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The Team – Passionate and committed to the blockchain sector.

Blockchain Australia is the industry body that represents Australian businesses and business professionals participating in the digital economy through blockchain technology.

Our Story

Our origins can be traced back to 2014. In the establishment of the Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association (ADCCA). ADCCA was formed as the country’s leading council and representation of and for digital currency businesses and key industry participants. 

The organisation mandate was to “act as the essential connection between merchants, industry, government, regulators, financial institutions and influential policy forums which give direction to the emerging industry at home and abroad”

The organisation was formed with a mandate to act as “the leading community association dedicated to the education, policy development and promotion of Blockchain and Digital Currency in Australia”

ADCCA and Blockchain Australia merged in 2019.

Our Board

Michael Bacina

Michael Bacina

Chairperson

Michael, a partner at Piper Alderman, leads Piper Alderman’s Blockchain Group, which was a finalist for Blockchain Advisor of the Year in 2019. Michael also is part of Piper Alderman’s Fintech Group and is a Key Contributor to the  Blockchain National Roadmap RegTech Working Group.

Adam Poulton

Adam Poulton

Co-Founder

Get Paid in Bitcoin

Adam’s primary focus over the years has been adoptive use of blockchain technology by all sectors of the Australian economy and he continues this work with Get Paid In Bitcoin, a payroll provider offering bitcoin in wages to all Australians.

John Bassilios

John Bassilios

Partner

John has a broad range of corporate commercial, financial services, funds management and banking and finance experience with a particular emphasis on financial services and funds management.

Lisa Wade

Lisa Wade

CEO

Lisa is currently leading the development of blockchain projects in Australia. The CBDC with the Reserve Bank of Australia – Project Atom, Project Carbon – digitally originated carbon tokens & NEOMI, Australia’s first instance of codefi a blockchain impact token and funding platform.
Greg Valles

Greg Valles

Managing Director

Greg is the Managing Director of Valles Accountants, with over 35 years experience in the industry, acquired a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and worked at the Australian Taxation Office for more than 15 years.
Rob Allen

Rob Allen

CEO & Co-Founder

Rob is a Web3 entrepreneur, engineer, director and advisor with a particular focus on sustainability. He has worked in the blockchain and DLT space since 2014, and is now director of Lygon, Datahash, and 3Bux and founded nodl as a blockchain consultancy focusing on the SDGs. Rob is also SVP at the HBAR Foundation which provides grants to builders in the Hedera ecosystem.
John O'Loghlen

John O'Loghlen

Country Director

Prior to joining Coinbase, John led the expansion of Alibaba Group and Ant Group in Australia and New Zealand as well as overseeing the WorldFirst cross border payments business. John previously spent 11 years in China building businesses in the food delivery space following on from a career in investment banking with Goldman Sachs in London, New York and Beijing.

Jules Dickinson

Jules Dickinson

Co-Founder

Jules is an undergraduate student at Macquarie University, undertaking a Bachelor of Security Studies. Jules is also a co-founder of BetaCarbon, a company committed to accelerating Australia’s transition to net-zero through Blockchain and merchant sustainability solutions, where he works largely on compliance matters.
Jackson Zeng

Jackson Zeng

Chief Executive Officer

Over his 4-year tenure, Jackson Zeng has scaled Melbourne’s cryptocurrency brokerage Caleb & Brown from a team of 1 to 45. Across his experience from COO to CEO, Jackson seeks to lend his experience to Blockchain Australia in supporting operational maturity, member alignment, and execution of Blockchain Australia objectives.
Jack Deeb

Jack Deeb

COO & Co-Founder

Jack is the Chief Operating Officer at Australian blockchain infrastructure builder and operator, Pier Two. After attaining a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degrees from The University of Queensland, he pursued blockchain technology and ultimately Co-Founded Pier Two full-time. Notably, Jack has co-authored a number of published works that examine how regulation could apply to novel applications of blockchain technology including DAOs, Zero-Knowledge proofs, and DeFi protocols. He has also played a pivotal role in preparing submissions to government as they draft legislation and regulatory frameworks for the burgeoning industry. Jack is an advocate for the industry’s growth in Australia, helping the team at Pier Two improve access and efficiency of financial markets via blockchain technology.
Katrina Donaghy

Katrina Donaghy

CEO & Co-Founder

Katrina is the CEO and Co-Founder of Civic Ledger, a purposeful technology company established to serve Global Public Sector Markets by tokenising real-world assets to account for shared public resources and nature-based assets that can be traded and exchanged directly in real-time on a single, secure digital platform. Prior to Civic Ledger, she was a career bureaucrat spanning two decades in both state and local governments. She is a returning Director with the Blockchain Australia Board, founded the Women in Blockchain Australia chapter, is a Blockchain Australia Fellow and a recognised Female FinTech leader in Australia. 

Our Team

Simon Callaghan

Simon Callaghan

CEO

Simon has spent his career within innovative technologies, including working with blockchain and financial technologies in Australia, the US, UK, Asia, and Europe. Most recently leading the Digital Assets Programme at the University of Cambridge, and as Co-Founder of middle office startup MOOPS Tech. He holds an MBA from AGSM.

Amy-Rose Goodey

Amy-Rose Goodey

Chief Operating Officer

As the Chief Operating Officer, Amy-Rose successfully supports the implementation of strategic processes and growth-focused objectives, while providing overarching administrative assistance to streamline operations.

Kristie Dutt

Kristie Dutt

Membership Engagement Manager

As the Membership Engagement Manager, Kristie Dutt is responsible for advocating, elevating, and connecting our membership base while fostering engagement and providing support.

Merilee Lewis

Merilee Lewis

Communications Manager

Merilee is responsible for administration at Blockchain Australia. She prepares collateral, invoices, and provides logistics support for the team.