Join industry analyst the banking world’s #1 influencer Jim Marous for these in-depth interviews with top executives in banking exploring the strategic decisions driving success at banking’s highest levels.
HOSTED BY JIM MAROUS
Jim Marous, co-publisher of The Financial Brand and host of world’s #1 banking podcast Banking Transformed, is one of the most influential voices in banking. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to gain an insider’s perspective on the leadership challenges facing the industry today in these riveting one-on-one discussions with the brightest minds in banking.
Steve Turley
Head of Consumer Distribution, Strategy, Planning, & Innovation at TD Bank
The Future of Branches in a Digital Age
Branches remain vital to consumers. According to a study by TD Bank, 72% rank nearby branches as a top factor in choosing their bank. 84% of consumers visited a branch in the past year, and branches are still people’s first point of contact when they have a banking question.
In this interview, we’ll discuss how banks’ retail delivery strategies are impacted by these shifts, and why branches continue to play a critical role serving both consumers and communities. Hear how TD Bank’s branches are adapting to be smaller, more tech enabled advisory centers.
Key topics covered:
- Why branches are still essential in the digital age
- How consumers’ expectations are evolving in a digital-first world
- How branches are adapting, downsizing, and integrating tech
- The critical role branches play providing financial advice with a human touch
- What the future holds — will branches survive or slowly fade away?
Mathew Mehrotra
Chief Digital Officer and Head of Canadian Products at BMO Financial
Building a Digital-First Mindset
Legacy banks aren’t known for digital agility, often losing the battle to disruptive fintech competitors. Some are rising to the challenge, like BMO, a 200-year old bank with $1 trillion in assets.
Mehrotra has been a key force in spearheading the digital transformation of BMO Financial into a digital-first market leader. As Chief Digital Officer, Matthew has overseen BMO’s journey, building internal alignment on the imperative for change. Hear how he broke down the silos thwarting innovation, empowered more agile customer-focused teams, and digitized processes from end-to-end.
Key topics covered:
- Developing urgency, vision, and alignment for digital transformation
- Digitizing operations and products to enhance efficiency
- Tearing down legacy systems and organizational structures to foster agility
- Building a customer-centric culture focused on a personalize digital experience
- Key lessons for driving an enterprise-wide digital mindset
Dennis Devine
CEO/President of Alliant Credit Union
The Power of Purpose
How can $19 billion financial institution compete in a world dominated by megabanks? Dennis Devine and his team at Alliant have figured it out, growing faster than any other credit union in the past year, and being named a top financial institution by numerous publications.
The secret lies in Alliant’s approach. Dennis Devine has shown there’s power in purpose, and it just might represent the future of consumer banking. By combining its philosophy with a lean, digital-only model, Alliant delivers outsized value — leading competitors in efficiency, rates, and service.
Key topics covered:
- Competing with large banks as a smaller, digital-only credit union
- Alliant’s member growth through a purpose-driven strategy
- Operational efficiency to deliver unmatched member returns
- Promoting financial wellness amid complex consumer challenges
- Using purpose as an incentive to build market leading talent
Derek White
CEO of Galileo Financial Technologies
The Future of Banking: Beyond the Glass
Derek is an undisputed pioneer in digital banking and financial technologies. He helped launch the world’s first online bank and revolutionized CX at leading institutions like U.S. Bank, BBVA, and Barclays. He also served as VP of Global Financial Services at Google Cloud.
Through his present lens at Galileo where he deploys embedded finance solutions, Derek has an unmatched vantage point into the changing digital behaviors and expectations that are reshaping the financial world. In this discussion, he’ll share his unique insights on how experiences that are seamlessly human are critical to earning trust and loyalty in the digital era.
Key topics covered:
- Emerging digital behaviors reshaping consumer financial services
- Principles for human-centered design in digital banking
- The evolution from mobile “taps and swipes” to conversational AI
- Demystifying open finance and its potential in banking
- Strategies for earning digital trust and loyalty amid ecosystem change
Don Relyea
Chief Innovation Officer at U.S. Bank
Rethinking Innovation Through Unparalleled Change
How does a large bank with 3,000 branches and 77,000 employees spur innovation to stay competitive? In this discussion, we’ll take an inside look at the innovation strategies that are reshaping one of America’s fifth largest bank.
Take a backstage tour and inside US Bank’s innovation lab, where their team experiments with bleeding-edge capabilities — from blockchain and quantum computing, to VR and generative AI. We’ll also look at how US Bank balances governance and risk against the growth opportunities of disruptive innovation.
Key topics covered:
- Emerging technologies on US Bank’s innovation radar
- Using innovation labs to run pilot programs and experiments
- Shifting a legacy culture to agile innovation
- How innovations get the green light and which ones merit scaling
- Balancing the upsides of innovation against the risks involved with new technologies
Melissa Stevens
Chief Marketing Officer at Fifth Third Bank
CMO Unplugged: The Art and Science of Tomorrow’s Marketing
Join us for an inside look at the marketing transformation shaping a major US regional bank. In this interview, we’ll discuss how Fifth Third is reimagining engagement amid shifting consumer behaviors — moving beyond transactions into life’s big moments.
Melissa will share how Fifth Third’s investments in data and analytics are being leveraged to inform personalized journeys that go beyond “satisfaction scores” to build real loyalty. offer tips for how CMOs can align marketing with broader objectives across the C-suite.
Key topics covered:
- Adapting engagement strategies to evolving consumer expectations
- Investing in data analytics to drive personalized customer journeys
- How to stem the ‘silent attrition’ caused by fintechs and digital neobanks
- How CMOs earn influence across organizational decisions
- Balancing marketing risks vs. growth opportunities
April Clobes
CEO/President of MSU Federal Credit Union
Innovation Through Co-Creation
Innovation is tough in any industry, but how does a credit union keep pace with lightning-fast fintechs and much larger traditional competitors? April Clobes has an ingenious solution: co-create “composable solutions” by leveraging in-house tech talent, and invest in fintech capabilities through a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO).
April spearheaded the Reseda Group, a tech CUSO that enables nimble innovation, allowing the credit union to build its own digital products and launch entirely new digital brands. In this discussion, you’ll learn how this in-house incubation hub spurs fresh ideas through multidisciplinary collaboration, empowering MSUFCU to accelerate the creation of new solutions that improve CX and reduce costs.
Key topics covered:
- Fostering grassroots innovation through an in-house tech CUSO
- Enabling agility through multidisciplinary collaboration
- Launching digital sub-brands to expand member base
- Leveraging technology to enhance products, UX and financial wellness
- Advice for financial institutions striving for innovation despite limited resources
