Past Events
Halkin is delighted to welcome Professor Oren Scherman and Dr Kamil Sokolowski of Kodiaq Technologies Ltd, an innovative spin-out from the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge University.
Oren is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Kodiaq Technologies Ltd., a deep-tech start-up based in Cambridge.
He is a Director of the Melville Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, a member of the board for SABIC IP and co-founder of Aqdot, a successful spin-out from the University of Cambridge. Oren is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Kodiaq Technologies Limited, a deep-tech start-up based in Cambridge, where he leads the company’s scientific strategy and vision along with Kodiaq’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Dr Kamil Sokolowski. He is also Professor of Supramolecular and Polymer Chemistry and the Director of the Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis at the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. Oren is a world-recognised expert and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a member of the American Chemical Society and Editorial Advisory Member of the journals Giant,Organic Materials, and Chem, frequently publishing in the most prestigious scientific journals. He has received numerous prestigious awards.
Kamil is the co-founder and CTO of Kodiaq Technologies. He leads the research and development of Kodiaq’s technology, bringing over fifteen years of experience in electron transfer processes and materials science, including a decade specialising in molecular electron acceptors. Thriving in the dynamic Cambridge innovation ecosystem he works alongside a team of experienced scientists and seasoned professionals to spearhead initiatives to bring Kodiaq’s technologies to the market.
Kamil holds a PhD in physical chemistry from the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. He later moved to Cambridge as a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow to join the Melville Laboratory at the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge University, where he worked closely with Oren Scherman on electronic materials and processes. These joint research efforts paved the way for the discoveries that became the foundation of Kodiaq’s technology.
Halkin is delighted to welcome back Helen Thomas, CIO of Blonde Money at a Halkin lunch on Tuesday 4 March 2025.
Helen Thomas founded her own macroeconomic consulting firm Blonde Money in 2017. Her team provides Sensible Market Commentary – everything you need to know about financial markets from a global macro perspective.
Before founding Blonde Money Helen was a Partner at a Global Macro hedge fund and Head of Currency Alpha for State Street Global Advisors. Helen started her career in Foreign Exchange at Merrill Lynch before going on to work for Societe Generale and SEB.
Helen holds a degree from Christ Church, Oxford, in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. She is a Freeman of the City of London and a board member of CFA UK where she is responsible for their sub-committee on the Value of the Investment Profession.
Diana Choyleva, is a leading expert on China’s economy and politics. She is Chief Economist at Enodo Economics, an independent macroeconomic and political forecasting company she set up in 2016 to untangle complexity, challenge the consensus, and give pointers to the future by making sense of today.
Enodo’s focus is China and its global impact. Diana has been covering China for over two decades and has written three books, most recently “China’s Quest for Financial Self-reliance in 2022. In 2023 she joined JPMorgan Asia Growth and Income plc as a Non-executive Director to the Board. Later that year, Diana joined the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, as a non-resident Senior Fellow on the Chinese economy.
Is China’s digital currency revolution reshaping the foundation of global oil trade? While the dollar has dominated international oil markets for half a century through the petrodollar system, significant changes are emerging. Recent developments show China successfully completing its first cross-border crude oil settlement in digital yuan, while simultaneously expanding RMB-based trade with major oil producers.
The research reveals fascinating dynamics: China isn’t trying to replace the dollar globally – instead, it’s building a parallel system for its own trade needs. Through technological innovations like the mBridge platform and Shanghai oil futures contracts, China is creating new pathways for international oil settlements that bypass traditional dollar-based systems.
Yet the evidence suggests this isn’t a story of rapid change, but rather of strategic long-term positioning. The key question isn’t whether de-dollarization is happening, but how quickly and in what forms.
Join us for an analysis of how China’s technological innovations and energy security strategy are gradually reshaping the architecture of the global oil trade.
Before Enodo Diana worked at Lombard Street Research (now TS Lombard) for 16 years, most recently as their Chief Economist and Head of Research. She joined LSR after completing her master’s degree in Economics in 2000 and over the years has covered a wide range of developing and developed economies.