Institutional Stewardship

Leadership built for an institution that must endure.

ThinkDeFi is stewarded through complementary leadership in research, institutional development, and strategic collaboration.

Our Executive Office translates mission into disciplined action—protecting the independence, intellectual integrity, and long-term perspective that define the institution.

Shared responsibility.Enduring purpose.

Our Point of View

Strong institutions are never sustained by vision alone.

They require people who can protect the mission, strengthen the work, and build the relationships that allow an institution to serve beyond a single moment or individual.

At ThinkDeFi, stewardship is a shared practice. Research informs direction. Partnerships extend reach. Governance preserves trust. Each discipline strengthens the others.

Institutions endure because leadership is shared, stewardship is intentional, and purpose remains constant.

The ThinkDeFi Executive Office

The Executive Office

Complementary leadership.
One institutional mission.

The Executive Office aligns scholarship, strategy, relationships, and execution around a single standard: does this decision strengthen ThinkDeFi as an independent research and convening institution?

Executive OfficeDenise Shanklin

Founder & CEO

Denise Shanklin

“The future of finance should be measured not only by what technology makes possible, but by what it enables humanity to become.”

Denise Shanklin is the Founder and CEO of ThinkDeFi, where she leads the institution’s strategy, research agenda, and executive convening around the future of financial infrastructure.

She brings decades of experience leading complex enterprise transformation across technology, financial services, operations, and institutional change. Her academic and executive education background includes International Relations at the University of St. Thomas, Advanced Portfolio Management at Stanford University, and strategic management studies through The Haines Centre for Strategic Management at the University of San Diego.

At ThinkDeFi, Denise brings these perspectives together to advance independent research, executive dialogue, and strategic collaboration around the technological, institutional, and human forces reshaping global finance.

Institutional visionMission stewardshipEnduring institution

Institutional Research & AdvisorDr. Rachel German

Institutional Research & Advisor

Dr. Rachel German

Independent research earns trust when rigor, clarity, and intellectual honesty remain inseparable.

Dr. Rachel German brings expertise across cybersecurity, public policy, privacy, digital identity, and institutional governance to ThinkDeFi’s research agenda. Her work examines the intersection of technology, policy, institutional decision-making, and public trust.

Her academic and research background includes The University of Texas at Austin and the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, where she was a Brumley Next Generation Integrated Cybersecurity Studies Graduate Fellow. Her research experience has also included work involving the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

At ThinkDeFi, Dr. German helps shape the institution’s research standards and inquiry into the governance, security, trust, and human dimensions of evolving financial infrastructure.

Research agendaPublication standardsInstitutional rigor

Executive OfficeChristopher Titcombe

Strategic Partnerships & Advisor

Christopher Titcombe

“The right partnerships do more than expand reach. They deepen an institution’s capacity to serve.”

Christopher Titcombe brings expertise in strategy, quantitative finance, and complex multi-stakeholder transactions to ThinkDeFi’s institutional partnerships and strategic initiatives.

A graduate of Yale University, where he studied Chemistry, Pre-Med, and Economics, Christopher also holds the Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF). His multidisciplinary background brings together analytical rigor, financial markets perspective, and strategic relationship development.

At ThinkDeFi, Christopher helps cultivate relationships across financial institutions, technology, capital, and the broader financial ecosystem while advising the institution on strategic opportunities, partnerships, and long-term positioning.

Strategic partnershipsSponsorshipsInstitutional development

How We Steward

A disciplined path from mission to institutional impact.

Protect the Mission

Preserve independence, institutional credibility, and long-term purpose.

Strengthen the Work

Apply clear standards to research, convenings, publications, and partnerships.

Build Capacity

Develop the relationships, systems, and resources required for durable impact.

Remain Accountable

Evaluate decisions against mission, public benefit, and institutional integrity.

Shared Stewardship

Different responsibilities. A common standard.

Research

Establish the evidence and frame the consequential questions.

Dialogue

Test ideas through candid, cross-sector institutional exchange.

Partnership

Build relationships that extend capacity while protecting independence.

Institutional Application

Translate insight into stronger strategy, governance, and action.

Built for clarity, not noise.

Join the conversation shaping the future of financial infrastructure.

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