Fintech for Inclusivity, Growth, and the Future
A Message from Debora Jackson, Dean, WPI Business School
Dear Delegates,
As Dean of The WPI Business School, I am delighted to welcome you to our groundbreaking conference, Fintech for Inclusivity, Growth, and the Future. This event is of paramount importance as it sheds light on the significant disruptions caused by FinTech in the financial services industry, surpassing anything we have witnessed before. The urgency of this disruption creates tremendous opportunity while demanding immediate and proactive responses from both higher education institutions and the business community...
Organizers
Sponsors
Oct 19 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm | Mass High Tech Council MassVision 2050 | Unity Hall 500
Moderator: Christopher Anderson
President of Massachusetts High Technology Council
Chris Anderson joined the Council in 1984 and since 2001 has served as president, responsible to the Board of Directors for the successful development and implementation of public policy programs and initiatives in Massachusetts and in Washington, D.C. that help make Massachusetts the world’s most attractive place to create, operate, and expand technology businesses.
Chris is directly involved in resolving conflicts and advocating positions on a broad range of state and federal public policy, legislative and regulatory issues. Possessing a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and a J.D. from Suffolk University, School of Law, Chris is a member of the Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations.
Panelist: Grace Wang
17th President of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Grace Wang, PhD, began as WPI’s 17th president on April 3, 2023. She is also a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at WPI.
Elected by the WPI Board of Trustees after an extensive national search, Wang comes to WPI from The Ohio State University (OSU) where she served as executive vice president for research, innovation, and knowledge, and as a professor in Materials Science and Engineering. At OSU, Wang’s efforts helped expand the university’s research and innovation ecosystem, achieving $1.38 billion in annual R&D expenditures during her tenure. With a strong focus on supporting faculty, staff, and student researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs, Wang led the team to support curiosity-driven research; attract external funding to establish multiple large-scale, impact-driven, interdisciplinary research centers; launch campus-wide entrepreneurial activities; and enable experiential learning opportunities. Wang played a leading role in building a few large-scale, strategic university-industry partnerships, setting the vision, and paving the pathways for the development of OSU’s innovation district.
Wang began her career at IBM/Hitachi Global Storage Technologies where she focused on research and development of thin-film magnetic recording media and carbon overcoat for data storage. She holds seven U.S. patents.
In 2022, Wang was appointed by the White House to serve on the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee. She is a council member of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR) at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is a member of the Board of Governors for the New York Academy of Sciences. She also serves on the Board of Massachusetts High Technology Council (MHTC).
Wang earned a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University.
Panelist: Sumedh Mehta
Chief Information Officer, Putnam Investments
Mr. Mehta is Chief Information Officer for Putnam Investments. He is responsible for the overall strategic direction and execution of Putnam’s global technology solutions. In addition, he is a member of Putnam’s Operating Committee and Diversity Advisory Council. Mr. Mehta has over 20 years of experience in managing information technology systems in the investment industry, where he has led transformational change in the areas of software development, information technology, and business operations. He joined Putnam in 2015 and has been in the investment industry since 1988.
Prior to joining Putnam, Mr. Mehta was Senior Vice President of Equity, High Income, and Pyramis Technology at
Fidelity Investments from 2011 to 2015; Director of Operational Effectiveness at Marsh & McLennan from 2009 to
2010; Worldwide Partner and Head of Global Operations at Mercer from 2005 to 2009; Head of the Financial
Services Business Unit at Patni from 2002 to 2005; and Chief Executive Officer at The Reference from 1996 to
2002.
Mr. Mehta earned an M.B.A. from Babson College, an M.S. from Columbia University, and a B.Sc. (Hons) from
Southampton University.
Panelist: Chris Zannetos
Founder and CEO, Covered Security
Chris Zannetos is a serial tech entrepreneur and passionate believer in STEM education as a powerful tool to drive economic advancement and battle generational poverty. The companies that Chris founded have created hundreds of jobs and generated over $300 million in revenue. He is currently co-founder and CEO of Covered Security, which empowers and motivates people to avoid the cost, time, and hassle of identity theft and scams - and helps financial institutions expand digital engagement and reduce fraud.
