Geoffrey Clauss

Chief Revenue Officer, Blockdaemon

Geoff Clauss is Blockdaemon’s Chief Revenue officer and has 20+ years of fintech sales leadership experience. Geoff has an extensive background in trading networks, legacy financial infrastructure services, and managing successful teams. Geoff is passionate about developing teams that rise to the top of a competitive marketplace and knows the importance of happy and successful customers. Geoff is keen to help even more institutions access and unlock quality blockchain data with Blockdaemon.

John Caldwell

NFT Principal, Wave Financial

John, also known as VegSurfer, runs the Non Fungible Fund at Wave Financial, and is a founding member of Unicorn DAO. Before Wave Financial, he was a successful NFT collector and degen and Layer 1 business developer.

Ben Berman

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Tomorrow Farms

Ben Berman is co-founder and CEO of Tomorrow Farms, a food tech company commercializing novel ingredients to build the future of food. Tomorrow Farms recently launched Bored Cow, the world’s first animal-free dairy milk. 

Ben is previously the founder of Mainely Burgers, a food truck company based in Portland, ME that Ben grew to 3 trucks and 16 employees (and an appearance on the Food Network) before he exited the business in 2014 and the founder of Good Pizza, a nonprofit initiative Ben founded out of his apartment during the pandemic to raise money for hunger relief. Good Pizza was featured on the Ellen Show, Barstool Sports, NBC News, and more and is now the entrepreneurship program at Philadelphia's largest hunger relief organization, Philabundance.

Previously, Ben spent his corporate years as a management consultant with Deloitte, advising clients on their go-to-market strategies for new product launches, and at Amazon as a Senior Product Manager on the Operations and Logistics team. Ben also holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Staci Warden

Chief Executive Officer, Algorand Foundation

Staci Warden is the CEO of the Algorand Foundation, an organization dedicated to enabling an inclusive, decentralized, and borderless global economy - at scale - based on the Algorand blockchain technology. Prior to her current role, Staci was on the executive team of the Milken Institute, a leading financial think tank, where she led its work on capital market development, crypto/blockchain solutions, and innovative finance. Before Milken, Staci led JPMorgan’s EMEA public sector practice out of London and worked in sovereign debt capital markets in New York. Before JPM, she ran the Nasdaq’s two markets for microcap companies. She has also had senior roles at the U.S. Treasury Department, the Center for Global Development, and the Harvard Institute for International Development.

Staci has done business and worked with governments in more than 50 countries and has advised and spoken widely on the potential for crypto/blockchain to solve real-world problems and improve global inclusion. She sits on the Boards of the Global Blockchain Business Council, the Rwandan Capital Market Authority (Chair), and the Energy for Growth Hub. She serves on the advisory committees of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee (STOA), the U.S. Financial Technology Association, and Evolution Environmental Asset Management.

Chika Uwazie

Co-Founder, Afropolitan

Chika is a cofounder of Afropolitan, the first network state for the African diaspora. She is also the founder of the second-largest women's group on clubhouse with over 170K members. A serial entrepreneur that has been in the tech ecosystem for ten years, formerly as the CEO of Talenbase.

She has been featured on BBC, Wired, Tech Crunch, and Forbes for her work as a serial entrepreneur. Further, Chika has spoken globally at World Economic Forum, The Economist Summit, Cannes Lions, SXSW, and the UN, to name a few.

Ryan Tolkin

Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer, Schonfeld

Ryan Tolkin is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Schonfeld Strategic Advisors and a member of the three-person Executive Committee. Ryan joined the Firm in 2013 and is responsible for firmwide strategic initiatives, investment, risk, and business development teams, as well as capital allocation decisions. Prior to joining Schonfeld, from 2008 to 2013, Ryan worked as a part of the Corporate Credit Trading team at Goldman Sachs where he was responsible for mapping the Energy/Utilities and REITs portfolios. He graduated in 2008 from Duke University with a degree in economics and both Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude honors.

