Forum 2025 Schedule

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Starvine Ballrooms

Enjoy a hearty buffet lunch as the banking industry’s most experienced solutions providers share the latest trends and insights in these educational sessions. These sessions are open to bank and credit union attendees only on a first-come basis. Simply head to the session you are most interested in attending – no RSVP required!

• Catch ’em and Keep ’em. How data-driven, end-to-end digital marketing attracts, converts, and builds customer bases

  Speakers:
  – Christina Baker, Director of Strategy at SilverTech
  – Abby Fitzgerald, Media Manager at Pannos Marketing
  Location: Starvine 1+2
  Sponsor: SilverTech and Pannos Marketing

  View Session Description

  Discover how to strategically balance campaigns that attract new customers while deepening engagement with existing ones. You’ll explore the power of paid digital media and organic SEO to elevate online visibility, achieve breakthrough digital marketing results, and drive higher click-through rates—all while lowering your cost-per-click.

  But it doesn’t stop there – once new relationships are on board, we’ll show you how to unlock their full potential. Harness data-driven analytics to create personalized, targeted campaigns that captivate, convert, and build lasting connections. This session is your roadmap to growing your institution’s impact, boosting customer loyalty, and maximizing conversions. Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your marketing strategy!

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Use the power of digital marketing to attract new relationships
  • Drive more traffic to your Landing Pages, Website and Bricks & Mortar locations
  • Practical strategies to turn data into targeted, actionable insights.
  • Tips for building stronger customer relationships with personalized approaches.
  • Guidance in utilizing advanced analytics to drive both customer acquisition and retention, and the channels in which to achieve these goals

• Data-Driven Personalization: Best Practices for Advertising Success in Banking

  Speaker: Lisa Nicholas, SVP Strategy at Vericast
  Location: Starvine 3+4
  Sponsor: Vericast

  View Session Description

  Join a panel of industry experts as they explore data-driven personalization strategies that drive advertising success in banking. This session will focus on best practices for leveraging data to optimize customer engagement, enhance marketing efficiency, and maximize ROI across deposits, lending, and overall bank strategy. Learn how leading financial institutions use insights to refine targeting, adapt campaigns in real time, and integrate local market data for greater impact. Whether you’re looking to improve acquisition, retention, or cross-sell strategies, this discussion will provide actionable takeaways to strengthen your approach.

  Key Takeaways:

  • Data-Driven Optimization: Learn how financial institutions harness customer insights to refine targeting and messaging.
  • Adaptive Strategies: Discover how banks dynamically adjust campaigns to respond to market trends and real-time data.
  • Local Advertising Integration: Understand how localized insights can enhance the precision and effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
  • Channel Optimization: Explore strategies to tailor your advertising mix based on consumer behavior for maximum engagement.
  • Banking-Specific Applications: Gain insights into how data-driven personalization impacts deposits, lending, and overall bank marketing strategy.

• Strategies to Lower Cost of Funds & Improve Profitability in 2025

  Speaker: David Carlson, VP of Sales at MANTL
  Location: Starvine 6+7
  Sponsor: MANTL

  View Session Description

  Achieving sustainable growth is a top priority for banks and credit unions in 2025. With the right strategies, financial institutions can successfully navigate this high-rate environment to raise deposits at scale, lower the cost of funds, and improve marketing ROI. In this session, you’ll learn the strategies that helped banks and credit unions working with MANTL to generate over $10 billion in new growth last year while controlling their cost of funds.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Strategies to remain competitive in a high-rate environment
  • How the onboarding journey can impact the cost of funds, including the role that technology can play in lowering compliance and fraud costs
  • How to activate your current customer base to capture wallet share and improve cross-sell
  • The important role marketing leaders should play in the technology buying journey to maximize impact

• Precision Marketing: Connecting with Customers at Life’s Critical Moments

  Speaker: Alexandra Moss, VP/Data-Driven Marketing at Deluxe
  Location: Starvine 8+9
  Sponsor: Deluxe

  View Session Description

  Financial marketers that engage customers at life’s pivotal moments — like starting a new job, buying a home, or launching a business — can create deeper relationships and drive greater conversions. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the systems and processes top banks use to execute these high-performing “trigger campaigns”, as you explore case studies from peer financial institutions that have successfully implemented trigger marketing to drive growth.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How data-driven trigger marketing will help you reach the right people at the right time with relevant, personalized offers
  • The key life- and business events that signal financial needs and how to leverage them effectively
  • Why speed-to-market is critical, and how to be the first to engage when opportunities arise

