Featured in Forbes' first-ever list of cryptocurrency's most powerful and influential people, "Prophet of Boom" JOSEPH LUBIN is the Founder & CEO of ConsenSys, one of the largest and fastest growing blockchain companies in the world, with over 1,000 employees across 28 countries. He is also the Co-Founder of Ethereum, a groundbreaking blockchain computing platform, and the second-largest public blockchain by value. Named to CoinDesk's "Most Influential In Blockchain," Lubin is renowned for his innovative and creative leadership style, and has taken ConsenSys and Ethereum through exponential growth. Under his watch the number of ConsenSys employees has exploded by over 400%, and the organization has grown to include 37 different companies across industries including prediction markets, energy and supply chain. Ethereum has experienced a similarly meteoric rise, "attracting attention from giants in finance and technology, like JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft and IBM, which have described it as a sort of Bitcoin 2.0," according to The New York Times. In his compelling keynotes, Lubin reveals the transformative power of blockchain technology and his vision for a decentralized future.Reflecting on his journey co-creating Ethereum, Lubin sheds light on how the technology has the power to transform industries, and how companies can better understand and tap into its power.
"Joseph Lubin, the founder of... behemoth ConsenSys... began his career working in robotics, machine vision, neural nets and software engineering. He then transitioned into finance, building trading systems, running a hedge fund and working for Goldman Sachs' private wealth management division... After reading the Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin white paper, he felt blockchain technology, and its possibility for creating shared infrastructure, could serve as 'an organizing principle for Earth, the world, the planet...'"
"In a jam-packed SXSW keynote titled, “Ethereum Will Change The World,” which earned a line across the entire fourth floor of the Austin convention center and down two flights of stairs, Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin balanced his exuberant predictions of the future with calm calls for more robust regulation..."
MOHAMED EL-ERIAN: Chief Economic Advisor, Allianz; Chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council (2012-2017); CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO (2007-2014); Columnist, Bloomberg View
An internationally respected economist and financier, El-Erian is regularly in-demand for his shrewd analysis on cryptocurrencies and disruptive technologies fueled by big data, AI, and mobility and how they impact both the stock market and the global economy at large. An early investor in peer-to-peer mobile banking-- he made headlines when he joined fintech company Payoff-- El-Erian is heralded for his substantive, forward-thinking, and genuinely engaging keynotes. He was recently sought-out to keynote the GCC Financial Forum in Bahrain, focused on re-positioning the country's economy as a regional fintech hub, and also delivered a keynote at the Barclay's Asia Forum, where he made headlines for his analysis on the need to separate the problems with bitcoin from the promise of the blockchain technology behind it.
"In my 13 years as an event producer, I have never received such positive feedback from a keynote speaker before. I was stopped in the hallways and networking events numerous times by attendees who had glowing remarks about Dr. El Erian’s presentation. One attendee stated that ‘it is rare that a speaker not only presents well, but presents quality content.' I can say with 100% confidence that this was a wise investment in our business... Personally I also wish to thank Dr. El Erian for being friendly, flexible, hospitable and considerate to our team. He was gracious and kind, and a pleasure to meet."
- Information Management Network
"We loved hosting Dr. El- Erian! He was amazing!"
-Economic Club of Canada
"Mohamed did an excellent job. He tailored his remarks to our audience really well. He was also very gracious when interacting with our guests and senior management at the cocktail reception...Here is a sampling of the open-ended feedback: “perfect start”; “he was excellent and very happy to see the high caliber of keynote speaker”; “fantastic, very informative”; “Excellent delivery taking complicated thoughts but delivering them in real life experiences.”
-Commonfund
PENNY PRITZKER: U.S. Secretary of Commerce (2013-2017); Founder and Chairman, PSP Capital Partners and Pritzker Realty Group; Co-Chair, Cyber Readiness Institute
The Co-Chair of the Council on Foreign Relation's independent task force on technology and the future of work, Penny Pritzker is at the forefront of the conversation on how tech is fundamentally changing our economy and how businesses and workers can adapt. Just interviewed by Wired and Marketplace on "How to Make Technology Work For You, Not Against You," Pritzker shares remarkable insights and actionable advice on our digitized economy. Recently sought-out for a conversation on the U.S.' economic future at the University of Michigan as well as Fortune's Brainstorm Tech Conference, Pritzker draws on her extensive experience in both the public and private sector at each of her engagements. At the helm of the Secretary of Commerce, Pritzker was celebrated as an early adopter of innovative tech, developing the agency's first comprehensive digital and data agenda. She also helped spearhead the government's first FinTech Summit, and made headlines for her forward-thinking programs that partnered agile fintech innovators with established financial institutions as part of the Commerce Department's first innovation series.
“Sec. Pritzker was a hit… members were very impressed with her experience and knowledge… We would be delighted to work with her again in the future.”