Peter Smith

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Blockchain.com

Peter is CEO and co-founder of Blockchain.com, one of the world’s largest and most popular crypto platforms, serving tens of millions of consumers and thousands of institutions since 2011. Evolving from early Bitcoiner to developer to CEO of a multinational company, Peter has worked tirelessly to accelerate crypto adoption and build a financial system for the internet.

Under his leadership, Blockchain.com has emerged as a leading provider of cryptocurrency products and services to retail customers and institutional clients alike. The company balances a robust retail brokerage of over 80M crypto wallets across 200 countries, a thriving exchange, and one of the largest institutional desks in the crypto space. 

After a modest upbringing in rural America, Peter developed a global perspective living, studying, and working in the US, Europe, MENA, East Africa, and Asia. A World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, he is frequently cited as an authority on cryptocurrencies and the potential impact they’ll have across the world.

Jasmine Richards

Head, Diverse Manager Research, Cambridge Associates

Jasmine joined Cambridge Associates in 2018 as Head of Diverse Manager Research to lead the firm’s ongoing initiative to identify and research investment managers in all public and private asset classes that have underrepresented owners or leaders, including women and people of color. She has over fifteen years of both buy and sell side experience. Prior to joining Cambridge Associates, Ms. Richards worked at Xponance (formerly FIS Group) where she was responsible for identifying and managing investment strategies, with an emphasis on diverse-owned asset managers. She is a frequent contributor to industry initiatives and events providing thought leadership on the diverse manager space.

Jasmine holds an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business where she concentrated in Finance, Accounting and Strategic Management. While at University of Chicago, she also studied Emerging Markets at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She also attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the New York Institute of Technology for her undergraduate education. She is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Boston. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Jasmine also serves on the Board of Trustees for Middlesex School, the Investment Committee for Rosie’s Place and the Advisory Board for the Boston Youth Symphony.

Brooke Masters

US Investment & Industry Editor, Financial Times

Brooke Masters is US Investment and Industry Editor and an Associate Editor at the Financial Times. She leads news coverage of American nonbank finance and writes a biweekly column on global business for the opinion section. She joined the FT in New York in 2006 from the Washington Post and recently returned to the US after spending more than a decade in the FT’s London headquarters. There, she served as chief business commentator, opinion and analysis editor and companies editor. Over the course of her career, she has covered politics, criminal justice, education, financial services, regulation and white-collar crime. The author of a book about Eliot Spitzer, she earned degrees from Harvard University and the London School of Economics and is the mother of two grown children.

Avi Loeb

Managing Director, Harvard University

Abraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University and a bestselling author (in lists of the New York Times,Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, L'Express and more). He received a PhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel at age 24 (1980-1986), led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative (1983-1988), and was subsequently a long-term member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1988-1993). Loeb has written 8 books, including most recently, Extraterrestrial, and nearly a thousand papers (with h-index of 119 and i10-index of 543) on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, the search for extraterrestrial life and the future of the Universe. Loeb is the Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation (2007-present) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and also serves as the Head of the Galileo Project (2021-present). He had been the longest serving Chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy (2011-2020) and the Founding Director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative (2016-2021). He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics. Loeb is a former member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) at the White House, a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies (2018-2021) and a current member of the Advisory Board for "Einstein: Visualize the Impossible" of the Hebrew University. He also chairs the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative (2016-present) and serves as the Science Theory Director for all Initiatives of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space and in 2020 Loeb was selected among the 14 most inspiring Israelis of the last decade. Click here for Loeb's commentaries on innovation and diversity.  

Edwin Jager

Managing Director & Head of Fundamental Equities, D. E. Shaw & Co.

