The rise of blockchain technology is reshaping MBA career planning

Rage Comment: One of the main bottlenecks in the development of the blockchain industry is the extreme lack of talent. There is a lack of a large number of multi-faceted talents who understand both blockchain technology and finance. The market is desperately looking for talents who can connect the two worlds and need to be able to put blockchain technology into practical applications in the capital market in the real world. The need to establish a new system based on blockchain technology must require cross-border talents who have a deep understanding of both sides. From this article, it seems that European and American MBAs have begun to realize that a new opportunity is emerging, and many MBAs have begun to invest in it.

Translation: Annie Xu

Few tech topics are having as much impact on the business world today as blockchain technology, the virtual record of asset ownership that underpins the digital currency bitcoin.

Bitcoin's potential to track financial securities transactions more efficiently and accurately has attracted the attention of the world's largest banks, technology companies and consulting firms, who are scrambling to develop applications for the cryptocurrency.

Owen Jeff, director of Accenture’s global capital markets operations, said:

Blockchain-based technology will bring huge benefits to the financial services industry over the next decade.

The consulting firm predicts that this emerging technology will reduce industry costs by $20 billion annually by 2021.

Campbell Harvey, professor of finance at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, said:

Blockchain leaders are doing everything they can to compete for the industry’s top talent.

Blockchain pioneer academic pointed out:

They all hope that the company will have a so-called blockchain rising star, someone who can integrate multidisciplinary talents to enable the company to win the competition in blockchain technology.

Many people on Wall Street believe that this technology will usher in the financial industry of the 21st century, and all companies want to get a piece of the pie in Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

These include startups such as Digital Asset Holdings and Coinbase, technology companies such as IBM and stock exchange operators such as Nasdaq and ASX Group, and even consulting firms such as Accenture and PwC, both of which have developed blockchain applications and are competing fiercely for talent.

Steve Davies, EMEA FinTech Leader at PwC, said:

We hope that the initial core team of 15 people can grow quickly. The blockchain ship is accelerating its pace, and our customers are becoming more and more interested in the meaning and application of blockchain.

In order not to be left behind in this wave of digital technology, banks are becoming one of the biggest supporters of blockchain technology. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Credit Suisse are all supporting the R3CEV blockchain. Marc Hamud, senior vice president of General Capital, said in a speech at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California:

The FinTech industry is changing the traditional financial industry with a new perspective.

Andrei Kirilenko, former chief economist of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and director of Imperial College’s Global Center for Financial Technology, sees new career opportunities on the horizon.

But he believes the next generation of financial services leaders will be engineers, not traders or investment bankers.

Dan Elitze

Cryptographic algorithms may sound complicated and strange, but they have caused a frenzy among business school students. They see the potential of blockchain to revolutionize the financial industry. MIT Bitcoin Club founder and MBA of MIT Sloan School of Management said:

I see blockchain technology entering the academy, and once you see the power of Bitcoin you can’t ignore it.

Dan Elitzer spent the summer interning at Circle, a bitcoin company founded by a former JPMorgan Chase executive. He now works at IDEO, a Silicon Valley innovation consultancy.

The company is committed to building new blockchain companies and recruiting a group of outstanding business school students. He believes that there will be more and more opportunities in this field.

Wharton students are working on Blockcypher, a blockchain network service startup. Matthew Applegate, vice chair of financial technology at Wharton, said:

Masters of Business Schools will have many opportunities to work in the FinTech industry.

The MBAs mirror those of high-profile bankers who have ditched Wall Street for start-ups. Former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker Blythe Masters founded Digital Asset Holdings Inc., and former Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit has poured capital into fintech start-ups such as TransferWise and CommonBond.

They’re not the only ones pouring money into startups. According to Coindesk, capital investment in bitcoin and blockchain increased 36% in 2015. This has attracted a group of MBAs.

Adair Morse, assistant professor of finance at the Haas School of Business, said:

Many students here are looking to work in fintech startups, a stone’s throw from Silicon Valley.

Raghu Rau, Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School and Director of the Centre for Alternative Finance, said:

Many people have also set up their own companies. Many people are setting up their own businesses.

He cited the example of an MBA graduate using blockchain technology to streamline the initial public offering process. He said:

The student is trying to convince the bank to support him.

Blockchain technology, which emerged with the controversial cryptocurrency bitcoin, has gained notoriety for being open to hackers, such as the famous Mt. Gox hack, but now some see it as a way to upgrade banking, digitize legal proceedings and change the way money is transferred.

David Yermack, chair of NYU Stern’s finance department, said:

The potential of this technology is enormous, and it may be as important as the advent of double-entry bookkeeping during the Renaissance.