Blockchain Value

Adrienne Valencia Garcia is currently IBM’s Senior Counsel for Cognitive Systems and most recently served as IBM’s Senior Counsel for Blockchain Solutions, a first-of-a-kind role created in April 2017 while she was completing a three-year assignment in Latin America. As the Senior Counsel for Blockchain, Adrienne was the worldwide legal executive focal for all blockchain engagements and oversaw the global members of the law department who supported blockchain transactions. She is a trusted adviser the senior leadership relies upon to navigate complex legal, policy and regulatory issues. Consequently, Adrienne has become a recognized thought leader in establishing IBM’s positions in these areas and is a sought-after speaker in the space.

Adrienne joined IBM in June 2006 after practicing as a litigator in NYC for 10 years. After various client-facing roles focused on closing key strategic deals around IBM’s varied portfolio, in August 2014, she relocated to Mexico City to be the Lead Counsel for IBM’s Latin America Global Consulting Services business and co-leader for IBM’s internal Latin America law department education efforts.

Adrienne holds a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in NYC and received her B.A from the State University of NY at Stony Brook. She is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion; and is an active alumni Fellow of the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD) which works to identify high-potential attorneys from diverse backgrounds and set them on the path to leadership in their organizations. Adrienne is also a proud co-founder of the NYC Chapter of Diversity in Blockchain (https://diversityinblockchain.com/), a non-profit organization focused on empowering everyone from all walks of life to engage with blockchain technology to ensure equal participation and distribution.

In 2020, Adrienne became an advisory council member of the Glamour Gals Foundation, a non-profit that organizes teenage volunteers to spend time with the elderly in senior homes and provide complimentary makeovers, which facilitate multi-generational conversations that empower women across generations.

A first-generation American, Adrienne speaks Spanish fluently.

In this episode, we discuss enterprise blockchain. We've all seen the hype around blockchain in the context of cryptocurrency and now NFTs - and if you haven't, you are a unicorn! Yet, we don't always hear about how blockchain technology can be used by companies to tackle some of their industry's most prolific challenges. Supply chain bottlenecks or lack of transparency? Blockchain might be a great option. Inefficient processes and too many intermediaries? Blockchain could be right for you. Let's learn about some actual use cases to expand our view of what blockchain can mean for your business or your clients' business.

Lewis Cohen is the co-founder of DLx Law, a law firm founded in 2018 to serve the needs of a new, technology-driven economy. Lewis and the DLx Law team provide in-depth legal counsel to startups, growth companies, major enterprises, and governmental entities on a broad range of matters involving the use of blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other disruptive technologies. Passionate about the ability of innovative technologies to change the way businesses and individuals work together, Lewis has become a major advocate for the potential of emerging technologies to benefit and transform industries around the globe.

Lewis brings more than 25 years of experience advising major clients in capital markets and finance transactions. Lewis is a frequent public speaker on the topic of blockchain and distributed ledger technology. Lewis served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Structured Finance Industry Group (SFIG). Lewis is also recognized by Chambers Global as one of only three lawyers in “Band 1” for Legal: Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies – USA. Follow Lewis on Twitter: @NYCryptolawyer.

We’ve spoken a lot about digital assets and regulation so far, but there are still a few topics we have yet to cover. In this episode, we discuss stablecoins. What makes a digital asset a stablecoin? Are all stablecoins more or less the same? What regulatory issues do stablecoins pose? What exactly is an “NFT”? From a securities regulatory point of view, what should we know about NFTs? Last but by no means least, it seems like every country is talking about developing a “central bank digital currency”. Is the Fed really going to issue crypto!?