Edwin Jager is a managing director of D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. and Head of Fundamental Equities for the D. E. Shaw group. In that capacity, Mr. Jager oversees the firm’s fundamental long/short equities, special situation, and activist investment activities globally, including alternative data-driven fundamental equity research and development. He formerly served as a rotating member of the firm’s Risk Committee. Mr. Jager joined the D. E. Shaw group in 2011 and previously served as Portfolio Manager for the technology, media, and telecommunications sector within the firm’s Fundamental Equities Strategies. He previously served as sector head for technology equities at Perry Capital, LLC. Mr. Jager began his career at Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., where he rose to the position of senior analyst in that firm’s technology corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions group. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale University, where he earned a dual degree, with honors, in ethics, politics, and economics and political science and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Jager received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Edwin N. Conway

Global Head of BlackRock Alternative Investors, BlackRock

Edwin N. Conway, Senior Managing Director, is Global Head of BlackRock Alternative Investors and a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee. As Global Head of BlackRock Alternatives, he is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day oversight of BlackRock’s global platform of alternatives investment capabilities, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets, Credit and Hedge Funds across both liquid and illiquid markets.

Mr. Conway previously served as Global Head of BlackRock’s Institutional Client Business, responsible for the firm’s client strategy and relationship management across the global institutional client community.

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2011, Mr. Conway was a Senior Managing Director at The Blackstone Group where he led the Global Investor Relations & Business Development Group. Before joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Conway was an Executive Director at Arden Asset Management, Inc. and prior to that he was a Director at Credit Suisse Asset Management located both in London and New York.

Mr. Conway earned a BComm degree from University College Dublin.

Soraya Chabarek

Chief Executive Officer, CQS

Soraya is the Chief Executive Officer of CQS. She is a Senior Partner and serves as a Director on the CQS Board of Directors. She is also a member of the CQS Responsible Investment Governance Committee and the Asset Advisory Committee for Multi Asset Credit. Soraya joined CQS in 2013 and in her capacity as Global Head of Distribution has been responsible for growing assets and leading CQS' global sales team to build long-term partnerships with investors.

During her career, Soraya has had exposure to a broad range of fund strategies including global macro, equities, emerging markets, credit and convertibles. She began her career at HSBC Private Bank and then in 2000 moved to Permal Investment Management in London where she focused on distributing fund of hedge funds across the EMEA region. A fluent Arabic speaker, Soraya joined GLG Partners in 2004 as a Principal to build out their Middle Eastern presence. In 2008, Soraya joined Moore Europe Capital Management as Head of Marketing for the Emerging Macro Strategies. Here she successfully re-built the asset base during one of the more trying periods in the industry.

Soraya holds a BA in Economics and Public Administration from Royal Holloway, University of London.

H.E. Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi

Vice Chair, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)

H.E. Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi is a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED). His wealth of management experience in the private sector combined with his distinguished and dynamic leadership style have placed him in a unique position to actively contribute to the Emirate’s economic success.

His Excellency is one of the outstanding national figures recognized for his outstanding success, professional intelligence and dedication to the homeland.

This is reflected in his high educational background and keenness to join establishments that reflect his interests. He holds an MBA from the London Business School and certificates from prestigious international institutions, including MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Citibank Global Asset Management, Harvard Business School in addition to the senior executive leadership program of the University of Harvard.

H.E. Al Shorafa is currently the head of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) - an ADDED affiliate, Chairman of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED), Chairman of Hub71 – a key initiative of the Abu Dhabi Government’s development accelerators program, Chairman of the Board of the Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA), Chairman of Free Zones Council - Abu Dhabi, Chairman of the Etihad Aviation Group, and Vice-Chair of the Abu Dhabi Global Market.

H.E. Al Shorafa was the CEO and managing director of UEMedical, a board member in the Strategic Partnership Council of the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi, and a board member and chairman of the Healthcare Working Group of the UAE-UK Business Council. In addition to that, he was also the vice chairman of United Eastern Group (UEG) and Gulf Contractors Company (GCC). Al Shorafa spent nine years at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) before taking on his next challenge by launching UEMedical.

The organizations, where HE is involved, are contributing to the economic growth of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In view of his many significant accomplishments,

H.E. Al Shorafa was named by Arabian Business, in partnership with Bombardier, as one of the world’s most powerful Arabs in the years 2019 and 2021.

Jason Zins

Partner, SkyBridge

Jason Zins is a Partner at SkyBridge Capital where he leads the firm’s investments in late-stage private companies. Prior to joining SkyBridge in 2014, Mr. Zins worked at Bloomberg L.P. Mr. Zins received his B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College.

