David Birch Appointed Honorary President of EEMA

EEMA has announced the appointment of David W.G. Birch as its honorary president, joining creator of the Seven Laws of Identity paper, Kim Cameron, in holding this title.

Birch has been a member of the EEMA board of management for the past five years, representing the European Think Tank as a speaker, author, advisor and commentator on digital financial services and digital identity.

Birch holds a number of board and advisory positions in Europe and North America, including as member of the governing council of the Center for the Study of Financial Innovation. He has been ranked in the top 100 global fintech influencers for 2021 and is recognized as one of the top 10 most influential voices in banking by Financial Brand.

Birch has also published three books exploring issues such as identity and digital currency: Identity is the New Money (2014), Before Babylon, Beyond Bitcoin (2017) and The Currency Cold War – Cash and Cryptography, Hash Rates and Hegemony (2020). He recently participated alongside Cameron during EEMA’s first virtual conference in a debate entitled ‘Why digital identity doesn’t yet exist?’

Commenting on the announcement, EEMA chair, Jon Shamah, said: “The EEMA board of management and executive office are proud of the long association and friendship with two of the most well recognized, respected and affable figures in the world of identity. David and Kim both go above and beyond to support EEMA initiatives and so many of our members have benefited from their generosity of time and words of wisdom.”

Birch stated: “I am honored to accept this prestigious position given to me by EEMA, especially alongside Kim Cameron, whose pioneering ideas around digital identity were a significant inspiration to my own work in the field.”

Last month, EEMA, which focuses on identity, privacy and trust, appointed Steve Pannifer to its board of management.