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BWHDx

Building & Leading Across Finance, Blockchain and AI

From investment banking and hedge funds through cards, payments, and stablecoins to L1 blockchains and AI-powered prediction markets. Building and scaling companies across the full spectrum of financial technology.

Benedict Speaking

About Me

From co-inventing payment systems at JPMorgan to running a company as COO, I've built and scaled organisations across fintech, blockchain, and AI. I lead across the full picture: product, technology, operations, finance, marketing, sales, partnerships, and governance, with the strategic vision and technical depth to execute at every level. My passions are building, leading, and learning, and I bring all three to everything I do.

Operational Leadership

I run companies and divisions from the ground up. Organisational structure, financial controls, operational processes. I build what scales and own the full picture.

Product & Technology

I architect products and platforms that create market position. Deep fluency in distributed systems, blockchain, and AI means I make technology decisions that are both strategically sound and technically rigorous.

Growth & Go-to-Market

I build the engines that take products to market: ecosystem partnerships, community growth, sales strategy, and stakeholder management. I've grown ecosystems from zero to 45K+ users and $150M+ in value.

Key Achievements

  • Built and scaled a blockchain ecosystem from concept to $150M+ with 45K+ users
  • Operating as COO & Interim CTO with full ownership of an entire company
  • Co-invented a patented real-time B2B payment system at JPMorgan
  • Navigated a successful acquisition, preserving millions in assets during transition
Benedict Dixon

Financial Technology Journey

Web3 Financial Innovation

Building & Operating Companies in Web3 and Fintech

Company Operations
Product Strategy
Technology Architecture
AI & Blockchain
Go-to-Market

Blockchain & DeFi Leadership

  • Kash - COO & Interim CTO

    Full operational ownership of a social native prediction marketplace, leading across product, technology, operations, finance, and partnerships.

    Operations Technology Product Finance Partnerships
  • DD Ventures - Founding Partner

    Entrepreneurship advisory helping founders launch, run, and scale their companies, from business model validation and fundraising through to operational excellence and market expansion.

    Advisory Entrepreneurship Strategy
  • Brdge - Head of Blockchain

    Leading blockchain strategy and implementation for cross-chain infrastructure solutions

    Blockchain Strategy Cross-chain Solutions Technical Leadership
  • Voi Network - Chief Ecosystem Officer

    Led vision and development of an L1 from concept to $150M ecosystem

    Ecosystem Growth Team Leadership Strategic Vision
  • Pound Token - Chief Technology Officer

    Led technical strategy for UK's stablecoin through successful acquisition

    Technical Strategy Migration Team Retention
  • Nettle - Chief Product & Technology Officer

    Led product and technology for innovative fintech payments and loyalty platform

    Product Strategy Payment Systems Team Building
  • Yetti - Chief Technology Officer

    Led technical vision for SMS-based banking platform serving rural areas

    Financial Inclusion Banking Integration Technical Architecture

Traditional Finance & Payments

Enterprise Financial Technology Experience

Payment Systems
Financial Products
Card Networks

Financial Systems Architecture

  • Icon Solutions

    Developed real-time payment solutions for major global banks and optimised high-demand transaction systems at scale

    Real-time Payments Banking Systems
  • MAIA/Fulcrum

    Developed hedge fund operations product covering back, middle, and front office, with user-driven iterative improvements

    Trading Systems Financial Operations
  • American Express

    Led R&D projects focused on customer acquisition and developed user engagement systems

    Card Services Loyalty Systems
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    Co-invented patented real-time B2B payment system and developed global payment infrastructure

    Investment Banking Global Payments

Technical Foundation

Computer Science & Computing

First Principles
Systems Architecture
Software Engineering

University of Bath

Computer Science - Russell Group

  • Distributed Systems
  • Cryptography
  • Networks
  • Machine Learning

Areas of Expertise

Operations & Governance

  • Organisational Design & Scaling
  • Financial Controls & Treasury
  • Process Architecture & Automation
  • Risk Management & Compliance

