Nicky Hickman is an innovation and identity specialist with more than 20 years of international experience in digital transformation, data transparency, and community-centered technology design. She is an advisor at cheqd and brings deep expertise in digital identity, digital inclusion, and the governance of data systems. Nicky serves as co-chair of the Human Experience Working Group at the Trust over IP Foundation, is an industry contributor at the Blockchain & Digital Identity Lab at the University of Jyväskylä, and is a named inventor in her field. Her work consistently centers the question of how data systems can be made trustworthy, legible, and genuinely equitable for the people and communities.
Jez Goldstone is a cybersecurity strategist and innovator with more than 25 years of experience in financial services, digital identity, and enterprise security architecture. He served as Head of Cyber Security and Innovation at Barclays UK, where he led the development of the bank’s mobile app enrollment framework and is a named inventor of the Barclays Direct Call function, a security innovation now used by millions of customers. He holds additional patents in security systems and is the author of PAS499, the British Standards Institution’s code of practice for digital identification and strong customer authentication. Jez is currently founder of Illicit Labs, Innovator in Residence at the University of Manchester, and an active contributor to the Cloud Security Alliance. He brings deep expertise in trustworthy AI, privacy-enhancing technologies, and the applied governance of digital systems.