Daniel Ball

Daniel Ball is an operations technologist and avid entrepreneur with expertise in blockchain, telecommunications, AI, and ISO-level environmental testing for hemp and cannabis. He started his operations leadership in the Fortune 500 space with telecom company T-Mobile, where he led the training and launch of specialized technology teams and business units in support of the very first smartphones and the US’s first rollout of a fiberoptic-backed 4G network.

He would later join the US Army as a Signals Intelligence Analyst, where he thrived due to his foundation in telecom. He was introduced to distributed ledger technology (DLT) applications (the origin of today's blockchain platforms) and rose quickly as a subject matter expert on all things digital communications where he wrote several whitepapers and tradecraft documents on crossover integration between DLT and modern networks like Digital Mobile Radio. As a Non-Commissioned Officer for a counterterrorism unit, he was placed over several key intelligence efforts and managed the deployment of over $250m of ground and airborne assets, spending much of his time on the operational integration of complex technology platforms requiring compliance for many jurisdictions and regulatory bodies.

After leaving the military, Daniel leveraged his strength as a leader in multi-theater operations optimization and helped a friend and colleague launch one of Oregon's first full-suite Cannabis and Hemp testing laboratories. He integrated key processing optimization strategies and state-of-the art technology to raise efficiencies and become a state-leader in testing fidelity and turnaround time, dropping the average cannabis compliance test-completion from 12 business days to 4 business days and growing their starting company revenue by over 1,200% within 15 short months, making it one of the first cannabis-focused testing labs to break above a $50m valuation in that newly regulated market, all while navigating complex and quickly changing regulations, product marketplace inconsistency, and strict ORELAP and OLCC guidelines. Later those efforts would culminate in obtaining ISO 17025 accreditation through A2LA, the gold standard in environmental testing labs across the nation.

Since that time, he has founded several companies, successfully exited a few and helped launch several more. Most recently, his focus has been the utilization and practical integration of forward edge technology like AI and blockchain to solve significant global issues in the medical (medtech), agricultural (agritech), and IT networking sectors assisting the US Department of Defense, other government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies alike.

He comes to KRTL bringing a wealth of knowledge of the Oregon, Washington, and Californian hemp and cannabis markets, experience as a regulatory consultant on now emerging-psilocybin legislation in Oregon, and an IP holder for several key technologies to support KRTL's international biotechnology efforts and revenue generation potential.