Romain Pellerin has a PhD in distributed computing from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers and Télécom SudParis. He has founded three start-ups since 2008, at which he held both chief executive and chief technology officer positions. Since 2017, Romain has built blockchain-based products for clients, including a major international bank, and released open-source projects to help developers create durable blockchain systems. A key part of this work has been Romain’s focus on reducing complexity and cutting costs by encouraging the adoption of public blockchains, so lowering the barrier to entry for companies. Romain joined IOHK in 2020.

Manolo Sánchez is ex-CEO of BBVA Compass, where he grew BBVA’s subsidiary in the US from 2k to 10k employees and from $3bn to $100bn in assets. He is now an adjunct professor at Rice University, where he teaches courses to MBA and executive MBA students on digital disruption in finance. He is also on the Board of Directors of various companies, including Fannie Mae, Stewart Title and Spring Labs.