Kate Baucherel
Writer | Speaker | Digital Strategist at Galia Digital
Information Technology and Services
Education: University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Stockton-on-Tees, UK
Biography
Kate Baucherel BA(Hons) FCMA CGMA is an author, speaker and consultant specialising in emerging technologies, with a focus on the use of blockchain and cryptocurrency. She consults with clients from startup and scaleup businesses to blue chip multinationals and is a member of The Fintech and Payments Advisory Network. Kate is also an adjunct lecturer at the University of Teesside in both the International Business School and the School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies. Her subjects include fintech, blockchain and cryptocurrency, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in finance and accounting.
Kate graduated in business from Newcastle University and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Kate has held senior technical and financial roles in businesses across multiple sectors including utilities, construction, manufacturing, leisure and software, leading several enterprises through their start-up and growth phases.
Her books include Getting Started with Cryptocurrency (BCS Publishing, 2024), Blockchain Hurricane: Origins, Applications and Future of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (BEP/Harvard 2020), What’s Hot in Blockchain and Crypto (2020,2021) and the SimCavalier series of cybercrime thrillers. She has spoken at events across the world and online, as keynote, panellist, mentor and chair, and regularly appears on BBC radio and TV as a cryptocurrency expert.
Passion
Emerging technologies have the potential to change our lives, and understanding of what is possible gets us closer to a fantastic future. I thrive on making complex Web3 technologies straightforward and interesting, in books, talks and one to one with clients. I love writing - the subconscious flow of words when crafting fiction or breaking down facts is pure joy. I thrive in front of an audience, whether real or virtual, especially when they engage and question and expand my own thinking.
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I always get paid for speaking
Topics
Best Story
Is crypto full of criminals? Well, yes. Where there is money there is crime, but online crime predates crypto. The first ransomware attack in 1989 used a floppy disk and asked for payments in dollars to an address in Panama. That said, errors in crypto security or transaction coding have resulted in some spectacular hacks in the past few years. Top of the list was the Ronin bridge hack in 2022, where cybercriminals lifted $625m from under the noses of the company. But thanks to the transparency of crypto chains, we know where all the money is, and some has been recovered.
Origin Story
A graduate of the University of Newcastle and a Chartered Management Accountant with 30 years in business, my love of all things tech started as a CU intern through AIESEC with JD Edwards in Denver, way back when the AS/400 was a really cool piece of hardware and the World Wide Web didn't exist. Returning to the UK I helped to solve tech problems for my employers while training as an accountant, and spent more than 20 years with dual responsibility for finance and technology in several industries. In 2012 I co-founded community software company Ambix, which was acquired by a large tech group in 2016, and during that time discovered blockchain, which clicked with me immediately thanks to my accounting background. I now write extensively, both fiction and serious books and article, and consult with businesses who have a wicked problem to solve, finding the right tech for the job.
Example talks
Keynote: Knowledge is survival: Education secures our digital future
As the digital world moves ever faster, the only thing we can control is our behaviour in response to change. Education is our lifebelt - but who has lessons to learn? Legislators, regulators, business leaders and politicians need to know what's coming down the line, but the tech industry itself has a learning curve to navigate. There are too many solutions seeking a problem, ethically questionable applications being funded by VCs seeking the next unicorn, and release fast and break things mentalities on display. Education begins at home.
Keynote: What has crypto ever done for us?
Is it a scam or the key to the metaverse? Kate Baucherel takes you through the good and the bad of crypto and NFTs and shares how she fell down the rabbit hole of blockchain. Learn about cryptocurrency's humble beginnings, its rise to the top of the hype cycle, and its fall from grace.
While the eyes of the world have been on profits, innovation has been moving rapidly behind the scenes. Discover how blockchain and crypto assets have been harnessed to improve lives, change business models, tackle counterfeiting, manage carbon emissions, and provide a platform for big brands and business in the metaverse.
Keynote as an author: Predicting the future - Fact vs Fiction
Stories are our way of navigating the world. They provide a base layer of understanding in a way which can and does influence human behaviour. Kate Baucherel tells how a planned cybersecurity text book became a series of near future cybercrime thrillers that educate as they entertain, and shares some of the challenges and responsibilities of extrapolating existing technologies into a believable future.
Orientation for C-suite and decision makers: Blockchain Hurricane
Blockchain and cryptocurrency are gamechangers. Where did they come from, how can they be used effectively to solve business challenges, and what are the opportunities and threats which lie in the future? In this keynote, I introduce the concepts of blockchain, distributed ledgers and crypto assets, in as much detail as the audience requires. I illustrate the use of blockchain in enterprise and show how the technology is already delivering enhanced trust and transparency to businesses, consumers and regulators across the world.
Key takeaways:
* A greater understanding of blockchain as a transformative technology
* An appreciation of the range of applications, from supply chains to gaming, from finance to government
* Decision tools for blockchain implementation
This talk can be tailored to a specific industry audience, to C-suite executives, and MBA students. I draw case studies and examples from my book "Blockchain Hurricane: Origins, Applications and Future of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency" (Business Expert Press, 2020) and demonstrate concepts in a clear and accessible way.
Keynote: Into the Metaverse
Businesses are always looking for that edge to grow or even to survive, and increasingly the difference is made by adoption of emerging technology, whether in products, business processes, or communication with markets. What tech is coming along in the next decade, and how will it impact business?
This topic can be delivered as a keynote on stage or online, or expanded to c-suite orientation or workshop format.
Key takeaways:
One decade's emerging technology is the next decade's indispensable, everyday tool
Innovation triggers - the importance of problem solving vs creating a solution in search of a problem
Insights into automation, from centralised Robotic Process Automation to decentralised Smart Contracts, and the role of AI and the Internet of Things.