leadership Council of the Impact-Weighted Global Accounts Initiative, which

seeks to drive the creation of financial accounts that reflect a company’s financial, social and environmental performance. As part of the council, John is responsible for creating accounting statements that transparently capture the impact that companies have on society and the environment. He is also a member of Merck’s External Sustainability Advisory Council.

John earned a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Erika Karp

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Chief Impact Officer, Pathstone

Erika is the Chief Impact Officer at Pathstone. She joins the Pathstone team from Cornerstone Capital Group (acquired by Pathstone in 2021), the sustainable and impact investment advisory firm she founded in 2013.

Erika founded Cornerstone Capital Group to bring the disciplines of finance, economics, and sustainability to bear in pursuit of a more regenerative and inclusive form of capitalism. Over the course of her 25-plus years on Wall Street, she developed a deep belief in environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) analysis as a critical input to investment decision-making.

Prior to launching Cornerstone, Erika was Managing Director and Head of Global Sector Research at UBS Investment Bank. She chaired the Global Investment Review Committee, served on the UBS Securities Research Executive Committee, and served on the Environmental and Human Rights Committee of the UBS Group Executive Board.

Her work has been featured by media including Bloomberg, The Guardian, the Financial Times, Investor Relations Magazine, and Forbes. Erika speaks on sustainable investing and finance at venues around the world including the UN Global Compact, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Clinton Global Initiative, the Wharton School, the NYSE, the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD), the Aspen Institute, the White House, and many other forums. Erika holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School. She recently joined the Board of Directors of Conscious Capitalism.

Vanessa Colella

Headshot - Woo, Willy - Cropped.jpg

Chief Innovation Officer, Citi; Lead, Citi Ventures

Vanessa Colella is Citi’s Chief Innovation Officer and leads the Citi Ventures and Citi Productivity teams. Vanessa’s goal is to accelerate and discover new sources of value by championing innovation so that Citi can compete more effectively in a world of technological, behavioral, and societal change. The Citi Ventures team drives innovation by exploring, incubating, and investing in new ideas and partnering with category-defining startups to help people, business and communities thrive. The Citi Productivity team works to transform the employee experience by leveraging the power of process simplification, operating model redesign, and new technologies to help Citi increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Before becoming Chief Innovation Officer, Vanessa led venture investing and D10X for Citi Ventures, and ran marketing for Citi’s North American Consumer Bank. She joined Citibank in 2010 from U.S. Venture Partners, where she was an entrepreneur-in-residence. Prior, Vanessa was Head of NA Marketing and SVP of Insights at Yahoo, where she was responsible for developing and executing the consumer data strategy. She was previously a Partner at McKinsey & Company.

Vanessa received her masters’ degrees from Columbia University and M.I.T. as well as a Ph.D. from M.I.T.’s Media Lab.