Dr. Johnna Powell is Managing Director, and Head of Technology, Research and Innovation at
DTCC. Within this role she drives external and internal innovation through strategic thought
leadership, enterprise-wide advocacy, collaborative sponsorship and execution. She has
spearheaded the enterprise AI strategy and overall execution, alongside enabling and
implementing DTCC’s first blockchain acquisition and integration. She currently serves on the
Board of Fnality, Inc. and Hyperledger Foundation.
In addition to her work at DTCC, Johnna was the Global Co-Head of ConsenSys NFT and Head
of US Professional Services, where she served multiple Fortune 100 clients on product design,
development and launch. Her work included bringing to market a carbon credit trading platform
with a global alliance of 4 banks, designing a securities issuance and lifecycle management
platform with 10 of the largest global banks, and launching an NFT ticketing platform with Sports
Illustrated. Under her leadership, the ConsenSys NFT team spearheaded several high-profile
endeavors in NFT collections across industries, including art, entertainment and music, such as
Damian Hurst: The Currency Project and The Merge: Regenesis.
Prior to that, Johnna was a Vice President and Head of User Engagement within GLG, and
senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where she focused on corporate strategy
and commercial engagements including marketing & sales optimization and go-to-market
strategies.
Johnna obtained a PhD in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from MIT, where she
conducted research in millimeter-wave imaging systems and Ultra-Wideband ("5G") antennas for
military applications. While at MIT, she won the IEEE International Best Paper Award for her
research, along with a patent for her designs. In addition, BMW used her designs and prototypes
in their Ultra-Wideband systems testing.