Blockchain Insider: Karen Ottoni
Karen is part of the Blockchain team at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where she works with Fortune 500 companies in their exploration of new and disruptive technologies. She advises clients across various industries to understand blockchain, its business applications, and ideate use cases for eventual development into proofs-of-concept. Karen earned her MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and holds a degree in International Development, Business and Economics from American University. Prior to Duke, Karen had a career in international development working at public and private sector consulting firms and at USAID in the US, India and Sub-Saharan Africa. She managed multi-million dollar projects in challenging post-conflict contexts to empower women, improve access to health and fight HIV/AIDS, promote good governance, and facilitate economic trade. Karen currently co-organizes the Women in Blockchain Meetup in New York City and has mentored teams for the Blockchain for Social Impact Hackathon and Startup Weekend NYC Blockchain. She is excited about the potential for emerging technologies like blockchain to change not only the way we do business and exchange value, but also to improve lives around the world.
1. Why is blockchain a technology that the general public should pay attention to?
Blockchain technology is relevant for the general public to understand the same way it was good to start learning and becoming aware of what the Internet could do in the 1990s. It is less important to dive into the details and understand the mechanics for the average person — although I think many would find it really interesting and rewarding to do so — understanding what blockchain can do to change and impact the way we conduct transactions, exchange assets, whether monetary or physical, gives way to your imagination discovering all kinds of new ways the technology could be used to accomplish things that we want to do now but can’t. I love when I’ve taught or explained blockchain to people and the dots connect, how their eyes light up and they see the realm of possibilities — it’s really fun. It’s not as intuitive as artificial intelligence or virtual reality, but can be just as compelling. From there, the world of use cases and experimenting with cryptocurrencies will open up!
2. What is your role in the blockchain space?
I work and volunteer in the blockchain space. By day, I’m a strategic business manager at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) based here in New York. I’m a blockchain subject matter expert and that means I’ve worked with TCS clients to get them started on their blockchain exploration journey. That could start from the basics of what it is and how it works, to doing ideation around use cases that are relevant for their industry. I’ve presented our clients with competitive analyses of what the blockchain landscape looks like for our clients’ industries, such as in insurance, supply chain, media and entertainment, health, etc. showing who’s getting involved from the incumbent and startup sides. Right now, I’m looking at how blockchain could be relevant for certain processes in finance and shared services. In my free time, I am involved in activities that promote diversity and social impact in this new emerging industry. I co-organize the New York Women in Blockchain Meetup, where every month we hold a packed and engaging event with speakers from leading innovative blockchain-based companies. We welcome everyone however they identify, and our aim is to amplify voices as we seek to debate and create a new decentralized and hopefully more equal future. My involvement with the Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC) and on panels relating to the same topic have to do with the fact that my career started off in foreign affairs and international development and so I’m eager to see blockchain applied in these contexts and used to advance social impact initiatives.
3. Which blockchain developer, entrepreneur, or public leader do you admire the most?
Oooh this is hard to choose. I admire Amber Baldet for how badass of a woman in business and blockchain she is, and how eloquently she explains and describes concepts which shows a deep understanding of the technology and its principles. I learn something new every time I hear her speak. I admire Thessy Mehrain for how she keeps her values close and is really seeking to turn upside down the unhealthy and unhelpful gender, social, financial systems we have today that aren’t serving the benefit of the majority. I admire Joseph Lubin for humbly seeking to change the world with blockchain (and specifically Ethereum). I really like following William Mougayer and Andreas Antonopoulos who work hard to foster a thoughtful study and conversation about blockchain so others can learn.
4. What problems do you see blockchain solving?
Hmm, there’s so many use cases, but the main thing really is that there are a lot of middlemen, intermediaries, in many industries that are extracting value — whether it be money or time — that either are taking more value than they are creating or just serving as an inefficiency in a process that would be more efficient without. But right now we cannot operate without them because they perform some sort of trust function between two parties, like a bank does when you transfer funds internationally or Ebay does between buyers and sellers. So when I can engage directly and securely with someone else, to perform a transaction or verify a credential like my education, the extracted value is now transferred to me, whether it be money saved or getting something done faster than I would otherwise today. So in a simple example like verifying my degree to an employer or to another institution, instead of the hassle it is today to get your transcripts ordered, which in my experience has cost time and money (and frustration!), I own that information and can instantly, and securely, share that information with whomever needs it for a period of time. It’s a small problem, but one that when you think about it in different contexts, such as with refugees who have lost everything, it can be really compelling.
5. How did you become interested in blockchain?
I became aware of bitcoin somewhere in 2011/2012, looked it up on wikipedia to see what it was about and then promptly forgot about it until I was recruiting in business school years later. I attended Fuqua at Duke University in North Carolina, and learned about the opportunity to join this blockchain team at TCS. I looked into blockchain and realized “oh yeah it’s what’s behind bitcoin!” that I had looked up earlier, and dove deep into understanding the underlying concepts. I thought it was an exciting emerging field that really combined my interests in bringing about greater societal impact, with my more immediate and short term goal to gain experience working in a large consulting firm. Of course, I wish I had looked into it more earlier, not because I would be bitcoin rich now, but because when I first had that curiosity I was living in Ethiopia and I think if I had grasped the potential then, it would have sparked a lot of my imagination for what was possible in an emerging market context very early on. I’m excited to see where this technology goes and I love how it challenges me and keeps me on my toes everyday!
Portia Burton is founder of The Blockchain Explainer. If you want to learn more about this emerging technology be sure to sign up for The Blockchain Explainer newsletter.
