Eric Balchunas – ETF Analyst at Bloomberg

Eric Balchunas is the Senior ETF Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, where he leads ETF and passive fund research. A graduate of Rutgers University, Eric has been working for Bloomberg for over 24 years and recently followed up his book: “The Institutional ETF Toolbox” with “The Bogle Effect: How John Bogle and Vanguard Turned Wall Street Inside Out and Saved Investors Trillion<” which is as much a history novel as it is an investment roadmap.

A frequent speaker at industry events and conferences, as well as the co-creator of the Bloomberg podcast Trillions and Bloomberg TV’s ETF IQ, Eric lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two boys.

Reggie Browne – Principal at Global Trading Systems (GTS)

Reginald M. Browne is a Principal of Global Trading Systems, “GTS”, a proprietary automated global Securities Market Maker offering principal liquidity. Mr. Browne is a recognized industry pioneer in helping develop the United States Exchange Traded Funds “ETFs” Industry from early inception of ETFs to the present.

Mr. Browne has more than three decades of experience in equities and equity derivatives market making – helping industry leading asset managers build and grow their ETF business segments. He has advised dozens of institutional asset managers on the delivery of investment products to the marketplace and advised global regulators on sensible harmonized regulation of ETFs in various global markets.

Mr. Browne also serves as an Independent Director for American Century of Kansas City and currently serves as Chairman of the ETF Fund Board. In September 2023, Mr. Browne was appointed to the United States Semiquincentennial Commission, one of sixteen private citizens appointed as a commissioner. In addition to his extensive industry service, Mr. Browne is active in non-profit governance centered on the arts. Currently he is a Vice-Chair of The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Creative Capital Foundation in New York. Mr. Browne resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his family.

Jim Gregory – Senior Director, Head of Business Development at ETF Global

Jim Gregory is a Senior Director and the Head of Business Development for all facets of business development for the firm, which includes developing the strategy to increase the market share for new data clients and partners.

Jim has extensive experience in the financial services marketplace and joined ETF Global after 11 years as the U.S. Sales Director for the TMX – Toronto Stock Exchange – based in New York. The team managed all U.S. accounts and sold data, analytics, hosting and connectivity services to both buy and sell side firms.

Jim’s previous financial industry experience included Senior Sales, Sales Management and Global Account Management positions at ADP Brokerage Services, Thomson Financial and Reuters America, where we brought on hundreds of clients using market data, clearing and treasury and risk management software services.

Jim received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies from Colgate University. Jim maintains many outside interests including being the President of the St. Joseph’s School – Yorkville School Advisory Board and a Board member of the Colgate University Maroon Council.

Bart Michalczuk – Head of Portfolio Management at 21Shares

Bart Michalczuk is the Head of Portfolio Management at 21Shares and is responsible for strategy development and implementation across the firm’s ETP product suite. Prior to joining the firm, Bart was a Trader at Cumberland, DRW’s digital assets desk, and a Partner at crypto hedge fund Blocklink Ventures. Before shifting his focus to crypto markets in 2017, Bart spent eight years as a quantitative macro and commodities Trader on the buy side at Noble Group and Yannix Capital.

Bart earned a BS from Cornell University and a MA in Financial Economics from Duke University.

Tom Staudt – President and Chief Operating Officer at ARK Invest

As ARK’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Tom is responsible for the global corporate operations of the firm, screening financial markets for new opportunities and evaluating and implementing ARK’s product portfolio. Tom joined ARK in June 2014 shortly after the firm was founded and was responsible for building out ARK’s trading desk, trade integrations, and day-to-day ETF operations. He later became Head of Product Development and led the launch of additional ARK investment solutions in the US and overseas. Tom was named the Chief Operating Officer in 2016 and added the title of President in 2023. He also serves as the President of the ARK ETF Trust and ARK Venture Fund and has been an independent Director on the Board of 3iQ Digital Holdings, a Canadian digital asset investment manager, since 2017.