Chris is also the founder and chairman of STEMatch, www.stematchma.org, a 501c3 non-profit that drives business-education collaboration to make the opportunities of STEM education and jobs accessible to underserved communities. STEMatch and its corporate partners have held Career Days for nearly 1,000 Boston and Lowell Public School students - and provide skills training, mentoring, and internships through its COMPETE program to tech students at Franklin Cummings Tech, and MassBay and North Shore Community Colleges. Chris earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from MIT.
Panelist: Elizabeth Mahoney
Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, Massachusetts High Technology Council
Elizabeth Mahoney is the High Tech Council’s Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, responsible for the development and execution of the Council’s public policy agenda dedicated to advancing the solutions necessary to sustain Massachusetts’ leadership as a state with a strong and multi-faceted innovation economy and a highly skilled—and mobile—workforce.
Prior to joining the Council, Elizabeth worked in the Office of Governor Charlie Baker, as a Deputy Chief of Staff and the Policy Director, and then as Senior Advisor to the Governor. For eight years, Elizabeth managed the development and implementation of the Governor’s policy agenda, working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders, including business groups and advocacy organizations. She helped to draft and pass major legislative initiatives and played a leadership role in the administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Elizabeth received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard College.
Panelist: John Chartier
Partner, McKinsey & Company
John Chartier is a Partner with McKinsey & Company’s Boston Office. He joined McKinsey in 2011 and focuses on serving companies across the life science value chain, including extensive work in top team effectiveness, leadership transformations, talent to value, merger management, and organization design. John is a leader in the firm’s Life Sciences and People & Organization Practices where he works extensively with C-Suites on large-scale leadership programs and transformations. At McKinsey, John is one of the global partner leaders of the firm’s Talent Attraction function. John earned his B.S. from Babson and M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Oct 19 | 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm | Fireside Chat with Mike Fanning: The Future of Fintech in the Insurance Industry | Unity Hall 500
Host: Debora Jackson
Dean, Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
The Reverend Dr. Debora Jackson is Professor of Practice and Dean of the Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a premiere STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) based institution recognized for project-based education that integrates the theory and practice of management. In response to changing industry needs, Dr. Jackson seeks to promote research, collaboration, and partnerships that understand broader societal needs and recast the vision for business education in ways that prepare leaders to disrupt, reorient, and innovate for societal impact.
Guest: Mike Fanning
Former Head of MassMutual U.S. / Co-Chair for Mass Fintech Hub / Board Member of MassChallenge
Mike Fanning, former Head of MassMutual U.S., to its Board of Directors. Throughout his 37-year career, Fanning held pivotal roles shaping technology strategies, driving digital transformation, and championing innovation in wealth management.
Mike recently concluded a distinguished 17-year career at MassMutual. As head of the company’s domestic insurance business, he led an unprecedented period of growth and change for the company. Known as a trailblazer in the insurance industry, Fanning expanded MassMutual’s suite of protection and wealth management solutions and was a leading force in enhancing the company’s technology platform to meet advisor and customer needs.
Mike is also the Co-Chair for Mass Fintech Hub, Board Member of MassChallenge, and a Board Member of Advisor 360.
Oct 19 | 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm | Panel: TradeFi: At the Intersection of Supply Chain, Trade Finance, and Web3 | Unity Hall 500
Moderator: Mike Wise
Head of Partnerships at Boston Blockchain Association
As Head of Partnerships, Mike is an ambassador for the Boston Blockchain Association in the global blockchain and Web3 communities with a focus on strategic connections that catalyze the development of the emerging blockchain innovation ecosystem.
Recognizing the transformative potential of blockchain for B2B and B2C enterprises, Mike was inspired to take the MIT Sloan Blockchain Technologies course. After attending Boston Blockchain Week 2019, Mike volunteered to assist the BBA with events and social media, later accepting a position as Director and then Board Chair from the Summer 2020 until Fall of 2021.
Previously, Mike spent about 10 years with ADP, 10 years in e-commerce, 5 years in Social Tech (Web2.0), and now almost 5 years in Web3.
