With enterprise experience and startup savvy in equal measure, Phil Gomes is a trusted marcomm leader, strategist, advocate, and mentor. Phil led the successful testnet and mainnet launches of Hemi, which combines the power and capabilities of both Bitcoin and Ethereum into a single network. Leading a global team of full-time, part-time, volunteer, and AI contributors, his strategic, incisive programs far outstripped those of competitors with far greater marketing budgets. Hemi spun off from early blockchain software company Bloq, where Phil not only oversaw the company’s corporate brand but also advised and/or led marketing and communications efforts for its diverse spinoffs in decentralized finance, Bitcoin mining, infrastructure, gaming, and more. Among his accomplishments, he led the launch Vesper Finance, which grew into a $1.8 billion protocol at its height, and repositioned Bloq in under 40 days in response to the economic environment of 2020. Prior to joining Bloq, Phil was a senior vice president at Edelman, where he guided the world's largest communications firm's initial explorations across two generational technology shifts: social media and blockchain technology. He also advised clients on crisis communications, issues management, digital integration, and employee engagement across all of the firm’s industries and practices. During his time in Silicon Valley, Phil worked with startups and world-class companies, most notably the renowned research firm SRI International. Known for industry “firsts,” Phil is widely considered to be the first PR professional to start a blog (2001) and the first to describe and demonstrate the value of blockchain technology in communications (2015).