Gennaro (Jerry) Cuomo is an IBM Fellow and considered amongst the most prolific contributors to IBM's software business, producing technologies that have profoundly impacted how the industry conducts commerce over the Internet. He is one of the founding fathers of WebSphere Software. At IBM, Cuomo has led projects in the areas of AI-powered automation, blockchain, APIs, cloud computing, mobile computing, web server performance and availability. Cuomo is the author of "Think Blockchain" and "The Art of Automation". He is also the co-authored of the book "Blockchain for Business." Cuomo enjoys playing golf and drinking craft beer, not at the same time, however, with his friends and best friend and wife Steph. He also enjoys walking his dogs and playing bass guitar in the band Mind the Gap. Irving is a Research Affiliate at MIT's Sloan School of Management and Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan (CAMS) and Fellow of the Initiative on the Digital Economy, of MIT Connection Science, and of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. He retired from IBM in May of 2007 after 37 years with the company, where he was responsible for identifying emerging technologies and marketplace developments that are critical to the future of the IT industry, initiatives including the Internet, supercomputing, and Linux. Since retiring from IBM, Irving has been an Adviser on Digital Strategy and Innovation at Citigroup, at HBO, and at Mastercard. He's been writing a weekly blog, irvingwb.com, since 2005. From April of 2012 until July 2020, Irving was a guest columnist for the Wall Street Journal's CIO Journal. Irving served on and later became co-chair of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee from 1997 to 2001 and was a founding member of the Computer Sciences and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council in 1986. Irving is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Born in Cuba and having come to the US at the age of 15, he was named 2001 Hispanic Engineer of the Year. Irving has an M.S. and a Ph. D. in physics from the University of Chicago. Shaun is an award-winning (Red Dot, A* Design) British designer based in Austin, Texas, working at IBM on Automation and Blockchain projects. His professional interests lie primarily in designing for enterprise technology experiences as well as utilizing and maintaining design systems. He's also a keen illustrator in his free time with a soft spot for dogs (and ducks;-)) Mark Parzygnat is the Director, Global Solution Architecture, for Red Hat. Mark joined Red Hat in 2022, after 24 years with IBM. Mark has held various positions including product development and support, product and release management, and continues to be a champion of emerging technology. He was one of the first involved in and helped create the blockchain division at IBM. He also helped lead the effort to open source the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) known today as Hyperledger Fabric, through the Linux Foundation. Mark says his inspiration for coining the name Hyperledger "Fabric" came from his undergraduate degree in Textile Engineering from North Carolina State University. Mark is passionate about evangelizing technology that he believes in, such as blockchain, containers, and Kubernetes. He has many publications and patents in a variety of technology spaces. He likes to tinker with small engines and loves to spend time with his wife and kids.
