The Chamber of Digital Commerce, a leading trade association dedicated to promoting the understanding, acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies, has announced the appointment of CME Group executive to its Board of Advisors.

Rumi Morales leads CME Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of CME Group, a leading and diverse derivatives marketplace. CME Ventures makes minority stake investments in early stage companies that have the potential to impact the financial services industry, including digital asset and distributed ledger technologies.

“Blockchain technology is beginning to transform the way financial markets operate and holds the same potential for risk management,” said Morales. “The Chamber of Digital Commerce is securing the future of this technology by driving appropriate policy, and CME Group is committed to advancing this shared vision and encouraging innovation in fintech.”

Before joining CME Group in 2010, Morales led the APAC business of Goldman Sachs’ Global Markets Institute in Hong Kong. She was named to Crain's Chicago Business 2014 Tech 50, Institutional Investor's 2015 and 2016 Fintech Finance 35, and Crain's Chicago Business 2015 40 Under 40 lists.

“The Chamber made great strides in increasing the public-private dialogue since our inception just 30 months ago, however there is much work to do to promote the advancement of blockchain-based technologies,” said Perianne Boring, Founder & President of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. “Rumi brings a wealth of energy and experience and we are excited to have her on our team.”

Recently, the Chamber partnered with the Hyperledger Project, a collaborative cross-industry effort created to advance blockchain technology, to strengthen industry advocacy and education efforts related to distributed ledger technologies. In addition, the Chamber has also released a smart contracts white paper at its Smart Contracts Symposium held this month. The white paper features twelve use cases.