Medici Ventures, a global leader in advancing blockchain
technology, announces the formation of the company’s inaugural
board of directors. Blockchain pioneer Bruce Fenton and former
presidential advisor and economic policy expert Robert J. Shapiro
join Medici Ventures’ President Jonathan E. Johnson III and
Overstock.com board member Barclay F. Corbus on the board.
“This board of directors combines blockchain expertise with
top-level expertise from the worlds of economics, entrepreneurship,
and finance,” said Patrick M. Byrne, CEO and founder of
Overstock.com, the owner of Medici Ventures. “I know that
Jonathan, Bruce, Robert and Clay will guide Medici Ventures
adroitly as the firm continues to break ground in blockchain
technology.”
About Jonathan Johnson
Mr. Johnson is president of Medici Ventures, Overstock's
subsidiary that oversees a portfolio of blockchain technology and
fintech businesses, including t0, which recently completed the
world’s first blockchain-based stock offering on its platform.
Johnson joined Overstock in 2002, and has served as the chairman of
Overstock's board of directors since April 2014, transitioning to
the position after five years as the company's president, and
later, as the acting CEO and executive vice chairman of the board.
He has been an integral part of Overstock's meteoric growth from a
small start-up to a publicly traded company with over $1.8 billion
in sales and over 1,700 employees. Johnson received a Bachelor's
Degree in Japanese from Brigham Young University, studied at Osaka
University of Foreign Studies in Japan as a Ministry of Education
Scholar, and received his Juris Doctor degree from the J. Reuben
Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
About Bruce Fenton
Bruce Fenton is an experienced economic advisor and an active
member of the blockchain industry. He is the founder of Atlantic
Financial, the former Executive Director and a current board member
of the Bitcoin Foundation, a co-founder of the Bitcoin Association,
and the organizer of the first Dubai Bitcoin Conference. He is also
the host and founder of the Satoshi Roundtable retreat, an
exclusive, invitation-only retreat for leaders in the blockchain
industry. Currently, Mr. Fenton is serving as Managing Director of
Atlantic Financial which, in 1994, became the first full-service
investment firm on the internet. Prior to Atlantic Financial, he
was with Morgan Stanley and specialized in emerging technologies
and emerging markets.
Mr. Fenton has completed several significant transactions and
served as a consultant to large investment funds, along with
ultra-high net worth individuals, and families. He has served as an
advisor to one of the world’s largest charitable organizations for
Gulf engagement, and to a top ten global private equity firm. He
travels extensively, and has lived in the US and Asia, as well as
Riyadh and Dubai.
About Robert Shapiro
Robert J. Shapiro is the chairman and founder of Sonecon, LLC, a
private firm that advises U.S. and foreign businesses, governments
and non-profit organizations on economic and security-related
matters. Dr. Shapiro has advised, among others, U.S. President Bill
Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Vice President Al Gore,
Jr., U.K. Foreign Minister David Miliband, Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Timothy
Geithner, and many senior members of the Obama administration, the
U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. He and Sonecon also
have advised senior officials of the Departments of Defense and
Energy; senior executives at private firms including AT&T,
Elliot Management, Exxon-Mobil, Gilead Sciences; and Google, and
non-profit organizations including the International Monetary Fund,
the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, and the Center for American
Progress.
Dr. Shapiro is also a Senior Fellow of the Georgetown University
Center for Business and Public Policy, director of the NDN Center
on Globalization, chief strategist for Brand Transact, and a member
of the advisory boards of Gilead Science and Cote
Capital. From 1997 to 2001, he was U.S. Under Secretary
of Commerce for Economic Affairs. Prior to that, he was
co-founder and Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute
and, before that, the Legislative Director and Economic Counsel to
Senator Daniel P. Moynihan. Dr. Shapiro also served as the
principal economic advisor to Bill Clinton in his 1991-1992
presidential campaign, and as a senior economic advisor to Hillary
Rodham Clinton in 2016 and, before that, to the presidential
campaigns of Barack Obama, John Kerry and Al Gore, Jr. Dr. Shapiro
has been a Fellow of Harvard University, the Brookings Institution,
the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Fugitsu
Institute. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Harvard University, a
M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science,
and an A.B. from the University of Chicago.
About Barclay F. Corbus
Mr. Barclay F. Corbus has served as a Director of Overstock
since March 2007. He is a member of the Audit Committee and
Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee, and is the
Chairman of the Compensation Committee. Mr. Corbus has served as
Senior Vice President of Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a provider of
vehicular natural gas, with responsibility for strategic
development, since September 2007.
He served as Co-CEO of WR Hambrecht + Co., an investment banking
firm, from July 2004 to September 2007, and prior to that date
served in other executive positions with WR Hambrecht + Co. Prior
to joining WR Hambrecht + Co in March 1999, Mr. Corbus was in the
investment banking group at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Mr.
Corbus graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts
Degree in Government and has a Master's Degree of Business
Administration in Finance from Columbia Business School.
About Medici Ventures:
Launched in 2014, Medici Ventures is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Overstock.com, Inc., created to leverage blockchain technology
to solve real-world problems with transparent, efficient and secure
solutions. Medici Ventures has a growing portfolio of
groundbreaking new companies and tech businesses, including t0.com,
Peernova, Bitt, SettleMint, Factom, Ripio and IdentityMind.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such
forward-looking statements include all statements other than
statements of historical fact. Additional information
regarding factors that could materially affect results and the
accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained herein may be
found in the Company's Form 10-K for the quarter ended December 31,
2016, which was filed with the SEC on March 3, 2017, and any
subsequent filings with the SEC.
Media Contact:
Mark Delcorps, Overstock.com, Inc.
+1 (801) 947-3564
pr@mediciventures.com
Investor Contact:
Mark Harden, Overstock.com, Inc.
+1 (801) 947-5409
ir@overstock.com
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