The WFE's Women Leaders 2025 -  Johnna Powell,  Managing Director, Head of Technology, Research and Innovation, DTCC 

Name:  Johnna Powell 

Job title: Managing Director, Head of Technology, Research and Innovation

Organisation: DTCC 

1.    Brief description of nominee’s role and job.  

Dr. Johnna Powell is Managing Director and Global Head of Technology, Research, and Innovation at DTCC. In her role, she drives external and internal innovation across the firm through strategic thought leadership, collaborative sponsorship and a focus on execution.   

Johnna’s responsibilities include advancing DTCC’s innovation initiatives, conducting innovative research on emerging technologies, developing proof of concepts, driving new products from proof of concept (POC) to production, developing and growing academic and industry partnerships and enhancing client engagement through thought leadership.    

In addition, Johnna oversees cross-functional innovation strategies to ensure alignment with enterprise priorities and maintains DTCC’s leadership in the financial services industry by representing the company at global industry conferences. Johnna also serves on the boards of Fnality International and LFDT (Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust).  

2.    Short bio (career highlights, education, interests/hobbies).  

Dr. Johnna Powell holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT as a Presidential Fellow, where her research earned a patent and the IEEE International Best Paper Award.  

Before joining DTCC, she was Global Co-Head of Consensys NFT, where she spearheaded high-profile NFT products and projects, having launched innovative platforms with leading brands such as Sports Illustrated, LVMH, Prada, Estee Lauder and many more. Prior to Consensys, she served as a senior consultant at McKinsey & Company, focusing on corporate strategy and go-to-market optimisation for Fortune 100 companies.   

Career highlights spanning the world of digital assets within capital markets include driving blockchain innovation as Head of Professional Services at Consensys. In this role, Johnna launched a carbon-credit trading platform powered by DLT and digital assets, in partnership with four global banks. Johnna also led a consortium of ten of the world’s largest financial institutions to design the strategy, business case, technical plan and legal assessment for a global digital Financial Markets Infrastructure platform, aimed at managing the end-to-end lifecycle of digital securities. Finally, as the Global Head of Consensys NFT, she led the launch of the world’s second-largest Ethereum NFT collection, The Merge: Regenesis, as well as the $600M Damien Hirst The Currency project.  

3. What were your professional highlights and challenges of 2024?  

2024 was a transformative year for Johnna as she and her team developed the enterprise-wide AI strategy for DTCC, built and established a governance and operating model (including an AI Council and an AI Enablement Team), a responsible AI approach and efficient processes for onboarding new AI tools and technologies, and executed multiple AI initiatives, including the development of POCs through production, enterprise-wide upskilling programmes to provide foundational AI education and three firm-wide AI tool rollouts to democratise AI and ensure the right tools were in the right hands of the right people.  

In addition, Johnna’s team drove the technical due diligence that enabled DTCC’s strategic acquisition of the Digital Assets company, Securrency, which was the firm’s first acquisition in a decade. Following this acquisition, Johnna’s team also designed and delivered a cross-functional integration strategy and process to ensure the successful integration of Securrency into DTCC. Finally, her team designed and delivered, and continues to oversee, the execution of the DTCC Digital Assets Launchpad and web3 infrastructure, which is a substantial strategic and forward-looking focus for DTCC.   

Finally, Johnna's team conducted research and POCs in emerging technology and next-gen capabilities. Most recently, they completed academic research with Duke University on recently published NIST Quantum safe cryptographic algorithms and have established an initial approach toward a Quantum-safe journey at DTCC. Her team also published or contributed to half a dozen whitepapers and research papers in 2024, including a white paper that has amassed nearly 40,000 downloads (Digital Asset Securities Control Principles White Paper).  

Challenges included navigating the complexities of cross-departmental integration and scaling AI solutions across a diverse enterprise. Despite these complexities, Johnna fostered collaboration and established foundational advancements in governance and culture, positioning DTCC for long-term growth.  

 4. Tell us about a few of your key achievements throughout your career?     

As Global Head of Tech Research and Innovation at DTCC, Johnna developed the end-to-end enterprise-wide AI strategy, governance, operating model and execution. This included launching the DTCC AI Accelerator programme, democratising AI across DTCC and empowering senior leaders and employees with foundational AI knowledge and tools.  

Additionally, she and her team spearheaded the technical due diligence leading to the acquisition and integration of Securrency into DTCC, which is now known as DTCC Digital Assets. Her team also delivered a full integration operating model to drive a successful integration into DTCC. 

As Head of Professional Services at Consensys Software Inc, Johnna and her team launched a carbon-credit trading platform in partnership with four global banks. In addition, she led a consortium of ten of the world’s largest banks to design the strategy, business case, technical plan and legal assessment for a global digital Financial Markets Infrastructure platform, aimed at managing the end-to-end lifecycle of digital securities.   

As Global Head of Consensys’ NFT business, Johnna launched multiple projects with global enterprises, including Sports Illustrated, LVMH, Estee Lauder, and 20-plus more enterprise brands.   

She conducted pioneering research at MIT as an MIT Presidential Fellow and Research Assistant. This work earned a patent, an international Best Paper award, and contributed toward advancements in 5G and millimetre-wave imaging.  

She also published multiple research and whitepapers and delivered hundreds of industry talks at global conferences throughout her career, such as IEEE, WEF (Davos), Point Zero Forum, Singapore Fintech Festival and many more.  

5. What and who inspires, and has inspired, you to achieve your professional success?  

Johnna draws inspiration from leaders who embody integrity, innovation and resilience. She credits her MIT advisors Anantha Chandrakasan and Charlie Sodini for igniting her passion for research. Outside of work, trailblazers like Ada Lovelace and modern innovators like Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin inspire her to explore transformative possibilities in blockchain technology.  

6. How have you overcome setbacks, and what advice would you give to others dealing with setbacks?  

Johnna approaches setbacks as opportunities to innovate and develop resiliency. She addresses challenges by leveraging collaborative problem solving and fostering cross-functional trust. Her advice to others is to remain adaptable, seek diverse perspectives, and maintain focus on long-term objectives. Every challenge is a chance to grow.  

7. What advice do you have for other women who aspire to be in leadership positions? What is the biggest takeaway you want to leave with the reader?  

 Johnna encourages aspiring women leaders to embrace their unique perspectives, champion inclusion and pursue opportunities fearlessly. She emphasises that everyone’s voice matters, highlighting the importance of advocating for oneself and others. Her takeaway for readers is to lead with integrity and develop environments where innovation and collaboration thrive. True leadership is about enabling others to succeed.