• GenAI Disruption: What’s Next in Bank Marketing

  Speaker: Young Pham, Chief Strategy Officer at CI&T
  Location: Starvine 10
  Sponsor: CI&T

  View Session Description

  As generative AI reshapes the marketing landscape, how can financial marketers adapt to stay ahead? This session explores actionable strategies to leverage the transformative potential of GenAI to help banking providers scale their marketing efforts, deliver hyper-personalized experiences, and achieve greater campaign outcomes.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • A framework for a GenAI-first approach to marketing
  • How to harness data-driven insights for informed decision-making
  • How to manage cross-functional and adaptive teams through the entire marketing life-cycle and foster a culture of creativity and innovation
  • How to leverage and scale a technology ecosystem and accelerate marketing processes end to end

• Revolutionizing Banking with AI: From Cost Savings to Personalization

  Speaker: Srini Venkatramani, Head of Product, Technology & Client Operations at Blend
  Location: Starvine 11
  Sponsor: Blend

  View Session Description

  Designed for forward-thinking banking professionals, this dynamic session explores foundational use cases for AI in banking with actionable insights into the tools available today. Discover how to accelerate your team’s productivity and create more personal banking experiences for customers as you see advanced AI applications in action, including a live demo of Blend’s DocAI showcasing how it streamlines document processing, improves accuracy, and saves time.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • A horizon view of AI’s potential in banking over the next five years
  • How personalizing offers with AI drives engagement and creates a competitive advantage
  • Strategies to cut costs and improve employee efficiency by automating workflows
  • How to safely rollout and implement AI tools for both employees and customers

• 7 Steps to Personalization at Scale with Agentforce (Powered by Salesforce)

  Speakers:
  – Matt Clement, Industry Strategist for Financial Services at Salesforce
  – Cory Haynes, Sr. Director Financial Services, GTM at Salesforce
  – Jeremy Lamothe, Strategic Solutions Engineer at Salesforce
  Location: Starvine 12+13
  Sponsor: Salesforce

  View Session Description

  This session will explore how the convergence of AI agents and Salesforce Financial Services Cloud can revolutionize digital marketing strategies. This demo session will show you how the Financial Service Cloud seamlessly integrates core banking systems, customer data, and purpose-built service processes create a single source of truth for a 360-degree customer view. Explore how this integrated ecosystem enables faster product launches, streamlined onboarding, and improved campaign performance, leading to greater returns on investment.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to leverage AI and integrated data to deliver hyper-personalized experiences
  • How Agentforce can act on real-time metrics within seconds to tune your campaigns and optimize ROI
  • The importance of data quality, governance, and security in maximizing the benefits of AI and integrated systems

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Starvine Ballrooms

Open to bank and credit union attendees only. Enjoy a gourmet breakfast buffet as the banking industry’s most experienced solutions providers explore the latest trends and insights in these educational sessions. No RSVP required, but seating is available on a first-come basis so arrive early to guarantee your spot.

• Unlocking the Power of Data: What’s Your Financial Institution’s Data IQ?

  Speaker: Chris Cox, Chief Operating Officer at Apiture
  Location: Starvine 1+2
  Sponsor: Apiture

  View Session Description

  In this session, featuring new research from Cornerstone Advisors and Apiture, we’ll explore the evolving role of data, highlighting key trends and best practices for managing, analyzing, and leveraging data. You’ll walk away with actionable tips to drive a more personalized customer experience, elevate marketing effectiveness, streamline operations, and more, with an effective data program.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • The importance of delivering a tailored digital experience that sets your institution apart
  • The steps your institution can take to use data to establish, maintain, and grow customer relationships
  • How to get ahead of the curve as data intelligence evolves over the coming months and years

• Optimize Your Footprint: Successful Strategies to Maximize Digital Engagement

  Speakers:
  – Maggie Burke, Director of Sitecore Operations at Americaneagle.com
  – Morgan Domsohn, Sitecore Xperience Manager at Citadel Credit Union
  – Mary McCleaft, Digital Solutions Analyst at Citadel Credit Union
  Location: Starvine 3+4
  Sponsor: americaneagle.com

