Seasoned management consultant with more than 10 years of hands-on experience in fast-paced business environment.

Excellent problem-solving skills and a good team player. Track record of achieving exceptional results in building marketing organizations, leading teams and delivering high impact.

Alessio is a Research Director at nChain and leads the Emerging Technology programme alongside the Academic Outreach programme. Alessio and his team combine emerging technologies, such as IPv6 and AI, with blockchain to solve real-world problems and accelerate Web3 adoption. He is responsible for long-term strategic projects as well as partnerships with academic institutions.

Alessio has a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering and a PhD in Information Technology from Politecnico di Milano. During his graduate years, he also developed the business aspect of his research interests, cofounding one of the first Italian startups involved in the design of blockchain solutions. He is currently an Industrial Fellow at the Institute for Mathematical Innovation at the University of Bath, where he supervises research projects on the mathematical modelling of the Bitcoin network and the collection and analysis of blockchain data.

Alex Ball is the Co-founder and Programme Director at the Block Dojo, with over 20 years’ experience within financial services focusing on innovation, data and technology. As the Programme Director he is responsible for the design, curation, and execution of the 12-week incubator programme, helping early-stage companies to develop their business ideas and get them ready for funding.

Prior to this, Alex was the Innovation Programmes Officer of the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars, accelerating some of the highest profile early-stage and growth companies in fintech. Working in collaboration with business sponsors, subject matter experts, mentors, advisors, and VC's.

Alex has a huge passion for tech, start-ups and helping entrepreneurs to succeed.

Ali Beydoun is the Founder and CEO of Manufact, established in 2022 with a mission to restore consumer trust and protect companies’ reputations within the luxury goods market.

Leveraging the power of blockchain technology, Manufact tracks goods from inception to consumption, capturing a product's life journey at key milestones to allow consumers to trust the authenticity of the process and the product.

Aside from Manufact, Ali Beydoun is the Founder and Creative Director of Studio Botanica. An experienced landscape architect with a background working for leading Australian practices, Ali established Studio Botanica to create meticulously crafted, highly tailored spaces in close collaboration with his clients to connect architecture to the natural world.

Ali’s appreciation for craftsmanship and attentiveness to each unique relationship is enhanced by a rich and textured understanding of various cultural and design influences.

The Honorable Kenneth J. Braithwaite of Pennsylvania served as the 77th Secretary of the Navy from 2020 to 2021.  He was the first Navy flag officer (admiral) to become a confirmed Secretary of the Navy. Previously he served as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway where he strengthened bilateral relations especially on defense with emphasis on the Arctic.

Braithwaite was born in Livonia, Michigan and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1984. Earning his Wings of Gold as a Naval Aviator, he flew P-3 Orions tracking adversary submarines in the Pacific and Arctic. Redesignated a public affairs officer, he served aboard USS America and with Carrier Group 2 as well as Striking Force 6th Fleet. 

After serving as Chief of Public Affairs at the Philadelphia Naval Base, Braithwaite joined the Naval Reserve in 1993. In 1995 he earned a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Continuing his Navy service, he commanded Navy Combat Camera Atlantic where he deployed for Ooeration Iraqi Freedom. Later he became the first commander of Joint Public Affairs Support Element-Joint Forces Command where he deployed for disaster relief in Pakistan. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 2007, and served as the first Vice Chief of Information until retiring from the Navy in 2011. In the private sector he has held executive roles in the health care and petroleum industries And has a committed interest in emerging technologies.

While serving as Secretary of the Navy, Braithwaite orchestrated the first ever TriService Maritime Strategy aligning the Navy, Marine Corps and the Coast Guard with the National Defense Strategy. Moreover he led the Department through CoVid19 maintaining readiness while protecting the services personnel. He also produced the first ever US Navy Strategy for the Arctic. Finally he stressed the importance of culture, strengthening the Navy’s ties to its history by supporting a new National Museum of the United States Navy, and naming the new Constellation-class frigates after the U.S. Navy’s first frigates.

Since leaving office, Ambassador Braithwaite has been working with Silicon Valley Bank, Kongsberg Defence, nChain, 8VC, Summa Equity and others as a senior advisor. He is also on the board of Tritium, a publicly traded company producing the next generation of EV chargers and serves as an adjunct professor at Kristiania University in Oslo, Norway and as a Fellow at the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany.  

Andrei Kirilenko is a Professor of Finance at the Cambridge Judge Business School and the Founding Director of the Cambridge Centre for Finance, Technology and Regulation. Prior to joining Cambridge, he was a faculty member at Imperial and MIT. Before MIT, Kirilenko served as chief economist of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) where he used modern analytical tools and methods to design and enforce an effective regulatory regime of financial markets post-financial crisis. For this work Kirilenko was awarded the CFTC Chairman's Award for Excellence (highest honor). Professor Kirilenko's scholarly work has appeared in top peer-reviewed journals and received multiple best paper awards. Kirilenko received his PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania with a specialization in Finance from the Wharton School.

Angus has been interested for many years in the idea of settlement as a protocol (bitcoin). Angus is currently an advisor to DXS.app with a focus on making retail trading platforms efficient, honest and transparent using the Web3 tech stack.