Understanding the Role of the DSF Advisory Board

The DLT Science Foundation (DSF) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the growth of distributed ledger technology in business and society. At the heart of the foundation sits the Board of Directors (BoD). Though the BoD includes seasoned DLT academics and tech entrepreneurs, they still need help to achieve the DSF’s aims. This is where the Advisory Board comes in; this hand-picked panel of respected professionals with experience complementary to the DSF’s mission offers an indispensable sounding board of strategic advice. 
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In this article, you’ll learn more about the role of the Advisory Board, meet its members and  understand the specific skills they lend to the DSF.

But, in order to understand the role and significance of the DSF’s Advisory Board we first need to zoom out and familiarise ourselves with the overall structure of the DSF and the functions that exist to further DLT adoption. 

Understanding the DSF’s organisational structure gives you the necessary context to appreciate how and where the Advisory Board's skills can help the foundation meet its goals.
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The Advisory Board

The primary function of the Advisory Board is to provide a unique sounding board for the DSF’s BoD by offering a plurality of experience and skills across strategically important verticals, geographies and business functions.
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The experience of the six-member Advisory Board includes working within key international financial institutions such as the IMF, SWIFT and the EU Commission, enabling the DSF to understand how these important bodies view the potential of distributed ledger technology, the likely direction of compliance and legislation as well as identifying areas where the DSF can help educate those institutions.
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Its members also bring the experience of working within C-Suite positions across global commercial financial institutions such as UBS, Citigroup, HSBC and ABN Amro, with special focus on how investment banks and venture funds incubate new ideas, which feeds into the DFS’s focus on DLT innovation.
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One area of responsibility that the Advisory Board shares with the foundation’s main internal stakeholders is using their reputation, status within related communities and social media clout to spread the good word about the DSF and DLT.
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The Advisory Board was selected with this ambassadorial function in mind, boasting polyglots who regularly speak at international forums like TedX or the Institute for the Future and hold key roles within community-focused blockchain organisations in important jurisdictions like Switzerland.
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How the DSF Advisory Board works

A good way to think of the Advisory Board is like an All-Star Team that can be called on individually for their specific skills and connections when needed. 

This means that the Advisory Board from time to time meet as a panel and are also called on a one-on-one basis, with their time and expertise maximised by getting their advice on a very specific aspect of the DSF strategy.

With the right selection, the Advisory Board can play a crucial role in opening doors, preempting strategic challenges or avoiding start-up roadblocks.

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Meet the Advisory Board

The Advisory Board consists of six members, balanced equally between men and women, and with a healthy geographic spread.

Samuel Chadwick

As head of the UBS Next Incubator, an internal corporate accelerator, Samuel is ideally placed to help the DSF bring novel DLT-focused ideas to market, Having joined UBS in 2019 as the Head of the DLT Center of Excellence, UBS was recognised by Forbes as a Top 50 company in the field of blockchain. 

Previously head of the blockchain strategy at Refinitiv, a global provider of financial market data and infrastructure, Samuel co-founded the Crypto Valley Association in Switzerland, offering a valuable connection to this important blockchain business community.
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AYA Nuray Gokalp

AYA brings enormous advisory expertise to the DSF in both the public and private sectors given her active involvement across multiple web3.0-focused accelerators and VCs either as Founder, Partner or Advisor. 

Her position as an expert evaluator of blockchain projects for the European Commission provides invaluable insight into how the EC is evaluating distributed ledger technology and the type of DLT initiatives being considered for public application. 

A polyglot who speaks eight languages, AYA’s Computer Science degree provided the perfect foundation for exploring the blockchain space as early as 2014, working for ABN AMRO Bank. 
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Marcus Treacher

Marcus Treacher is a global payments and blockchain expert with 30 years of experience building international businesses focused on digital and emerging technology payment infrastructure. Experience that makes him an ideal candidate for the Advisory Board’s role in understanding how traditional finance views DLT adoption.

Marcus has held global leadership roles with household names such as Citigroup, HSBC, and blockchain disruptor Ripple and has served on the boards of SWIFT, CHAPS and RippleNet. He currently sits on the board of CB Growth Holdings, the parent company of ClearBank, and RTGS Global, advising on strategic growth.
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Caterina Rindi

Caterina Rindi has been involved in the peer-to-peer, blockchain, and open-source ecosystem since 2013, lending this expertise to start-ups, foundations, and corporate clients in industries spanning fintech, P2P collaborative economies, consumer products, governance, academia, and healthcare. 

This breadth of experience lends itself to the DSF’s work across the public and private sectors. Caterina’s current role is the Director of Community and Developer Relations for the Open-Source Team at G-Research. She speaks Italian and Spanish and is a regular speaker on the DLT conference circuit, providing a potential platform for the DSF’s mission. 
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Daniel Heller

Daniel Heller is Head of Regulatory Strategy at RTGS.global, leveraging his extensive experience in financial regulation and compliance, two key areas of expertise that the DSF will leverage. 
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His CV includes stints at Fnality International as Head of Regulatory Affairs and Executive Director for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he oversaw the areas of Azerbaijan, Poland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Serbia, Switzerland, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
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Daniel also serves as an Independent Board Member at the Astana Financial Services Authority, CFO at Bitlumens and a Research Fellow at the University College London Centre for Blockchain Technologies, highlighting his DLT credentials.
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Boris Battistini 

Dr. Boris Battistini is a Director at Metellus AG, a private investment office based in Zurich specialised in venture capital, private equity and direct investments. He was a Senior Research Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) and the Co-Founder of the ETH Corporate Innovation Lab. He was a Co-Founder and Board Director of the Swiss Finance and Technology Association (SFTA), where he currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board. He led the Global Corporate Venturing Initiative of Bain&Co and ETH. He is a graduate of King's College London and holds a PhD from ETH Zürich.
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Boris’ breadth of experience across VC, academia and industry bodies made him an ideal candidate for the DSF Advisory Board.
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Want to Learn More about the Advisory Board?

As the DSF is a not-for-profit organisation aiming to benefit the whole DLT community, we’ll be posting regularly on social media with progress updates and insight, including from our Advisory Board, who are all active on Twitter and LinkedIn.

We’ll also be adding in-depth profiles of each of the Advisory Board members to the DSF News section, so make sure to keep coming back to the site or subscribing to our Newsletter.

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Advisory Board FAQs

How often does the Advisory Board meet?
The Advisory Board meet regularly with the BoD and can also be called on as and when their specific skills, experience and contacts are needed. 

How are the Advisory Board selected?
The DSF’s Board of Directors maps out the DSF’s strategic needs, thinking specifically about the skills, experience and connections that would be most beneficial to tap into. They then utilise their own network of contacts to find the best candidates.