Who Controls the Data That Controls You?

In this episode of Micro Journeys, host Daniel Marrujo sits down with David Harris to explore how endurance, curiosity, and systems-level thinking shaped a career that spans elite athletics, financial regulation, global markets, and emerging technology. From an unlikely start as a walk-on collegiate runner to leadership roles inside the SEC, NASDAQ, and the London Stock Exchange Group, Harris shares how persistence—and knowing when to adapt—became a recurring theme throughout his life.

The conversation dives deeper into Harris’s evolution from market structure and electronic trading into blockchain, data governance, and ultimately the founding of Manetu. As AI, automation, and data sharing accelerate, Harris unpacks a growing problem: sensitive data is being shared, copied, and used in ways that neither individuals nor organizations can fully see or control—especially as agentic AI systems begin making decisions on their behalf.

At its core, this episode presents a solution rooted in trust and control: treating data as a granular, permissioned asset, shared only when needed, for a specific purpose, and withdrawn when that purpose ends, so people, companies, and governments can safely operate in an increasingly automated world.