Page 17 - CMA Journal (Jan-Feb 2026)

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Modernizing, digitizing, and streamlining global
supply chains is a massive and complex opportunity.
Taking fragmented, legacy, document-heavy systems You can fractionalize assets
and transforming them into fully interoperable, without blockchain, but
paperless, and digitally driven ecosystems is the
moonshot challenge we and our GBBC members have keeping track of many
spent many years developing tools and standards for.
The Global Standards Mapping Initiative (GSMI) and smaller transactions with
the BITA Standards Council (BITA), GBBC’s
transportation and commerce initiatives, are just some separate payment rails may
of the initiatives focusing on global supply chains,
transportation, and commerce. become onerous and more

These developments affect every human on earth. cumbersome using legacy
Food and agriculture, rare and precious metals,
commodities, and raw materials all trade and move in systems
supply chains, both local and global.

ICMA: Looking ahead, what is the biggest
unresolved question or challenge that keeps you
are moving increasingly toward a public chain world,
and the GBBC board thinking about the future of
while still needing to adhere to compliance and
digital assets?
regulatory rules. Fortunately, there are many smart
Sandra Ro: There are many questions, but I will focus people in the world developing solutions to satisfy
on one here: the only certainty in digital technologies both. We are not yet fully ready to scale
is constant change. What is true today may not be true multi-trillion-dollar assets, but the industry is making
in ten years, so how do we make decisions today that significant progress.
support tomorrow’s tech?
One more big-picture issue: the convergence of digital
For example, a decade ago, most financial institutions technologies—AI, blockchain, quantum computing,
focused on closed distributed ledger technology or IoT, and more. How will these technologies converge
private DLTs. Today, most stablecoins operate on public and affect how we interact with the digital world? AI
networks, and more financial institutions are looking to cannot be viewed in a silo, nor blockchain, nor
use public blockchains but must consider different sets quantum. These technologies are converging,
of risks and mitigants to remain compliant with KYC, colliding, and potentially cannibalizing each other.
AML, and other important regulations.
The Editorial Board thanks Ms. Sandra Ro, CEO, Global Blockchain
There is still a role for private networks (just like Business Council (GBBC) for sparing her precious time to give an
exclusive interview for Chartered Management Accountant Journal.
intranets), but the global trend is becoming clear: we

ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Jan-Feb 2026