Curriculum vitae
Co-Founder, Lightspark · Co-Creator, Libra / Diem (Meta) · Founder, MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab
Now
Operating experience
Co-founded the payments-infrastructure company backed by a $175M Series A co-led by a16z and Paradigm. Led the Finance, AI and Data Science, Business Development and Sales, Corporate Development, and Strategic Partnerships teams; led strategic partnerships and deals with Coinbase, Nubank, Revolut, and SoFi, and led the acquisition of Striga — now Lightspark Payments Europe, holding a full MiCA CASP/EMI license.
Co-created Libra (later Diem); Chief Economist of the Diem Association and Head Economist of Meta’s FinTech division. Engaged regulators worldwide, including the Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Treasury, SEC, OCC, CFTC, ECB, Bank of England, FINMA, BaFin, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Founded the lab; research on the economics of AI and AGI, digital assets, stablecoins, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies. As MIT professor, designed the 2014 MIT Digital Currency Research Study, which gave every MIT undergraduate access to Bitcoin.
Governance
Independent board member.
Advisor.
Advisor.
Advisor.
Advisor.
Ongoing advisory to the CEO, following four years as Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer.
Advisor on payments infrastructure for AI agents.
Advisor.
Advisory Board, Coinbase Institute.
Advisor.
Economic and protocol advisory.
Advisor.
Chief Scientist.
Public service
Appointed to the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee in 2023.
Served on the Bank of England’s CBDC Engagement Forum.
Faculty Research Fellow, Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program.
Faculty of the national program for Canada's next generation of entrepreneurial leaders (2013–2017); previously Tech Advisor (2010–2013).
Associate since 2018; previously Strategic Advisory Board member (2013–2018) and Associate Director (2012–2013) of the seed-stage program for massively scalable science-based ventures.
Through Libra and Diem, engaged regulators worldwide, including the Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Treasury, SEC, OCC, CFTC, ECB, Bank of England, FINMA, BaFin, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Academia
| Years | Appointment |
|---|---|
| 2017–2021 | Theodore T. Miller Professor, MIT |
| 2018–2021 | Associate Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management, MIT |
| 2014–2017 | Fred Kayne Professor of Entrepreneurship, MIT |
| 2013–2018 | Assistant Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management, MIT |
| 2018–2023 | Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research (Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship) |
Research published in Science, PNAS, Management Science, and elsewhere — selected publications, or the full list in the CV.
Education
| Year | Degree |
|---|---|
| 2013 | PhD in Strategic Management, University of Toronto (Rotman School of Management) |
| 2010 | Visiting scholar, Harvard University (Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences) |
| 2006 | MSc (summa cum laude), Economics and Management of International Markets and New Technologies, Bocconi University |
| 2004 | BA in Economics (summa cum laude), Bocconi University |
Board & executive inquiries: [email protected] · About · Ventures & advisory