Today, we’re pleased to welcome Dr Alec Burns as Tokenovate’s new Head of Product Technology. Alec will help to accelerate enterprise production of Tokenovate’s deterministic post-trade operating layer, and shape how our technology scales legal-first infrastructure for tokenised capital markets .
Rather than just listing all of his achievements to-date, we asked him a few questions instead:
Hello Alec. Good to have you onboard. Tell us a bit about yourself!
I’ve always been the type who needs to be chasing something, whether that’s a research problem, a new sport, or a completely different industry to learn. That restlessness has taken me from a PhD and research fellowship in robotics, into blockchain research at two foundations, and eventually to starting my own AI advisory working with some of the biggest companies in the UK. Outside of work I’m just as happy halfway up a rock face or several episodes deep into a sci-fi series, I think that same curiosity is what pulls me toward new problems, whatever form they take.
So it was curiosity that attracted you to Tokenovate?
Well, I was actually involved in the project during its early conception – I attended one of the initial discovery days and hopefully gave some useful input on the tech stack and product approach. I’ve followed it closely since. What attracted me most was the opportunity and the team. The opportunity is huge, and I think London is one of the best places in the world to realise it. And it’s clear Richard surrounds himself with top talent, and knows how to bring out the best in them. When the role came up, it was a no-brainer.
Given your background, what do you think you can bring to us?
At my core I’m a techie – seven years of research in computer science and blockchain leaves an impression. I have huge admiration for the technology itself, but my real passion is turning it into something that changes a space. For the last five years I’ve been doing exactly that: building companies, applications and products that take deep tech and make it usable, useful, and something people actually want. That’s the job here. Tokenovate has an incredible tech stack – my focus is turning that into a product experience sharp enough to change how finance actually works, not just what it’s technically capable of.
Your podcast Untangling Web3 is very popular. Why did you start it, and what’s your most valuable takeaway from building it?
It definitely wasn’t popular in the early days – three years of consistent output is what got it there.
Jack (my co-host) and I were both researchers, early adopters and general fanboys of blockchain. But none of our friends or family had a clue what we did, and most podcasts in the space were purely pump-and-dump talk rather than the tech itself. So we started our own, and it’s grown since – now reaching over 250,000 people a week (and you can listen to it here).
The biggest takeaway: fail fast. Release paralysis kills more projects than launching something rough ever does. The first version is always awful, the tenth will be bad, but the hundredth will be great. That, and building something you’d genuinely listen to or use yourself is a lot easier than building for someone else.
When you’re not working or podcasting, what do you like to do?
I’m big into reading and sport. My reading is mostly sci-fi – I think fiction shapes so much of what we build and strive toward today. On the sport side: outdoor climbing, surfing, rugby, and most recently I’ve signed up for a half Ironman. Wish me luck! (ed: GOOD LUCK!)
Ironman or not, we’re delighted to have Alec on board and look forward to seeing the impact he’ll have as Tokenovate continues to evolve its products and technology.
Welcome to the team, Alec.
Connect with Alec on LinkedIn.