Panelist: Sara Saberi
Assistant Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Panelist: Abdullah Yildizbasi
Associate Professor of Green & Sustainable Supply Chain | Blockchain & Big Data Researcher | Circular Economy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Panelist: Craig Krigsman
President and CEO – Cloud | SaaS | Digital | Mobile | Enterprise Platforms | Delivering Outcomes at Actual Outcomes
Panelist: Sam Nathans
Systems Architect of Applied Blockchain Technologies
As Vice-Chair of the Board and Co-Chair of the Strategic Development Committee, Sam works to inspire development and facilitate execution of medium-to-long term goals and initiatives with a focus on resources and community tools.
One of the first attending members of the Boston Blockchain Association, Sam volunteered in the creation of the organization's virtual events infrastructure in early 2020 and later that year was invited to join the association's governance body.
Sam is a Systems Architect with over a decade of experience in applied research and use-case design of decentralized technologies in both industry and civics.
In his passion for the intersection of technology, philosophy, economics, and legal systems, Sam is motivated in the development of educational resources and in the cross-collaboration between academic research and industry communities.
Oct 20 | 9:30 am - 10:30 am | Panel: Building a Better Future: Harnessing Blockchain for Social Good | Unity Hall 500
Moderator: Shane Gao
Professor Fintech at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Panelist: Daniel Treku
Assistant Teaching Professor of Management Informa, Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Daniel N. Treku teaches blockchain-related courses for business applications, business intelligence, and data science at the Business School, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts. His ongoing research lies at the intersection of network technologies (such as blockchain technology), digital platforms, data analytics, fintech (AI-, cryptocurrency- and NFT-related), and Green IS. Mainly, his research utilizes conceptual and empirical approaches toward broader financial inclusivity and social good aims. The innovative approaches and tools utilized influence his teaching and project advisement for greater pedagogical impact, fostering responsible and ethical students and professionals who are well-suited for the ever-changing business landscape. He has multiple book chapters, IS conference proceedings, and publications in journals such as the International Journal of Information Management and Finance Research Letters.
Panelist: Kate Lipper-Garabedian
State Representative at Massachusetts House of Representatives, Mass Gov
Since March 2020, Kate Lipper-Garabedian has serve as the State Representative for the 32nd Middlesex District, composed of the City of Melrose and parts of the Town of Wakefield and City of Malden. A former seventh grade public school teacher, she previously served as the Chief Legal Counsel to the Massachusetts Secretary of Education. In her first two legislative sessions, she has filed several bills related to blockchain technology and co-chairs the House Blockchain Technology Caucus.
Panelist: Sam Nathans
Systems Architect of Applied Blockchain Technologies
As Vice-Chair of the Board and Co-Chair of the Strategic Development Committee, Sam works to inspire development and facilitate execution of medium-to-long term goals and initiatives with a focus on resources and community tools.
One of the first attending members of the Boston Blockchain Association, Sam volunteered in the creation of the organization's virtual events infrastructure in early 2020 and later that year was invited to join the association's governance body.
Sam is a Systems Architect with over a decade of experience in applied research and use-case design of decentralized technologies in both industry and civics.
In his passion for the intersection of technology, philosophy, economics, and legal systems, Sam is motivated in the development of educational resources and in the cross-collaboration between academic research and industry communities.
Panelist: Joseph Mancini
EVP | Chief Operating Officer at BankProv
Oct 20 | 9:30 am - 10:30 am | Panel: Fintech and EdTech: Revolutionizing Finance and Education in the Digital Age | Unity Hall 400
Moderator: Brent French
Assistant Dean of the Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Brent currently serves as the Assistant Dean of The WPI Business School and is responsible for accreditation, finance, and operations for 45 faculty and staff, 200+ undergraduate majors, and 200+ graduate students across six programs including an MBA and PhD program.
He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, an MBA from WPI, and a PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University. He was selected as a Senior Fellow in the Next Jump Leadership Think Tank from 2020 to 2022 and attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education Management Development Program in 2023.
