Joichi "Joi" Ito has been recognized for his work as an activist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and advocate of emergent democracy, privacy, and internet freedom. As Media Lab Director, he is currently exploring how radical new approaches to science and technology can transform society in substantial and positive ways. Follow @Joi on Twitter.

Professor Rivest is an Institute Professor at MIT. He joined MIT in 1974 as a faculty member in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is a member of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), a member of the lab's Theory of Computation Group and a founder of its Cryptography and Information Security Group. He is a co-author (with Cormen, Leiserson, and Stein) of the text, Introduction to Algorithms. He is also a founder of RSA Data Security, now named RSA Security (the security division of EMC), Versign, and Peppercoin. Professor Rivest has research interests in cryptography, computer and network security, electronic voting, and algorithms.

Simon Johnson is an economist and faculty advisor to the DCI from the MIT Sloan School. Prior to MIT, Simon served as the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.

Gary Gensler is Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, Senior Advisor to the Director, MIT Media Lab, & Co-Director of MIT’s Fintech@CSAIL. He advises both the Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative and the Ethics and Governance of AI project. Gensler conducts research and teaches on blockchain technology, digital currencies, financial technology & public policy. He won the MIT Sloan Outstanding Teacher Award based upon student nominations for the 2018-19 academic year.

Formerly Gensler was chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, leading the Obama Administration’s reform of the $400 trillion swaps market. He also was senior advisor to US Senator Paul Sarbanes in writing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) and was Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton Administration. In recognition for his service, he was awarded Treasury’s highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award. He is a recipient of the 2014 Frankel Fiduciary Prize.

Gensler is currently a member of the New York Fed Fintech Advisory Group and was chairman of the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission (2017-2019). He has worked on various political campaigns, most recently as CFO for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign, and subsequently as an economic advisor for the Obama 2008 campaign.

Gensler coauthored a book presenting common sense investing advice for middle income Americans, The Great Mutual Fund Trap, (Broadway Books, 2002). He has appeared regularly on national television commenting on the economy and politics. In 2016, Politico Magazine, included him in their list of the 50 ‘Thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics.’

Prior to his public service, Gensler worked at Goldman Sachs (1979-1997), having become a partner in the Mergers & Acquisition department, headed the firm’s Media Group, led fixed income & currency trading in Asia, and lastly co-headed Finance, being responsible for the firm's worldwide Controllers and Treasury efforts.

A runner, Gensler has completed nine marathons and the JFK 50-mile race. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics in 1978 and his MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He has three daughters, and is from Baltimore, Maryland.

Christian is a professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is one of the principal investigators of the MIT Digital Currencies Research Study, which gave access to all MIT undergraduate students to Bitcoin in the Fall of 2014.

Michael J. Casey is a Senior Advisor at DCI. A former Wall Street Journal writer and accomplished author, Michael has written several critically acclaimed books including The Age of Cryptocurrency and The Unfair Trade. Follow @mikejcasey on Twitter.