Schulich Alumni: Cryptocurrency & Blockchain

Jerome is a former Chief Executive Officer of Bank of New York Mellon Canada, part of the world’s largest custodian, and former Global Market Head for Royal Bank of Canada’s International Wealth Management, Corporate, and Institutional businesses, where he oversaw RBC’s rapid global expansion across Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

During the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, Jerome was part of an industry task force enlisted by the Government of Canada to develop financial services sector reforms. As an industry advisor to then-Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, he co-led a Canadian delegation to Wall Street and worked with banking leaders and regulators on preventative measures to stabilize and instil public confidence in the Canadian financial sector. Throughout the crisis, Jerome also advised Canadian federal and provincial governments on public-private partnerships, economic stimulus, mortgage markets, and securitizations. He led the restructuring of the $32-billion asset-backed commercial paper class of securities, the largest of its kind in Canada, and played key roles in overseeing over $50 billion in public-private partnership stimulus funds, the $2-billion GM Canada bailout restructuring, and the $12-billion automotive sector stimulus program.

An experienced executive and entrepreneur, Jerome has a record of selecting high-potential markets, starting and acquiring businesses, and driving companies to sector leadership. He has completed strategic investments and exit transactions with global institutions including Barclays Bank, HSBC, RBC, CIBC, Quebecor, Sun Media, the Allegis Group, IBM, and Cox Enterprises. Jerome serves as special advisor Framework Venture Partners, one of Canada’s leading fintech venture investors and has also advised the Portland Private Equity Fund and the Michael Lee-Chin family office.

Jerome received an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business and holds Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Public Accountant (CA-CPA) designations. In 2020, he was recognized by the Canadian Lenders Association as one of the top 25 Lending Executives in Canada. Mr. Dwight also received the Award of Distinction conferred by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Canada) and is a recipient of Canada’s Top 40 under 40.

Andrei Poliakov is the CEO and Co-Founder of Coinberry, one of Canada’s premier digital currency platforms. His company is the first digital currency platform company in Canada to partner with a Government Municipality and the first pure-play crypto trading platform to become registered with the OSC in Canada.

With an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, an Engineering degree from the University of Toronto and +15 years of technical implementation and strategic development experience - he helps others understand trends, gain technical insights, and overcome common misunderstandings about the industry.

Andrei believes in pushing the boundaries of the status quo and is passionate about fueling blockchain adoption through education.

My research interests span economics, stakeholder management and sustainability. My research and teaching are highly interdisciplinary. In the past few years, I have undertaken interdisciplinary work with York University colleagues in science and law. My management research has its theoretical bases in both stakeholder theory and social sciences such as microeconomics, finance, management and ecology. I am currently examining the role that financial institutions, governments and businesses play in encouraging or discouraging social Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Recently, Professor Henriques released a co-written research paper in the Journal of Risk and Financial Management “Can Bitcoin replace gold in an investment Portfolio?” and speaks about central bank digital currencies (CBDC).