Kimberly Almeida - Director of Programs, Levi Strauss Foundation
Kim is a corporate philanthropy, CSR and international development professional. She joined the Levi Strauss Foundation in 2012 and leads the Foundation’s learning and analysis efforts across its three giving areas. Previously, she oversaw the design and implementation of Levi Strauss & Co.’s Worker Well-being initiative, which aims to improve apparel workers’ lives through partnerships with the Company’s vendors and community organizations. Kim led efforts to measure the impact of WWB in partnership with the Sustainability and Health Initiative for NetPositive Enterprise at Harvard University.
Prior to joining the Levi Strauss Foundation she was Global Research Manager at UL Responsible Sourcing where she was responsible for following new developments in the CSR field and advising UL’s clients on how to manage specific labor challenges in their supply chains. Kim has also conducted extensive research on the business case for responsible labor and managed grantmaking programs throughout Latin America for Nokia and the International Youth Foundation.
Kim received a Master of Pacific International Affairs from University of California, San Diego’s School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and a BA in anthropology from George Washington University. Born and raised in Guatemala, she is fluent in Spanish and German and proficient in Portuguese. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and son.
Eileen McNeely, PhD, MS, RN, Executive Director, SHINE, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Eileen McNeely is Founder and Executive Director of SHINE, the sustainability and health initiative at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she is pioneering understanding of corporate social and health impacts and the role of business in advancing global well-being.

Dr. McNeely has extensive experience in the areas of environmental epidemiology, occupational and community health, health promotion, health services management and policy, and clinical practice as a nurse practitioner. Her experience spans numerous industries. She started and runs the Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study, the largest cohort study of flight attendants. She is a former intern at the Occupational Health and Safety Administration in Washington D.C., evaluating the impact of regulations on the chemical industry. She has consulted both nationally and internationally on the impact of work on wellbeing and has authored many publications on this topic.
Dr. McNeely’s research is currently focused on work as a platform to improve well-being, putting people and health at the center of corporate sustainability and business culture. Using a rigorous and applied academic approach she aims to shine a light on worker health and well-being in the business context, and engages companies to understand the impact of workplace culture and practices on well-being. Her research is driven by combining mental, physical and psychosocial well-being metrics with business metrics such as retention, absenteeism, productivity, and performance to guide businesses to better understand the impact of the workplace culture on health. Her work with companies aims to redesign how business integrates well-being from an ever-changing programmatic style to an integrated systems approach.

Dirk Lueth is a serial entrepreneur and an early adopter of blockchain and related technologies, based in Silicon Valley. He co-founded European and US-based companies in the FinTech and digital media spaces, including the Financial Times Deutschland and Forbatec which has been acquired by SunGard (today NYSE:FIS). Dirk mentored over 30 startups through his work at international startup accelerators in Silicon Valley and is a frequent speaker/panelist focusing on topics about the metaverse, blockchain, and platform economics.

He has studied Business Administration in Frankfurt and Paris and received a Ph.D. from the European Business School in Germany where he wrote his doctoral thesis about private and state-controlled currencies.

Like the Internet before it, the metaverse is a virtual space bringing people, companies, and products together in both digital and real environments to create new economic opportunities. The groundwork is already laid. People and organizations jumping in are gaining invaluable experience, meeting customers, developing revenue streams, and even shaping metaverse culture. This episode delivers a groundbreaking discussion of how to find the right opportunities in this fast-moving universe. You’ll explore everything from the metaverse basics, to strategy, to launching your first metaverse project.

While ‘Decentralized Autonomous Organizations’ and ‘Incorporation’ might sound mutually exclusive, that could not be further from the truth. In fact, DAOs are not really protected or given the opportunity to realize their full potential until they incorporate. The reason why is threefold: first, if a DAO is not recognized as a legal entity, all of its contributors are at significant personal risk; second, if a DAO doesn’t have corporate personhood, it cannot own any intellectual property, participate in traditional finance, or hire employees; third, without tax entity, all of a DAOs members can be held accountable for taxes on any net earnings the DAO generates. The problem is, not a lot of people know about this and continue to organize with the hopes of changing the world without first ensuring that their foundation is stable. Others who might be aware about the benefits of incorporation dismiss it out of fear that it is ‘too complicated’ or ‘too expensive.’ In reality, incorporation has never been easier than it is today. In this podcast episode, Adam Miller will share everything you need to know about how to incorporate your DAO.