Former PwC leader Jeremy Drane joins blockchain startup Libra

Rage Review : Jeremy Drane, former head of US fintech at PwC, has officially left the Big Four and joined blockchain startup Libra as its chief business officer. Libra was previously a startup that provided tax compliance and reporting software services to Bitcoin users. Now it positions the company as a "management information layer platform" for blockchain technology, which can reduce costs, time and risks in blockchain experiments, while increasing the probability of financing and providing support in the process of enterprise software evaluation projects. Its "design-driven" interface is a competitive advantage in today's society, and the interface is more refined than current open source blockchain tools.

Translation: Nicole

Jeremy Drane, former PwC US fintech leader, has officially left the ‘Big Four’ firm to join blockchain startup Libra as its chief commercial officer.

Previously a startup that provided tax compliance and reporting software services to Bitcoin users, Libra is currently in a transition period, attempting to position the company as a "management information layer platform" for blockchain technology.

In keeping with its goals, Libra’s announcement highlighted its recent hires from other corporate finance sectors, with Chief Operating Officer Dave Albert having been hired from Bank of New York Mellon and Vice President of Product Strategy Deepak Rao having worked at Visa.

In the interview, Libra CEO Jake Benson talked about the company’s dramatic transformation, which began with raising $500,000 in funding in late 2014.

“At present, users in the market only know that we provide LibraTax service, but we want users to know that this service is just a stepping stone. Our ultimate goal is to become the ‘management information layer platform’ of blockchain technology,” Benson told CoinDesk.

Drane further explained his reason for leaving, saying that he believes Libra could help non-technical business executives better utilize blockchain data by providing key services.

Jeremy Drane

In addition to his role in the fintech field, Drane was also the head of blockchain and smart contracts at PwC.

“Any blockchain is a transactional system, and that transactional information needs to be enriched so that business users can use it to perform a variety of business processes,” Drane said.

Product Reform

According to Drane and Benson, the key to success will be Libra’s corporate product, which provides a tool layer that can report blockchain and non-blockchain data, as well as an interface layer to visualize the data.

The company said it would continue to offer pre-tax products.

“Essentially, Libra is focused on reducing the cost, time and risk of blockchain experimentation while increasing the likelihood of funding and supporting enterprises as they evaluate software projects,” Drane explained.

During his time at PwC, Drane was one of many executives who were outspoken when it came to the potential of blockchain, overseeing work with blockchain industry companies including Blockstream, Digital Asset Holdings and Eris Industries.

Benson is trying to shape Libra into a well-rounded company, and now the company's top management includes executives who once worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bank of New York Mellon, Capgemini and Visa.

'Four major' changes

When it comes to change in general, both Drane and Benson believe it will be in professional services, with blockchain playing a major role in automating corporate reporting requirements.

"The most likely change is a change in the 'big four' architecture, the technology leaders say, the partnerships and the ecosystems they create to support the business, and we want to be a big part of that change," Drane said.

Drane said Libra’s goal is to be “needed” in every blockchain application, a goal he believes the company is well positioned to achieve.

The company highlights its “design-driven” interface as a competitive advantage in today’s world, arguing that it is more refined than current open-source blockchain tools.

Rich blockchain data—Libra!

However, Benson believes Libra still has room to expand, even beyond its current goals.

For example, he envisions a future in which all of a consumer’s “life activities” could take place on the blockchain, and any corporate debt could be instantly and automatically processed.

Benson concluded: “Whatever the case, whatever the asset, whatever the protocol, you need a set of tools. We provide blockchain business tools in Microsoft Office.”