- Leading Business Development Service
"Penny is one of our country’s most distinguished business leaders. She's got more than 25 years of management experience in industries including real estate, finance, and hospitality. She’s built companies from the ground up..." - President Barack Obama
LARRY SUMMERS: Director, White House Economic Council (2009-2010); Secretary of the Treasury (1999-2001); Board Advisor, Digital Currency Group
World-renowned economist Larry Summers is a leading voice on financial technologies and what companies across industries need to know about the future of the financial system. A board member of Square, a financial services and mobile payment company, and board advisor for the Digital Currency Group, a venture capital company focused on the digital currency market and at the epicenter of blockchain technology, Summers was one of the first financial leaders to endorse blockchain technology's business potential beyond cryptocurrency. He addressed blockhains's future impact on the financial industry at the elite financial tech conference Consensus 2016, and his prescient comments on "Blockchain in a Global Context," in which he declared it "overwhelmingly likely" blockchain would change finance forever, instantly resulted in headlines inCNBC, CoinDesk, Fortune, and more. Summers' Wall Street Journal and Washington Post op-eds on the "Future of Banking" and why "Fintech Won't Destabalize the Financial System" have been drivers of the national conversation.
"He was on-time, cordial and engaging."
-PIMCO
"Larry was insightful, brilliant, provocative and very engaging ."
-Commonfund
"It was a huge pleasure to host an event with Mr. Summers... Summers spoke in front of more than 200 guests on his insider view of international politics, the US economy, the management of monetary policy by the Fed, the Chinese slowdown, among others and all attendees were impressed with his presentation. Nothing but great feedback regarding his appearance."
-BTG Pactual
DAVID ROWAN: Editor-at-Large and Founding Editor-in-Chief of WIRED UK; Renowned Tech Journalist, The Sunday Times
A renowned tech journalist, David Rowan dives into the research and work of the biggest, boldest names in business and the entrepreneurs, engineers and startups at the cutting-edge of innovation, gaining unprecedented insight into how tech will shape our economic future. An incredibly in-demand speaker-- Rowan has spoken at The World Economic Forum, TED Global, Google Zeitgeist, Fortune 100 businesses, and more-- Rowan deconstructs tech advances in real time, drawing on his experience in research labs and startup studios from Boston to Zurich to illuminate how the latest developments are transforming businesses and consumers. Recently sought-out to deliver keynote on the mobility revolution at Impact's 2018 Conference, on disruptive technology at the International Luxury Travel Market, and on "Where Tech Will Create Opportunity in an Accelerating World" at the Mercer Global Investment Forum, Rowan customizes his keynotes to every industry and audience.
"...The event was a great success and the feedback has been outstanding. Your scene-setting opener around the ten mega-trends was fascinating and encouraged us all to stretch our thinking.... You achieved our goal of inspiring our audience, both professionally and personally and for that, we are truly grateful."
- Deutsche Bank
"Your presentation went down a storm (I knew it would) and I was able to refer back to it repeatedly over the two days as a stimulus to help drive the need for change."
-Unilever CMO
"David Rowan was awesome, lots of amazing feedback."
-Salesforce
KAREN MILLS: Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (2009-2013); Senior Fellow, Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School; Former Member of Obama Cabinet and National Economic Council
A leading authority on the changing state of business lending, Karen Mills literally wrote the definitive paper "The State of Small Business Lending: Innovation and Technology and the Implications for Regulation," and has been in-demand for keynotes at leading fintech conferences from PayNet to LendIt. Heralded for keynotes that are informative, forward-thinking, and full of actionable takeaways, Mills recently delivered a fintech keynote for an audience of 300 at the Lenders One 2018 Winter Conference, helping owners and operators in the banking industry prepare for digital disruption and stay ahead of the curve. She also recently published a strategic map for banks, "How Banks Can Compete Against an Army of Fintech Startups: Four Approaches," and is set to publish a book on fintech with Palgrave/McMillan. As an expert on economic growth, job creation and competitiveness, businesses and governments (including officials in the United Kingdom, Australia and the European Union) seek Mills’ insight not only for her higher level ideas of growth and innovation, but also for important small business tactical insights such as access to capital, regional economic clusters,boosting exports, and tapping into government and commercial supply chains.
"Working with Karen Mills was an absolute pleasure. Her speaking engagement was so well received and in turn we had many bankers request [a video of] her presentation. Karen definitely added to the success of our event and we were so glad she attended our dinner as well."
- PayNet
"Karen was fantastic – both at the Women’s breakfast and in the keynote. Loved working with her."
-Lenders One Conference
BRETT KING: Founder & CEO, Moven Bank (the world's first downloadable bank); Host, BREAKING BANK$
A TED Speaker who has delivered opening keynotes for Wired, Singularity University's Exponential Finance, The Economist and more, King is a leading expert on technology's impact in banking and financial services. Recently sought-out to deliver a keynote entitled Bank to the Future: Where We're Going Do We Need Banks? at Money 20/20, King revealed how traditional financial institutions are losing their dominance and how blockchain technology will allow for financial services without banks in the future. His insights into blockchain's future uses were further illuminated in an interview with Cointelegraph and are a frequent subject of his #1 Global Fintech Podcast, Breaking Banks.
"Just wanted to say a big Thank You for your very inspiring sessions in Abu Dhabi. The whole bank is now talking about the imperative to change and face the future."
- National Bank Of Abu Dhabi
"We truly appreciate your insights about the bank and customers of today and the future...their attitudes towards new technologies, and their role in changing the future of financial services. It was indeed an honour and a rare privilege to have you as our guest speaker gracing our 20th Anniversary event. "