  View Session Description

  For multi-channel financial institutions, your digital presence and customer engagement are critical to ensure continued growth. In this session, find out how Citadel Credit Union leveraged different tools on their website to boost customer engagement and streamline internal operations. You’ll see how Citadel’s team utilized different strategic insights to enhance their website and maximize business value.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Different tools to help increase customer satisfaction
  • Road mapping initiatives to maximize client engagement
  • Tips for personalization to create a unique customer experience

• Increasing Account Adoption & Engagement Using Predictive AI

  Speaker: Rachel O’Neill, Data & Marketing Sales Executive at Alkami
  Location: Starvine 6+7
  Sponsor: Alkami

  View Session Description

  Explore how predictive AI can fuel growth for your institution. Learn how anticipating account holders’ financial behaviors and needs with predictive AI can increase deposits, boost lending, and elevate engagement.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to drive growth and increase deposits with predictive AI
  • How to predict account holder behavior and tailor offers accordingly
  • How to fuel accurate AI predictions and maximize actionable insights with clean, curated data
  • How to enhance retention by leveraging AI to identify at-risk customers through behavior tracking

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Starvine Ballrooms

Open to bank and credit union attendees only. Enjoy a gourmet lunch buffet as the banking industry’s most experienced solutions providers explore the latest trends and insights in these educational sessions. No RSVP required, but seating is available on a first-come basis so arrive early to guarantee your spot.

• How to Compete and Win Market Share in a Competitive Environment

  Speakers:
  – Kurt Klassen, EVP at LEVEL5
  – Jeff Shaw, President & CEO at Wasatch Peaks Credit Union
  Location: Starvine 1+2
  Sponsor: LEVEL5

  View Session Description

  Hear how Wasatch Peaks CU solved complex strategic challenges familiar to many mid-market institutions — the big decisions you can’t afford to get wrong: finding and acquiring the best branch locations, optimizing both staff and technology to reduce expenses, revitalizing an aging brand, and building retail locations that deliver a high-quality experience — and pulling it all off with a lot less capital than their competitors.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How Wasatch Peaks navigated the daunting complexities of rebranding, building, and renovating branch locations
  • Key takeaways through the entire journey — the best decisions they made… and decisions they regret
  • How to calibrate strategic investments to ensure the right results
  • Qualitative and quantitative results from their strategic growth plan

• Your Branch is a Canvas: Crafting the Customer Experience and Making a Marketing Masterpiece

  Speakers:
  – Kevin Poirot, Chief Strategy Officer at PWCampbell
  – Brian Laurinaitis, National Accounts Executive at PWCampbell
  Location: Starvine 3+4
  Sponsor: PWCampbell

  View Session Description

  By viewing your branch locations as adaptable canvases for new creative campaigns, financial marketers can ensure their retail locations remain competitive. Learn from industry experts who have transformed millions of square feet of retail space as they share best practices to convert your branches into environments that attract, engage, and convert sales with consistency, flexibility, and sustainability.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Strategies to position yourself for market share growth when opportunities arise, whether through organic growth, situational factors, or in stagnant markets
  • How to strategically utilize digital signage, interactive kiosks, and other tools to create branded retail environments that maximize sales
  • How to prioritize optimal locations for project investments, strategies for implementation, and measurement techniques for success

Aria West Conference Center | Level 1 | Pinyon Ballroom Stage

• The Three Pillars of Marketing

  Pam Piligian oversees all marketing, communications, branding, advertising and PR for Navy FCU, the largest credit union in the world, with 13.8 million members and more than 360 branches. As the steward of one of the most admired brands in the financial services sector, she manages a vast array of agency partners and leads an in-house marketing team numbering over 200 people.

  Hear how Pam leverages the three pillars of her strategy — relevance, authenticity, and differentiation — to grow the Navy FCU brand in an increasingly commoditized category. She’ll explain how she maximizes marketing ROI with data, technology, culture, and agility, and the discipline required to execute a differentiated marketing strategy at the highest levels.

Aria West Conference Center | Level 1 | Bristlecone Ballroom Stage

Short, 20-minute case studies presented directly by bank and credit union executives showcasing their most innovative growth strategies and breakthrough marketing stories.

• Accelerating Profitable Deposit Growth Through Advanced Data Analytics

  Speaker: Rob Armour, EVP – Chief Marketing and Product Development Officer at BankPlus
  Time: 1:00 pm – 1:20 pm

  View Session Description

  See how BankPlus leverages advanced data-driven insights to identify specific deposit growth gaps and maximize NIM. Drawing off a rich set with over 12 billion data points from hundreds of financial institutions, you’ll see how BankPlus revealed growth gaps, uncovered opportunities and identified propensity factors at the household level. You’ll see showcase creative examples from this multi-channel integrated marketing strategy, and results of the campaign — including net change in household deposit balances and cost per account.

