Speakers & Professors
Greg Lee, NFT42
Greg is a software developer with a business mind focused on creating great products. He’s currently COO of nft42 working in the amazing, transformative blockchain NFT (non-fungible token) world with the mission to make it easy for any small or large enterprise to adopt NFTs into their business. Greg previously led the Block.one engineering team that built the EOSIO blockchain protocol, helping to grow the engineering team to 100+ people focused on creating the blockchain software and supporting tools.
Greg has also worked in the DARPA R&D world, wireless (cellular) test industry and the motion control industry. In particular he enjoys working closely with customers to understand their pain points and help solve their large scale problems. He has a broad range of experience running software companies, product management, and managing software development organizations, particularly at the startup stage.
Greg has been working with Linux since 1.0 and has helped port Linux onto a number of different hardware platforms. Fun fact - he built the first email to text message gateway to go into commercial operation in America for one of the big 3 wireless network providers.
Expertise: Team leadership, distributed/remote teams and companies, cloud computing, blockchain, NFTs, AWS, SaaS, software development, software team management, executive presentations, budgeting and forecasting, pricing, negotiations, telecommunications, wireless, cellular, wireless modules, Linux and embedded Linux.
John Fields, Product Manager Capital One
As part of the product management team at Capital One, John’s role is to continuously evaluate new technologies from machine learning, to blockchain and AI and understand how these emerging technologies might support Capital One’s mission to change banking for good in ways that are just now possible.
As an engineer by training, John worked as a developer and software architect for over ten years in a wide range of technologies, from developing C programs for hardware controllers, signal processing in semiconductors, to consumer facing web applications and ultimately native mobile apps.
When not at work, you can find John in the mountains skiing, mountain biking or hiking with his Weimaraner (Ollie), or on the water wake surfing or wakeboarding.
James Harder, Virginia Tech
James Harder, PhD is the External Engagement Manager for Virginia Tech's Department of Computer Science, where he manages the department’s Blockchain Initiative.
In this work, James focuses on helping companies learn about and implement blockchain through the department’s blockchain certificate program, the Blockchain that Serves webinar series, and the Blocksburg conference. At Virginia Tech since 2016, James has previously managed two university-wide initiatives: Beyond Boundaries (which examined the future of higher education) and experiential learning. James is also an instructor in the School of Public and International Affairs where he teaches courses on the U.S. Congress and was a 2016 fellow at the LBJ LIbrary in Austin, TX.
Prior to academia, James worked on Capitol Hill in the legislative staff of Representative Rich Boucher. He was also an appointee, by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, to the Commonwealth’s Board of Forestry. A native of Blacksburg, VA, James spends most of his time with his two kids listening to music, playing guitar, training for triathlons, and rooting for Chelsea.
Jim Gatto, Sheppard Mullin
Mr. Gatto co-heads Sheppard Mullin’s Blockchain Team and its Games Team. For more than 30 years he has been a thought leader and has provided strategic advice on all aspects of intellectual property and technology law, especially ones driven by new business models and/or disruptive technologies. His practice focuses on blockchain (including blockchain games, cryptocurrency/NFTs); interactive entertainment (metaverses, virtual worlds, games, AR, VR, fantasy sports, esports); digital art, AI and online gambling. He advises clients on IP strategies, development and publishing agreements, licensing and technology transaction agreements and tech regulatory issues (securities, gambling, AML). Mr. Gatto has been involved with blockchain since 2012 and has been recognized as a thought leader by leading organizations including Best Lawyers in America 2021-2022; Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Fintech Trailblazer, The National Law Journal, 2018; and Thought Leader on Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies, National Law Review, 2018.