Brian Forde (USA)

Brian Forde

Master Class:
Blockchain: Bringing power to the people, and how that impacts the future of your business (9:00am – 11.30am incl morning tea, Monday November 13th)

Deep Conversation:
Human Intelligence 2.0 – Thriving in the Age of Acceleration (12.00pm – 2.00pm, Monday November 13th)

Plenary 1:
The pace of change – Survive or thrive? (9:30am, Tuesday November 14th)

Director of Digital Currency at the MIT Media Lab; Former Senior Technology Advisor at the White House under Barack Obama’s presidency

Brian Forde has spent more than a decade at the nexus of technology, entrepreneurship, and public policy. He is currently the Director of Digital Currency at the MIT Media Lab where he leads efforts to mainstream digital currencies like Bitcoin through research, and incubation of high-impact applications of the emerging technology. Most recently he was the Senior Advisor for Mobile and Data Innovation at the White House where he spearheaded efforts to leverage emerging technologies to address the President’s most critical national priorities. Prior to his work at the White House, Brian founded one of the largest phone companies in Nicaragua after serving as a business and technology volunteer in the Peace Corps. In recognition of his work, Brian was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Digital currencies like Bitcoin are poised to make a dramatic impact on most people’s lives over the next decade.

To help realise the projected impact of this technology, Brian recently launched the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab.

In his role at the White House, Brian was responsible for determining how the Obama Administration would leverage open data and technology to address national priorities. These priorities included crowdsourcing, the sharing economy, and innovation prizes and challenges to address issues including Hurricane Sandy, climate change, and the revitalization of Detroit. A passionate advocate for diversity in tech, Brian formed the White House Tech Inclusion and TechHire Initiatives, bringing together leaders from the technology community, large corporations, and advocacy groups to support the hiring and training of more women and minorities in tech.