Distributed: Trade Blockchain Conference Speakers Announced: Ernst & Young, t0, Gem and Fluent

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BTC Media and SixThirty announce key speakers for the Distributed: Trade conference, the first event of its kind to focus on innovative blockchain solutions for both financial services and trade networks, to be held June 14, 2016 in St. Louis.

Executive leaders and tech entrepreneurs speaking at the event will include:

  • Angus Champion de Crespigny, Senior Manager at Ernst & Young’s Financial Services Office, where he leads the firm’s distributed infrastructure strategy for the financial services industry
  • Judd Bagley, Director of Communications at Overstock.com and Chief Evangelist at Overstock’s financial technology subsidiary, t0
  • Micah Winkelspecht, CEO of Gem, an enterprise blockchain application platform
  • Lamar Wilson, CEO of Fluent, an enterprise blockchain platform powering applications designed to increase efficiency in global trade and supply chain finance. Fluent recently completed the SixThirty FinTech accelerator.

Instrumental in bringing the conference to St. Louis is SixThirty, a financial technology venture fund and business development accelerator based in Downtown’s T-REX. SixThirty attracts the most innovative fintech start-ups from across the globe, and works with like-minded corporate partners and mentors to accelerate their revenue growth. The startups selected receive up to a $100,000 investment for a negotiated percentage of equity, hands-on mentorship and connections with the leading financial services companies in the country.

“I’m honored to be participating in Distributed: Trade with such influential organizations,” said Champion de Crespigny. “It’s important to be having these focused conferences that look to drive real, relevant thinking on the practical applications of this exciting technology. To be able to cover this in St. Louis, an important financial center for us, is particularly exciting.”

Angus Champion de Crespigny of Ernst & Young to speak at Distributed Trade on June 14.
Angus Champion de Crespigny of Ernst & Young to speak at Distributed Trade on June 14.

The speakers will join a lineup of thought leaders gathering at Washington University on June 14 to explore the opportunities for blockchain technology to disrupt and optimize global commerce by addressing pain points in payments, supply chain management, data security and trade finance.

“We are excited to introduce a round of speakers with deep understanding of blockchain applications for trade networks and financial services,” said David Bailey, CEO, BTC Media. “This will be a true summit for the exchange of world-changing ideas and technology.”

“Blockchains are being looked at increasingly for nonfinancial use cases,” said Micah Winkelspecht, CEO and founder of Gem. “Distributed: Trade is an intersection of finance and trade and comes at a critical moment in the industry. The conversation is changing to focus on how we can optimize informatics across entire industries, and this event is bringing together the influencers who will drive that vision.”

The Distributed: Trade conference venue, Washington University in St. Louis, is one of the world’s top academic institutions. A hub of innovation and entrepreneurial activity, the university is home to the Olin Business School, one of the country’s leading research-oriented business schools and a top-ranked School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Other confirmed conference guests will include representatives from Ernst and Young, RGAx, Thomson Reuters, Mastercard, Toronto Stock Exchange and many more.

The conference will be preceded by a 24-hour Hackathon offering $25,000 in cash prizes for the best new blockchain tech application. Teams from universities around the nation will compete.

Distributed: Trade sponsors and speakers will continue to be announced in the coming weeks. Early bird registration is now open and discount registration tickets will remain available for purchase through April 27.

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