Panelist: Chuck Collins
Director, University Research & Engagement - Fidelity Center for Applied Technology at Fidelity
Chuck Collins spearheads FCAT’s university research collaborations and engagement, leveraging his background as a startup and business educator, coach, and investor. Chuck has dedicated his career to innovation work as both an educator and creator of emerging technology products. Prior to joining Fidelity in 2021, he coached founders and startups at prestigious institutions such as Harvard Business School and Babson College, where he designed entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship programs like the HBS Rock Accelerator.
With an MBA from Babson College and degrees in Social Change and Economics from Sam Houston State University and Nutrition Science and Business Administration from Texas A&M University, Chuck brings a wealth of knowledge and diverse perspectives to creative and collaborative research engagements.
Panelist: Eric Blue
Founder & CEO at Nevly
Panelist: Ernesto C. Martinez-Villalpando
Head of Corporate Development and Innovation at Mass Challenge
Panelist: Siobhan (Scanlon) Dullea
Executive Director of Innovate@BU at Boston University
Siobhan Dullea is a nationally respected business innovator and executive leader with over three decades of experience in the private sector. As the President and CEO of MassChallenge a global startup accelerator, she drove substantial growth and change, building transformative partnerships with private funders, and successfully navigating the organization through the pandemic-era shift to virtual work. She is a founding team member of the Mass FinTech Hub – a public-private partnership comprising a network of fintech leaders, financial experts, academics, public sector leaders and venture capitalists who empower fintech startups to achieve success.
Panelist: Berlendah Dure
Head of Sales & User Experience at Renavest
Panelist: Asha Mehta
Managing Partner & CIO at Global Delta Capital
Asha Mehta, CFA, is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Global Delta Capital and the author of the book, Power of Capital: An Adventure Capitalist’s Journey to a Sustainable Future. Her thematic focus includes Emerging & Frontier Markets and Sustainable Investing.
She was previously an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Lead Portfolio Manager and Director of Responsible Investing at Acadian Asset Management. Early in her career, she conducted microfinance lending in India. She has traveled to over 80 countries and lived in six.
Asha is a market maker and investment pioneer. She managed the world’s first Frontier markets fund as well as the first institutional actively managed Emerging Markets Fossil Fuel Free fund. She launched one of the earliest onshore China strategies in the United States. Separately, Asha led the first quantitative investor to become a signatory to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investing, which now oversees more than $100 trillion in investment assets.
Asha was named one of the Top 10 Women in Asset Management by Money Management Executive and profiled as a “Brilliant Quant” by Forbes magazine. Asha is an active advocate of financial literacy and financial empowerment. She is a supporter of several related organizations, including Compass Working Capital and 100 Women in Finance.
Asha holds an MBA with Honors from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a B.S., Biological Sciences, and A.B., Anthropology, from Stanford University. She lives between Boston and Florida with her husband and three children.
Oct 20 | 10:30 am - 11:30 am | Panel: ESG Finance: Defining Sustainable Growth in Diverse Industries | Unity Hall 500
Moderator: Rob Sarnie
Professor of Practice of Fintech, Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Rob Sarnie is a Professor of Practice in FinTech. He joined WPI from Fidelity Investments, where he spent 23 years in the finance industry, holding multiple executive leadership positions including VP of Strategy and Planning, VP Human Resource Systems, and VP Finance, Procurement, and Accounting Systems. Rob also held positions in the public and private sectors for companies in the manufacturing and nonprofit industries.
Rob is also extremely focused on collaborating and advancing the fintech ecosystem by being the Director of the WPI Fintech Project Center, Co-PI of the WPI “FAB Lab for Social Good”, and by being one of the leaders of the “Talent, Academics, & Diversity” workstream within Mass Fintech Hub.
Panelist: Cliff Weiner
Managing Director at Preston Hollow Capital
Cliff Weiner is a Managing Director at Preston Hollow Community Capital, LLC. In this role, he oversees the fixed income investment strategy. He brings 30 years of diverse experience in portfolio investment, origination, acquisitions leadership and fixed income trading.
