Cristina Dolan: Driving Digital Transformation through the Development and Incubation of Technology-driven Products

In almost every area, technological advancements are needed for innovation, development, and problem-solving. The corporate world has changed dramatically as a result of the innovation and widespread acceptance of technologies, which has influenced the way the entire industry operates in today's modern world.

In an exclusive interview with engineer and serial entrepreneur, Cristina Dolan shares her inspiration on working with organizations to digitally transform business models through advanced technology, data, and blockchain ecosystems with economic layers that offer members greater visibility, richer data, cybersecurity, new business models, and dynamic new products.  As the co-founder of Additum.es and InsideChains, she has been playing a role in transforming healthcare, insurtech, and fintech.

Digital Transformation has created greater cybersecurity risk, which is the biggest and most immediate financial risk organizations and communities face today.  It is complex and not well understood, yet the world depends on connected technologies to improve our way of life globally. It has become the most important sector for modern society.   This is why Cristina is hyper-focused on cybersecurity technologies; it is the most impactful component of ESG metrics especially for financial, digital, healthcare and infrastructure organizations.

Kindly brief us about your Book.

The pandemic has proven how critical it is to build sustainable organizations, and that requires understanding all of the components that make up the ESG to weave it into an organization's DNA. You can't manage if you can't measure, which is why I was inspired to co-author the book 'Transparency in ESG and the Sustainable Economy, Capturing Opportunities through Data' to provide clarity to a space filled with acronyms and a wide variety of lenses. The growing interest by investors, executives, entrepreneurs, and students has made this book very timely, and we are excited that the publisher will be launching the book in the coming months.

There are many different lenses and approaches to defining and measuring sustainability and ESG. For some people, the focus is primarily on the environment, yet many other critical components affect the sustainability and survival of organizations. With the world's dependence on connected technologies and data, cybersecurity has become an even bigger threat. The social components can affect direct and indirect stakeholders and can devastate entire ecosystems, which was evident during the financial crisis in 2008. Cybersecurity has the potential of being an even greater risk for the most critical infrastructure and services that communities depend on than the financial crisis or the pandemic have been. Understanding how to build and grow sustainable organizations extends beyond large public companies, and this knowledge needs to be integrated into all organizations to support all the stakeholders and their respective dependant ecosystems. Sustainability is strongly tied to the technology and data that are powering our economies.

Give a brief overview of your background and your role in the company.

Over the past five years, I have been focusing on cybersecurity, cyber risk, data governance, and access control. Cybersecurity is one of the most immediate material financial risks that companies are facing today. While the headlines are filled with data breaches and ongoing hacking, it doesn't seem to be included in the ESG and sustainability discussions in the same way as climate risk. There is no greater immediate financially material risk facing

organizations, governments, or society today. Cybersecurity represents the greatest threat to the sustainability of organizations and all the stakeholders, including their respective communities.

As an engineering, computer scientist, and entrepreneur, I have been building products and organizations at the leading edge of data-rich and connected technologies. Over the last decade, I have focused on transformational technologies like blockchain and data science in fintech, insurtech, health tech, and media. Technology has been a driver of every industrial revolution and has been the key to maintaining sustainability and competitiveness as market needs evolve.

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate enough to have leadership roles with the opportunity to lead digital transformations by building out the next generation of disruptive platforms. I started my career at IBM when networked computing created distributed business opportunities. At Hearst and Disney, I built the first generation consumer media and streaming content platforms in lead technology roles. Later at Oracle, I focused on taking eCommerce to market, enabling secure shopping and transactions which powered companies like eBay and Amazon. As a co-founder of Internet Service Provider, OneMain, built out the first personalized geographic content, which didn't require the unauthorized collection of personal data. The company was acquired by Earthlink after growing it to be one of the ten largest ISPs and completing a highly successful IPO. Recruited by the board of a venture-backed spinout from Harvard and MIT, I took on the role of CEO, commercializing the computational linguistics and machine learning start-up. Later, I joined the fintech transformation by joining a leading institutional trading platform, TradingScreen, leading product management for data and content. I got involved very early in blockchain and crypto innovation and went on to co-found several companies in the insurtech space. In addition, I am a co-founder of Additum.es, a European health tech company focused on value-based medicine, which utilizes IoT and blockchain to capture the value created throughout patient journeys.

Cybersecurity has been an area that I am passionate about because it is so closely tied to sustainability. In addition to being a founder of an early blockchain cyber insurtech, I was aboard advisor to an Israeli cyber risk assessment company that was acquired by MasterCard. Additional advisory roles include Crayonic, an award-winning passwordless access solution, and WiseKey, a global cybersecurity company deploying large-scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI, and IoT. Currently, I am focused on building alliances at RSA NetWitness, which is one of the most exciting companies in cybersecurity. Sustainability requires the ability to protect organizations from cyber threats, which is the biggest more immediate material financial risk we face today. It affects every stakeholder in so many different ways. This is a space that requires just much attention as climate change.

