John Hancock’s Lab of Forward Thinking (LOFT) has announced a collaboration with ConsenSys Enterprise and BlockApps in LOFT’s first Ethereum Blockchain proof of concept (PoC). Blockchain technologies are a point of focus for LOFT, with the goal of driving internal operational efficiencies and developing new capabilities driven by smart contracts. The purpose of the LOFT PoC is to better track operational procedures associated with a client.
Ace Moghimi, AVP and Head of Innovation, noted:
“We could not have found a better partner than ConsenSys in accelerating our understanding and our ability to build out applications leveraging this technology. The team is very excited about standing up the infrastructure internally and exploring the possibilities through our business use cases.”
In 2015, John Hancock launched the LOFT, a 6,500 square foot space located at its Seaport area headquarters in Boston’s “Innovation District,” devoted to a culture of innovation and creativity within all facets of the organization. Its objective is to cultivate a high impact environment and provide a centralized resource for employees across John Hancock and parent company Manulife to collaborate and devise new forward-thinking technology solutions for the companies’ various wealth and asset management and insurance business lines.
Igor Lilic, Principal Technical Lead of ConsenSys Enterprise, said,
“The LOFT group is a model example of innovation within the enterprise: bright, enthusiastic teams tasked with understanding new technologies and who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty by building prototypes. We are incredibly enthusiastic about John Hancock’s commitment to the blockchain ecosystem and we look forward to continued collaboration as LOFT builds smart contract based platforms.”
Kieren James-Lubin, Chief Product Officer of BlockApps, said,
“LOFT is just that – an organization focused around forward thinking. They are building the technical knowhow and internal stakeholder support that will allow John Hancock to be a disruptor rather than a disruptee as the blockchain revolution materializes. We are extremely enthusiastic about our partnership with LOFT.”