Prior to joining Preston Hollow Community Capital in January 2014, Mr. Weiner spent 17 years with a Dallas-based diversified financial services firm in multiple capacities. In his most recent position, he served as CEO and president of the firm’s municipal finance group where he managed trading of the company’s municipal bond portfolio and origination of private placements and loans for a held-for-sale portfolio. Mr. Weiner previously served as managing director of corporate development for the firm, where he shared responsibility for various high-profile deals. These included the acquisition of investment bank Houlihan Lokey and the $60 billion sale of a master servicing platform to Key Bank. His initial position was managing director of the company’s CMBS business unit. In this role he specialized in CMBS and ABS investment and trading in addition to real estate lending. Mr. Weiner began his career with Kidder Peabody/PaineWebber as a senior vice president of institutional fixed income sales.
He received his Bachelor of Science in physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute before going on to earn his MBA in finance from Duke University.
https://phccap.com/team/cliff-weiner/
Panelist: Dean Stratouly
President/CEO at The Congress Group
Panelist: Clyde Blaise Niba
Investment Banking Associate at Goldman Sachs / Founder at Net12
Clyde-Blaise Niba is an Investment Banking Associate at Goldman Sachs within the Natural Resources and Energy group. His professional background includes investment banking, supply chain management, and operations across North America and Europe with a commitment to leadership and entrepreneurial excellence. Clyde earned an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and holds a B.A. in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).
Panelist: Betsy Mule
Senior Associate at F-Prime Capital
Oct 20 | 1:30pm - 2:30pm | Panel: Emerging Horizons: Unveiling the Future of Fintech | Unity Hall 500
Moderator: Mohammed Dastigir
Head of FinTech & HealthTech Partnerships, Ecosystem Development at MassMutual
Mohammed leads MassMutual’s engagement in FinTech & HealthTech programs as well as broader FinTech Ecosystem Initiatives including the launch of the Mass Fintech Hub, which is a public-private engagement representing leaders from across the innovative ecosystem, focused on making Massachusetts the global Fintech Hub. Mohammed is also the current Chairman of the MassChallenge FinTech Founding Partners Advisory Board.
Mohammed joined MassMutual in 2008 as a technology leader overseeing key product launches and technology initiatives across the company including standing up a new business line. Additionally, Mohammed was appointed as Head of MassMutual’s Business Project Management Office overseeing a portfolio of initiatives worth over $250M where he worked closely with teams across the enterprise to strategically align and support initiatives that help drive company success.
Prior to joining MassMutual, Mohammed launched his own startup focused on strategic planning, business management, computer consulting and engineering services.
Mohammed is a graduate of UMASS Amherst with a degree in Computer Systems Engineering and certification from Boston University in Applied Project Management. He is passionate about building a better community by supporting social causes. Currently, Mohammed serves on several boards focused on community & ecosystem development, humanitarian relief and interfaith initiatives.
Panelist: Patrick Larkin
Deputy Director, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
Director, Innovation Institute at MassTech
MassTech is a state economic development agency that strives to strengthen the competitiveness of the tech and innovation economy by driving strategic investments, partnerships, and insights that harness the talent of Massachusetts.
Working at the intersection of State, Industry University, Nonprofit and other key stakeholder communities, the Innovation Institute supports growth of priority industry clusters within the technology and innovation sectors of the economy in Massachusetts.
In his role as Director of the Innovation Institute, Larkin oversees investment activities of the Innovation Institute’s Collaborative Research Matching Grant Program, Technology & Innovation Ecosystem Awards Program, MassTech Intern Partnership Program; MassTech’s Strong Entrepreneur Mentorship Grant Program and Pathways to Scale Mentorship Grant Program.
Larkin is currently engaged in projects to improve economic conditions for Fintech, robotics, blockchain, quantum, marine tech, artificial intelligence/machine learning and other key innovation sectors in the Massachusetts economy. As an example of these efforts, Larkin has been instrumental in the launch of the Mass Fintech Hub, a unique Fintech collaborative focused on cultivating a robust ecosystem in Massachusetts, along with establishment of the Massachusetts Robotics Industry Steering Committee, a leadership group that advances Massachusetts as a global leader in advanced robotics systems.
Panelist: Vasilios Roussos
Founder, FinTech Innovation Advisor & Leader.