The Emerging Leader Award is presented to alumni who have made a significant impact in their profession or community at large since graduation. This award honors alumni who graduated from 2011 to 2021.
2023 Honoree
John Patrick Mullin ('14 B.A.)
John Patrick Mullin is a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur and builder, focused on DeFi, blockchain technology, digital assets and Web3. He is the CEO and co-founder of MANTRA and SOMA.finance and has been building in the crypto and digital assets space for over six years, having worked in decentralized finance and exchange/brokerage businesses.
While earning his international business degree at SLU-Madrid, John was introduced to bitcoin in 2013 and began immersing himself in new financial technologies. After completing a dual Master's Degree in Management from European Business School in Wiesbaden, Germany, and Economics from Tongji University in Shanghai, John was able to find a role as a research analyst at one of the largest Chinese state-owned banks. As a senior research analyst at the firm, his primary role was researching various emerging technologies such as blockchain, and other various FinTech applications (AI/machine learning, Insurtech, Robo-advisor technology, etc.).
Besides his banking job, John built a community in Shanghai by writing, speaking, and hosting events focused on FinTech in China. This first quasi-entrepreneurial hustle inspired him to quit his job at the bank and begin working on a crypto exchange project in Hong Kong as one of the founding partners. While this endeavor turned out to be a bit "too early" for the market, this initial entrepreneurial venture was the turning point in John’s life where he realized he wanted to "be his own boss" for the rest of his life, and that he got immense joy from building businesses, solving challenging problems, and leading teams of talented individuals.
Since then, John has gone on to help found MANTRA, a blockchain protocol and application builder, as well as SOMA finance, which is a US-regulated decentralized finance application. He has raised tens of millions of dollars for these ventures and works with a dedicated team of builders on five continents worldwide.
As an educator and speaker, he has spoken at leading universities worldwide, including Harvard University, London Business School, The National University of Singapore, and Peking University.