29. Peter CherecwichPresident, Corporate & Institutional ServicesNorthern Trust Corp.Last year: PNRLots of words have been expended on blockchain predictions and punditry, but none quite like those in a recent commentary by Peter Cherecwich, "A Dream of the '90s Lives On: What GSTPA Teaches Us About Blockchain." Northern Trust Corp.'s president of corporate and institutional services (C&IS) concedes that "you have to be over 50" to have any recall of the Global Straight Through Processing Association, which attempted to standardize communications among fund managers, brokerages, and custodians. Cherecwich, 52, thinks GSTPA set a useful precedent. Although the group disbanded in 2002, unable to overcome political and economic obstacles, "there is an unmistakable correlation between the GSTPA's central matching engine concept and the current focus on building common and instantaneous shared transaction records," Cherecwich wrote in the article, posted in May at Pensions & Investments online. Promoted to his current position in January after two years as president of C&IS Americas and seven years heading Global Fund Services, Cherecwich is actively involved in blockchain strategy as an outgrowth of the technology-driven nature of his business. Northern Trust, which has $7.1 trillion in assets under custody and $1 trillion in assets under management, "is a relationship company that operates in a technological environment," says Cherecwich, who joined the Chicago-based organization in 2007 from State Street Corp.
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