Speakers

John Bowman, CFA


John serves as Senior Managing Director for the CAIA Association, overseeing the industry leading CAIA charter, thought leadership and content development, and CAIA's Asia Pacific strategy. John has devoted over 20 years to the asset management industry to recover the narrative of the value that the investment profession bring to society. He is a staunch public advocate for market integrity, long-termism, investor outcomes, diversity, human dignity and educational standards, as necessary ingredients to building a sustainable and healthy profession. John previously served as Managing Director for the Americas for CFA Institute, a region comprised of 40+ countries from Canada, the U.S., Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Bowman joined CFA Institute in 2004 after holding several industry positions. He served as a portfolio manager at Mellon Growth Advisors (MGA), where he was responsible for portfolio construction and stock selection for the MGA International Growth and MGA Global Growth strategies. Bowman also served as a portfolio manager for the International Growth Opportunities Strategy at State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) in its Global Fundamental Strategies Group. John is a prolific writer and commentator, frequently appearing in industry and business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Pension and Investments, Financial Advisor, The Independent, Wealthmanagement.com and CNBC. Bowman earned a BS in Business Administration from Mary Washington College and is a CFA charterholder.


Alexandra Damsker


Alexandra Damsker is a corporate and securities attorney, formerly with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and a major international firm. She is a 2x founder (one exit), and has been involved in blockchain since 2016. A major publisher has asked her to publish a book regarding best practices in blockchain. She is considered a subject matter expert in blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs and general offerings, and currently serves as legal, business, and strategic advisor to several companies and individuals.


Richard Johnson


Richard founded Texture Capital in 2019 to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in the digital securities space. Today the firm is one of the leading digital securities broker dealers, focused on leveraging blockchain technology to improve the market structure of capital markets. Richard is a seasoned entrepreneur and accomplished securities industry executive having held several leadership roles at the forefront of finance and technology, have held senior positions at Societe Generale, Greenwich Associates, Liquidnet and ITG. Richard is a pioneer and thought-leader in electronic trading; former consultant to large organizations on equity market structure, blockchain and cryptocurrency and FinTech.


Lee Partridge


Lee Partridge founded Sorrel Leaf Capital (SLC) in 2017 to acquire and manage multifamily communities. SLC’s mission is to enhance the communities it owns while building wealth for its investors. Prior to founding SLC, Mr. Partridge founded Integrity Capital, an institutional investment management firm, which was later acquired by Salient, a Houston based investment firm, where Mr. Partridge served as Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Partridge served as the Deputy Chief Investment Officer for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and held executive positions within the insurance and banking industries. He has been a frequent guest on CNBC, Fox Business News and Bloomberg News. Mr. Partridge holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst® designations. He also holds an M.B.A. degree from Rice University and a B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of Houston.


Dejun Qian


Dejun "DJ" Qian is the Founder and CEO of Chainge Finance. Chainge Finance is DJ’s latest initiative and its main goal revolves around full financial independency and decentralization. Powered by Fusion DCRM technology, this one of a kind digital finance app will engulf all of the features that users need in order to become their own digital bank and rid themselves of tedious traditional financial processes. Prior to founding Chainge, in 2017, DJ shifted his attention and efforts towards unlocking and exploring the future of digital finance. Of this, his company Fusion was born as one of the first movers in the DeFi space, coining the term “crypto finance” in its whitepaper released in early 2018. DJ’s journey in the blockchain industry started in 2013, leading to the foundation of BitSE - one of the first companies to activate in blockchain technology research and development. Before entering the Blockchain field, DJ worked at IBM for 12 years, as general manager of the IBM Chongqing Branch, and Client Unit Executive, West China.