January 18-21, 2018
MMF Symposium
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Blockchains
From the rise of
Bitcoin’s values, to regulatory oversight, the blockchain concept is certainly becoming a protagonist in much of the financial sector. The main protagonists, however, are the participants in this event. Who will shed light on the present and future of the concept?
Kshitish Balhotra
MBA, Fintech thinker, Blockchain expert, world traveler and risk taker are key colors in Kshitish’s professional portrait.
Understanding market needs and simplifying the business aspect of complex technology innovations for the clients – is what drives Kshitish every day.
Key leadership stints across the globe at leading financial firms – Barclays, Standard Chartered, TD, RBS – have helped Kshitish to acquire ability to ideate, manage and deliver complex tech products and innovations
At Emerentius, a firm he has co-founded, Kshitish is managing product roadmap and delivery for in-house as well as for client-specific products around Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Smart contracts, across North America and Asia.
Bio: Matthew Rappard is the Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Three Lefts. A graduate of Ryerson University, he started his career in television production while working at major networks such as CBC and Corus but always felt himself being pulled into the field of interactive. He switched into the development and production of interactive content for YTV, W Network, CBC Television, and BlackBerry through Loopmedia. He used his skills in this emerging field as a Special Effects Director and to lead the Interactive Development at Loopmedia in Toronto before founding Three Lefts with Romeo Ware in 2015, where he is the lead developer and technical strategist of Three Lefts platforms
Matthew Rappard
Virgile Rostand
Hailing from Quebec countryside, Virgile Rostand took his passion for helping Canadians access financial markets and founded Coinsquare. He holds a Ph.D in Mathematics from Laval University and a Master of Mathematical Finance from the University of Toronto. Blockchain and digital currencies came onto his radar after graduation, during his work as a financial engineer and software developer, on top of being a subject matter expert for a bank’s risk profiling applications.
Learning about this new technology led him to see the potential to revolutionize the financial system using blockchain and digital currencies. He noticed the opportunity for Coinsquare within the weak fundamentals of the digital currency movement in Canada. Opportunities to invest in digital currency at the time were rife with unfriendly user experiences, large delays from international players, and subpar security infrastructure.
During the early days, Virgile bootstrapped Coinsquare, building it into a digital currency negotiations platform combining forex, precious metals, bitcoin, and other digital currencies. The platform features risk management controls, full order books, and coin-to-coin instant transactions, among other cutting-edge features. Rostand is a stalwart force within Coinsquare for customer and employee transparency, risk mitigation, and a culture of open-mindedness and agility while remaining Canada-focused.
In 2017, Coinsquare secured over $16M (CAD) in financing with most of it coming from a prominent global asset management firm. The company is employing many former Bay Street professionals amid a rapidly expanding team of 45 people downtown Toronto.
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Marek Laskowski
Marek Laskowski, Ph.D., co-founded the Blockchain Lab at the Schulich School of Business where he teaches Data Science
at the graduate level as well as Blockchain application development. He is a leading researcher in the Blockchain space, is listed as Faculty on the Blockchain Research Insti- tute website, and is a pioneer of “on-chain” analytics. He is a consultant for Blockchain startups using Hyperledger and Ethereum, and has begun working with NIST on a blockchain standard for digital assets, as well as other e orts including cross-border business process standards with the United Nations CEFACT bureau. Marek’s research involves blockchain, decision support sys- tems for healthcare delivery, and population modelling of public health interventions including vaccine e ectiveness.