What were the past experiences, achievements, or lessons that shaped your journey as a successful women leader?

One of the most enjoyable experiences came from my volunteer work with the MIT community. As an alumnus that has gained so much from my education at MIT, I have always felt it is important to give back.

In 2013, several members of the MIT Corporation, which is effectively the MIT board of trustees, talked me into launching a global student competition, Dream it. Code it. Win it. (Dreamitcodeitwinit.org), to encourage students to engage in engineering. The competition rewarded students with over $250,000 in prizes for solving interesting problems using technology and code. Being an engineer, I didn't realize that problem-solving skills were not traditionally taught in schools. Before launching Dream it. Code it. Win it, I didn't appreciate the gift of being a problem solver, which is a critical skill for an entrepreneur at the leading edge of industry transformations.

Dream it. Code it. Win it. has received numerous awards including the Traders Magazine Charitable Works Award and four Stevie Awards for the best innovator, executive, start-up, and non-profit organization. Additional honors include the MIT with an MIT Harold E. Lobdell Distinguished Service Award. The related TED Talk, Just Solve It, which encourages people to learn to solve problems and pursue engineering studies, has over 900k views.

2016 MIT Harold E. Lobdell Distinguished Service Award 

2015 Stevie Awards – four awards including

Gold: Dreamit.Codeit.Winit.–OrganizationoftheYearforGovernmentornon-profit

Silver: Cristina Dolan (Founder and Organizer) – Female Innovator of the Year for Government or non-profit

Silver: Cristina Dolan (Founder and Organizer) – Female Executive of the Year for Government or non-profit

Silver: Dream it. Code it. Win it. – Startup of the Year for Consumer Services Industries

2014 – Traders Magazine Charitable Works Award These are presented to women who devote considerable resources and energy to philanthropic causes that benefit society as a whole.

Kindly mention some of the primal challenges that you faced during the initial phase of your journey.

Science fiction inspired my desire to be an engineer. When you watch movies like Star Trek or Lost in Space, the women who knew how to solve problems and understood technology were all heroes. They wore cool outfits and were engaged in the community. I considered

them as my role models. I believed the future would be transformed with technology and I wanted to be a part of it.

As a student at an elite private girl's high school, my college advisor felt I would be better off pursuing law or something more traditional. Luckily I was too stubborn to listen. I remember my mother told me that lawyers are involved in everything and have so many opportunities and the flexibility to do whatever they want. Funny enough, that was what I thought of electrical engineers and computer scientists. I was fortunate not to have doubted my vision for the future.

Describe some of the vital attributes that every transformational leader should possess.

Transformational leadership at the edge of industrial revolutions has no guidebooks or blueprints, so you need to be comfortable building the roadmaps and communicating the vision to engage your community. You also have to be a lifelong self-learner and problem solver, because you won't find the answers without doing the work.

As a mentor to many very bright students and young executives, I always recommend they learn about the journeys of executives or leaders they admire. There are so many history lessons that offer ideas and guidance.

How do you innovate your products/solutions that appeal to your target audience?

Connecting with people and communities is critical because that is how you learn. I am fortunate to have been educated at MIT where I started building a strong network of critical thinkers that are engaged in transforming so many aspects of the world we live in. Living in New York and traveling extensively to speak at events has provided insights into how industries and society is transforming societies globally. I have built a global professional network that has been critical to my success throughout my career.

How are disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning/Deep Learning/ Automation/Cloud Computing/Big Data impacting today's innovation and how has the role of a leader has changed over the years?

We live in a connected world that is transforming faster than ever. Every industrial revolution has been fuelled through technological innovation.

Fueled by intelligent networks, our connected world is sharing massive amounts of data, which can improve our society in many ways. Every industry including healthcare, agriculture, transportation, retail, media, finance, law, and entertainment is all transforming through the use of technology, connectivity, computational and data science.

Of course, this makes cybersecurity more critical than ever as we grow more dependent than ever on connected computing and intelligent networks.

How do you see the ESG (the topic of the book) in the future ahead?

ESG has become one of the most important criteria for attracting employees, consumer engagement, and investment. Today, there are many different methodologies, data sets, lenses,

frameworks, and reporting standards. Space is filled with many different acronyms, and few people understand the space holistically, especially concerning what it takes to build resilient and sustainable organizations. MBA programs are graduating students that are focusing on ESG and corporate boards are starting to develop ESG KPIs for management at all levels of organizations. The space is still young, and yet it is more critical than ever. The sustainability of organizations and communities requires an understanding of ESG and how to define measure, and integrate it into the fabric of society. The future of ESG is just beginning. I am thrilled to be working in cybersecurity, which is one of the most critical pillars of sustainability.

What is your advice for budding or emerging women leaders?

• Gain the skills to lead sustainable transformation and create opportunities for a better world.
• Be a self-learner and push yourself beyond your comfort zone.

Be a problem-solver. If you can solve customer problems you will have a successful company, if you can solve an employer's problems you will have a job. More importantly, if you can solve your own problems you will have a fruitful and happier life.