Amy Wu

Head of Ventures, FTX

Amy Wu is Head of FTX Ventures and Commercial at FTX, and based in the Bahamas. She's spent time as investor and operator, most recently leading crypto and gaming investments for Lightspeed Venture Partners, and previously an executive at Discovery, Inc and investor at Insight Venture Partners. Outside of work, Amy likes to ski tour.

Josh Wolfe

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Lux Capital

Josh co-founded Lux Capital in NYC and Menlo Park to support scientists andentrepreneurs who pursue counter-conventional solutions to the most vexing puzzles of our time. Josh is a Director at Shapeways (3D printing), Strateos (robotic and digital pathology), Kymeta (making cutting-edge technology for high-speed satellite and space communications), Varda Space Industries (manufacturing in low and zero gravity space), and Variant (developing therapies that will improve global health by studying the genes of people with exceptional health-related traits). Josh helped lead many of the firm’s investments across cutting-edge technologies including Anduril (defense), Hadrian (aerospace manufacturing), Resilience (biopharma manufacturing) Kurion (high-tech nuclear waste remediation, acquired by Veolia), Kallyope (gut-brain axis), and CTRL-Labs (brain- machine interface acquired by Facebook).

Josh is a published scientist and Westinghouse semi-finalist. Before founding Lux, Josh worked in investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney, in capital markets at Merrill Lynch, and published AIDS-immunopathology research in Cell Vision & The Journal of Leukocyte Biology. Josh has been a columnist and editor with Forbes. He has been invited to The White House and Capitol Hill to advise on emerging technologies, and a lecturer at MIT, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, and NYU. He is a Trustee of the Santa Fe Institute, has been a term member at The Council on Foreign Relations, and Chairman of Coney Island Prep charter school, where he grew up in Brooklyn. He graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Economics and Finance.

Balaji Srinivasan

Technologist, The Network State

Balaji S. Srinivasan (@balajis) is an angel investor, tech founder, and author of The Network State.

Formerly the CTO of Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, he is an early investor in many successful tech companies and crypto protocols, including Alchemy, Ava Labs, Bitcoin, Cameo, Chainlink, Clubhouse, Dapper Labs, Deel, EPNS, Ethereum, Instadapp, Lambda School, Mighty, NEAR Protocol, OnDeck, Opensea, Replit, Republic, Roam Research, Solana, Soylent, Superhuman, Synthesis, XMTP, and Zora.

Dr. Srinivasan was the cofounder of Earn.com (acquired by Coinbase), Counsyl (acquired by Myriad), Teleport (acquired by Topia), and Coin Center. He holds a BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University.

Ambre Soubiran

Chief Executive Officer, Kaiko

Ambre is the CEO of Kaiko, an enterprise-grade market data provider in the blockchain-based digital assets industry. Prior to joining Kaiko, Ambre spent a decade at HSBC in London and Paris, structuring equity derivatives and equity-based financing solutions (Global Markets & Equity Capital Markets). Ambre has a passion for world-changing technology, and has been interested and invested in digital assets since 2012.

Mo Shaikh

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Aptos

Mo is the CEO and Co-founder of Aptos, a blockchain designed for the next billion users. He is a 3x founder with over a decade of multinational financial services and blockchain/crypto experience. In the past, Mo has led blockchain Strategic Partnerships for Novi, Facebook’s wallet. As a first-generation immigrant, raised by a taxi driver and housewife on Welfare in Brooklyn, creating an accessible financial system for all is personal to Mo. Blockchain is essential to this path. Mo was the Founder and CEO of Meridio, a ConsenSys-backed, blockchain-based company that issued the world’s first fractional share of real estate. Mo also led ConsenSys strategy as an early employee and founded the ConsenSys’ Middle East Office. He has consulted the World Economic Forum on their global blockchain strategy including Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs). Prior to Meridio, Mo also consulted Sovereign Wealth Funds, energy, and telecom companies with BCG’s Private Equity practice.