Kellogg Finance Network

Web3: The Potential of Digital Assets and Their Underlying Technologies.

with KFN Advisory Board Member Somesh Khanna ('88), Managing Director and Global Co Lead of Banking and Security, McKinsey; and Ian De Bode, McKinsey's head of Web3 and Digital Assets.

Recent events have been a rude awakening for many Web3 and crypto enthusiasts: the market prices of major cryptocurrencies have declined significantly, volumes of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have slowed, and, most importantly, some harbingers of the space have declared bankruptcy due to failed risk management and misuse of consumer funds. Yet even as the debris flies, business leaders should not confuse market gyrations or bad actors with the potential uses of digital assets and the technologies that underlie them.

Join us for a discussion on how applications for the next generation of the internet continue to spring up in a growing number of industries, with potentially transformational effects, despite the very real risks. Join us for a balanced perspective on crypto, DeFi, Web3, CBDCs (and a lot of other buzzwords) and try to separate fact from fiction.

Somesh Khanna is a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s New York Office and the Global Co-Leader of McKinsey’s Banking & Securities Practice. Previously he led the launch and scale-up of Digital McKinsey in Financial Services globally. He actively serves both Banking and Insurance clients in the Americas on topics ranging from productivity transformation to digital strategy and organization to sales and marketing, operations, technology and risk management. In retail banking, Somesh has focused on digital transformations, sales force performance, profitability improvement and business process re-engineering. In credit cards, he has worked with clients on growth through digital acquisitions, marketing optimization and product innovation. In property & casualty insurance, his experiences range from growth in specialty, commercial and personal lines to claims transformation. In life insurance, he has served clients on digital strategy, sales and operations.

Somesh is on the board of directors of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Serious Fun Children’s Network.

Somesh holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, India; a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, India; and Masters in Management degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Ian De Bode is a Partner in the McKinsey San Francisco office. He leads McKinsey’s Web3 and Digital Assets service line in North America and is one of the leading experts in blockchain, decentralized finance and web3. He has helped multiple financial services’ businesses start blockchain and crypto based products, and has helped multiple crypto startups develop their strategy and go-to-market approach.