We live in a connected world. You know how many episodes of this show refer to a global supply chain and how blockchain can transform said supply chain? Well, that’s because that’s how goods and services travel globally. And any company looking to do business has to think globally, which doesn’t always come easily.

Enter Maribel Lopez, the founder and principal analyst at Lopez Research, whose job is to help the most ambitious of business leaders. This sort of work requires a collaborative spirit as well as a deep knowledge of the most significant innovations happening every corner of the globe — from AI to IoT to blockchain. Maribel gets to spend her days guiding leaders through these changes and Matt couldn’t be more excited to be interviewing her this episode! There are few people out there with as much insight into the adoption and implementation of breakthrough technologies on a global scale as Maribel, so don’t miss out on today’s episode!

Key Takeaways:

[:00] An excerpt from today’s guest, Maribel Lopez.

[1:05] About today’s episode.

[2:54] Matt welcomes Maribel to the podcast!

[3:14] What does Maribel get to do all day as the founder and Principal Analyst at Lopez Research?

[4:23] Was Maribel always technology-driven? What was her background before starting her firm?

[5:24] Is Maribel working with startups looking to embrace emerging technology or is she working with fortune 500s?

[6:28] With whom in the c-suite does she work with as she identifies the right business customer? Who Is Lopez Research’s ‘right’ customer?

[8:02] What would Maribel say is the current appetite for emerging technologies amongst the largest corporations she works with? And has this appetite grown in recent years?

[9:36] When Maribel is met with skepticism about adopting emerging technologies such as blockchain, where does the conversation start and where does it stop? Why are these people reluctant and how does she convert them?

[11:43] Does Maribel think blockchain hype has peaked or are we currently in the hype cycle?

[14:15] Maribel shares some of her current favorite use cases that excite her the most right now!

[16:54] Maribel highlights one of the most important things blockchain solves for companies.

[18:23] About Blockchain for Dummies!

[19:05] Maribel provides some examples of exciting collaborations she has seen between technologies collaborating together (such as between a blockchain application an AI application, an IoT application, etc.)

[23:14] Maribel shares what she’s seeing in the way of exciting blockchain-enabled products.

[26:45] What blockchain makes possible for your business.

[30:07] What tech trends, other than blockchain, should CIOs and CTOs be embracing as we enter the 2020s?

[32:36] Matt Hooper thanks Maribel Lopez for joining the podcast!

Sources Mentioned:

Lopez Research

IBM.co/PodcastforDummies — Visit for a free download of Blockchain for Dummies!

Follow-up with Our Guest:

Maribel Lopez’s LinkedIn

Looking for More Episodes?

Visit ibm.com/blockchain — and for news and updates, follow @IBMBlockchain on Twitter!