Product & Technology

  • Distributed Systems Architecture
  • AI & Machine Learning Integration
  • Product-Market Strategy
  • Blockchain & Payments Infrastructure

Growth & Partnerships

  • Ecosystem Development & Go-to-Market
  • Strategic Partnerships & BD
  • Cross-functional Team Leadership
  • Stakeholder & Investor Relations

Featured Projects

Kash

COO & Interim CTO

  • Full operational ownership of a social native prediction marketplace
  • Leading product, technology, operations, and finance simultaneously
  • Building and scaling the company from the ground up

Voi Network

Chief Ecosystem Officer

  • Led vision and development of $150M ecosystem
  • Built and mentored teams across departments
  • Integrated 25+ projects into ecosystem

Nettle

Chief Product & Technology Officer

  • Led product and technology strategy
  • Architected multi-currency payment system
  • Accelerated time to market through customer-driven development

Pound Token

Chief Technology Officer

  • Led technical strategy through successful acquisition
  • Executed zero-downtime migration reducing costs by 94%
  • Preserved millions in assets during transition

Services

Executive & Operational Advisory

  • Organisational Design & Scaling
  • Operational Process Architecture
  • Financial Controls & Governance
  • Executive Leadership Coaching

Product & Technology Strategy

  • Product-Market Fit Analysis
  • Technical Architecture Review
  • AI, Blockchain & Payments Strategy
  • Scalability & Infrastructure Planning

Growth & Go-to-Market

  • Ecosystem & Community Growth
  • Partnership & BD Strategy
  • Stakeholder & Investor Management
  • Team Building & Culture

DD Ventures - Entrepreneurship Advisory

Through DD Ventures, I provide specialised advisory services leveraging my deep expertise in entrepreneurship to help founders successfully launch, run, and scale their companies and products.

Launch Strategy

  • Business Model Validation
  • MVP Development Strategy
  • Fundraising Guidance
  • Go-to-Market Planning

Growth & Scale

  • Product-Market Fit Optimization
  • Scaling Operations
  • Team Building & Culture
  • Strategic Partnerships

Strategic Execution

  • Operational Excellence
  • Market Expansion Strategy
  • Exit Planning
  • Investor Relations

Learn more at DD Ventures

Speaking, Writing & Reading

Conference Speaking

Zebu Live

Speaker on Tokenomics

Tokenomics Design & Strategy

Algorand at Tate Modern

Speaker on Tokenomics

Tokenomics Design & Strategy

Latest Articles

Dec 2024

Autonomous AI Agents: A Platform for Trustless Business Interactions

Exploring how autonomous AI agents could revolutionize business interactions by creating trustless systems for commerce and collaboration.

Read on Medium → Dec 2024

The Holy Trinity: The Natural Partnership of Blockchain, AI, and IoT

Exploring how three powerful tools - blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things - are coming together in ways that make each of them more useful than they are alone.

Read on Medium → Nov 2024

The Democratic Myth of DAOs: The Road to Autocracy

An exploration of how DAOs, despite their promise of radical decentralisation and democratic ethos, are not immune to the inadvertent slide towards autocracy.

Read on Medium →
View all articles on Medium →

Top Recommendations

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Token Economy
Token Economy

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The Four Steps to the Epiphany
The Four Steps to the Epiphany

Steve Blank

Global Adventures

50+ Countries Explored
3 Major Expeditions
London to Mongolia

London to Mongolia

Classic car expedition across continents, covering 12,000 miles through 20 countries.

  • 12,000 Miles
  • 20 Countries
  • 100 Days
Cross-India Journey

Cross-India TukTuk Challenge

Adventure through diverse landscapes of India, from bustling cities to remote villages.

  • 2,000 Miles
  • 10 States
  • 14 Days
Sahara to Ocean

Sahara to Ocean

Epic journey across Morocco's varied terrains, from desert dunes to Atlantic coast.

  • 2,000 Miles
  • 4 Terrains
  • 10 Days
Nepal Mongolia Uzbekistan

Get in Touch

Interested in discussing executive leadership, company operations, or strategic advisory?

me@benedictdixon.com LinkedIn GitHub