Prior to joining ARK, Tom worked in a sales and consulting role for WILX and was at Fidelity Investments in its mutual fund department and consulted on millennial investing behavior at TIAA-CREF. Tom received his Bachelor of Business Administration, magna cum laude, in Finance and Economics from the University of Notre Dame; a Master of Arts in Telecommunications Policy from Michigan State University; a Master of Science in New Media Management from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University; and his Master of Business Administration, McAllister Award Winner, from Cornell University.

Staudt has received accolades including the Mutual Fund Industry “Rising Star” Award from Fund Intelligence in 2020, and “Rising Star” Alumni Award from Michigan State University in 2023.

Marcus Daley –Co-Founder and CEO of LOOT8, Co-Founder of NeuralMetrics

Marcus Daley is a visionary technologist and entrepreneur deeply entrenched in the blockchain, DeFi, and AI spaces. As the Co-Founder and CEO of LOOT8 (a subsidiary of GRHI), Marcus has played a pivotal role in creating the first Web3 Content Management System, which emphasizes SocialFi and blockchain AI, catering to a wide range of applications from college sports NIL sponsorships to enterprise digital passports. This endeavor positions Loot8 at the cutting edge of Web3 adoption, showcasing his innovative approach to integrating blockchain technologies into mainstream applications.

In addition, his role as a Co-Founder of NeuralMetrics highlights his proficiency in AI, where he has contributed to transforming the insurance industry. By developing technology that facilitates real-time underwriting and quality assessments through publicly available data, Marcus’s work with NeuralMetrics exemplifies his ability to leverage AI for practical, industry-changing solutions.

Throughout his career, Marcus has demonstrated a commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology to create sustainable, innovative solutions that address complex challenges. His work in blockchain, DeFi, and AI not only underscores his expertise in these areas but also his vision for a more interconnected, technologically advanced future.

Daniel Budzinski –Founder of Purpose Prep, RoboSquad, and Hypermarket

Daniel has been a serial entrepreneur his whole life building companies across multiple industries from the ground up. His current ventures are Hypermarket, Zollpa and RoboSquad.

Hypermarket.xyz mission is to ~Launch Online Stores That Customers Trust.~ Hypermarket offers online retailers and merchants a suite of services, product launch, including payments, marketing, shipping and customer engagement tools, through its proprietary e-commerce platform. Now it is partnering with many of the most global brands, influencers and creators through their products.

Zollpa is the gaming studio developing unique multi-media stylized character entertainment brands. The Go-To-Market starts with gaming and its first project is RoboSquad Reveolution: RoboSquad.com. RoboSquad is a modular shooter with cultural web-hooks & utility. Find RoboSquad on Steam, Steam Deck, Tesla cars and Epic Games Store (EGS) now.
Daniel has spoken in 1,200 events in 30 countries on six continents, speaking on a diverse set of topics and to large audiences of up to 30,000 people. He is also an advisor and board member to several large brands and companies with an expertise in building expert teams, workflow pipelines for production scale and value creation bringing disruption to products and services in niche industries.

At the core Daniel is a creator, and visionary. He is the author of the Purpose Workbook and the host of The Dreamcast and The Art of Success podcasts reaching 100,000s of people. His last venture Purpose Prep (PurposePrep.com), a national Pk-12 education technology content provider serves millions of students monthly in 1,000s of schools in every state in the USA and several other countries. The company was acquired in June of 2020.

Barrett Simmons – Senior Consultant at Oliver Wyman

Barrett Simmons is a Senior Consultant at Oliver Wyman, with a specialization across the financial services industry. Barrett has experience at the private equity and financial services crossroads; advising Private Equity investors during the pre-sale and post-sale process of acquisitions. With ~5 years in the industry, Barrett has consulted on more than 75 acquisitions spanning across multiple industries, primarily financial services. Leading and advising clients during regulation impact workstreams to demonstrate how the shifting, or static, financial regulations impact the industry.

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in more than 70 cities across 30 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has more than 5,000 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a business of Marsh McLennan.