Bio

Lucia Gallardo is an award-winning Honduran serial experimenter:

Founder & CEO of Emerge, an experimental technologies lab working at the convergence of sustainable development and social impact, exponential and distributed technologies, and re-imagined socio-economics. Our portfolio includes projects in digital identity, impact NFTs, supply chain traceability, loyalty programs, environmentally progressive mining, and more. For our work, Emerge has been nominated for the 2018 Global SDG Awards and Newsweek’s 2019 Blockchain Impact Awards. In 2020, Lucia was named one of MIT Technology Review's Innovators under 35.

Co-Founder of The Æternals, a regenerative, NFT-based financial instrument that connects its underlying value to a collector’s proof-of-impact toward rainforest protection.

Co-Founder of Dona un Libro, Cambia una Mente, a non-profit organisation that designs and implements original education content and programs for corporate social responsibility departments.

In her spare time, Lucía sits on the Boards of (1) Rainforest Partnership, a non-profit organisation promoting the protection of the world's tropical rainforests; (2) the Caribbean Blockchain Alliance, a regional organisation promoting the adoption of decentralised technologies across the region; and (3) WE Global Studio, an innovation studio supporting the world's female entrepreneurs.

Lucia has past experience in both the public and private sectors, ranging from immigration and trade relations on diplomatic missions to AI-enabled mobile tech and early-stage investments.

She is a 2017 Venture for Canada Fellow, a 2018 RBC Future Launch Fellow, a 2018 Money 20/20 Rise Up Fellow, and a certified UN SDG Advocate. She was listed as one of MIT Technology Review's Innovators under 35 and a Royal Bank of Canada's 2019, Women of Influence. Lucía has been nominated for Royal Bank of Canada's Entrepreneur of the Year award, Future of Good's Founders to Watch, and the Cartier Science and Technology Pioneer Award.

Lucía can be contacted for public speaking. She has spoken at Money 2020, the World Economic Forum Sustainable Impact Meetings, Consensus, the North American Bitcoin Conference, and more. She has also delivered keynotes for Bloomberg, Coinbase, technology universities around the world, and more.

Speaking Topics

ESG

- Key Trends Driving the ESG Agenda

Total sustainable debt issuance reached a record high in 2022 and is poised for continued growth in 2023. Corporate boards and government leaders will face rising pressure to demonstrate that they are adequately equipped to understand and oversee ESG issues — from climate change to human rights to social unrest, rising concerns about green- and impact- washing. This talk will provide an overview of some of the key forces and trends driving what is next across the global ESG agenda.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understanding the various sources of demand for exercising greater scrutiny of corporate sustainability and responsibility efforts
• Transitioning from long-term netzero pledges to demonstrable near-term action
• Moving beyond the "E" toward the "S" and the "G" in order to sharpen the attention on managing the social implications of corporate action
• A brief overview of stress-testing for ESG-related risk
• The monetizable value of building credible data and corporate disclosures

Blockchain / Cryptocurrencies

- Trends 2023: "Bear Markets are for Builders" 

An overview of what failed and what held steady within the blockchain space, as well as a few trends shaping the road ahead.

- Traceability: Blockchain to Reduce Information Asymmetry

Information asymmetry hinders all kinds of industries, including the banking industry. Blockchain features like smart contracts, zero-knowledge proof, and others can help reduce that asymmetry in ways that preserve healthy competition.

- The Applicability of Blockchain for Digital Identity 

• Artificial Intelligence
• Financial Innovation
• Social Innovation (Tech for Good)
• Sustainable Development, Social Impact, and ESG
• Climate Action, including carbon and biodiversity markets
• Smart Cities and Technocratic Governance
• Systems and Technology Solutions Design Design
• Innovation in Emerging Markets, Emerging Market Penetration
• Mass Adoption of Exponential Technologies
• Representation - Gender, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc.
• Entrepreneurial Journey, Startups, Venture Building, etc.
• What is ESG and how it works
• ESG is a Data Challenge
• Diligence and Impact-Washing in the New ESG World
• Where ESG, Blockchain, and AI Meet
• Carbon Credits, Biodiversity Credits and Net Zero
• The ESG Regulatory Landscape
• Trends in the ESG Space
• ESG and the Need to Revolutionise Supply Chains
• Market Leadership Opportunities within ESG
• The New Consumer and Their Role in The Future of ESG
• Key Trends Driving the ESG Agenda
• Can also do niche talks on the E, the S, and the G elements