• Powering 3x Revenue Growth with a AI/ML Promotions and Rewards Model

  Speaker: Alexander Guerra, Chief Revenue Officer at Banco Azteca
  Time: 1:25 pm – 1:45 pm

  View Session Description

  Launched in 2021, Banco Azteca’s “super-app” Baz includes everything from personal loans and P2P transfers to entertainment features. See how this sophisticated mobile banking app optimizes customer lifetime value at the lowest cost by incorporating AI and machine learning to build propensity models for customer-facing incentives, promotions, and rewards campaigns. The result: a 25% increase in conversion rates, with a 20% lift in revenue per customer.

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Juniper Ballrooms

• Generative AI in Banking: Practical Applications for ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot

  Speaker: Ben Udell, SVP Product Marketing & Innovation at Marquis
  Location: Juniper 1

  View Session Description

  ChatGPT grabs all the headlines, but Microsoft Copilot is quickly finding a foothold in the financial sector. Both can dramatically supercharge your organization’s productivity, but which one is right for you? Presented by an actual banker and the Forum 2024’s top-rated speaker, this session will walk through the strategic decisions and regulatory implications you’ll face, along with real world applications you can apply immediately, regardless of the platform you choose.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to build a generative AI strategy within the current regulatory framework
  • Tips and tricks to establish AI policies, build your pilot team, and keep humans in the loop
  • How you can use AI for internal initiatives — e.g., identifying and addressing compliance issues, and building training programs for bankers to support marketing campaigns
  • How to use your current marketing and resources to focus results with greater accuracy, consistency, and predictability
  • How to craft AI prompts that yield the outputs you expect while eliminating bias and “hallucinations”

• Optimizing Onboarding ROI for Checking & Debit Accountholders

  Speaker: David Schultz, CEO & Founder of MediaLogic
  Location: Juniper 2+3

  View Session Description

  Inadequate and ineffective marketing in the early phase of the customer lifecycle can lead to suboptimal engagement and drastically lower LTV. To increase deposits, spend, and retention, early activation is crucial. Financial institutions have only 90 days to maximize the potential of new relationships. After that, the window of opportunity with new accountholders closes fast.

  This session will take a hard look at onboarding strategies specifically in the checking + debit category, including the truths and consequences senior banking executives must know. We’ll outline marketing campaigns and communication plans based on years of experience developing, testing, and refining onboarding strategies for numerous financial institutions.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to yield maximum ROI and LTV from new checking relationships in the first 90 days
  • How to drive top-of-wallet status and improve long-term debit cardholder loyalty
  • Integrated digital marketing techniques and multi-channel communication strategies that reinforce your value proposition, generate excitement, and drive early desired actions
  • Best practices, segmentation models, and key metrics for optimizing the onboarding journey and improving new accountholder satisfaction

• Connecting the Dots: Fintech Innovations & the Future of Banking

  Speaker: Dave DeFazio, Partner at StrategyCorps
  Location: Juniper 4

  View Session Description

  Take a journey beyond the ordinary, where the boundaries of traditional banking dissolve and the future of financial interactions becomes seamless, intuitive, and profoundly personal.

  Join us for this engaging session, where we’ll explore the evolving landscape of fintech and its transformative impact on banking behaviors, CX, and financial advice. Get a firsthand look at cutting-edge technologies with live demonstrations of the latest fintech products and banking apps that are reimagining the way consumers engage with their finances.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to leverage fintech innovations that enhance CX and drive loyalty
  • The latest trends in mobile banking apps that are reshaping consumer behavior
  • Techniques for optimizing digital platforms to provide seamless, 24/7 financial services
  • Effective strategies to integrate AI-driven financial advisors into existing service models
  • Best practices for financial institutions to collaborate with fintech startups
  • How to personalize financial advice using data analytics and machine learning

Aria West Conference Center | Level 1 | Bristlecone Ballroom Stage

Short, 20-minute case studies presented directly by bank and credit union executives showcasing their most innovative growth strategies and breakthrough marketing stories.

• Optimizing Online Marketing Experiences Through Digital Experimentation

  Speaker: John Dotto, Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing at U.S. Bank
  Time: 2:00 pm – 2:20 pm

  View Session Description

  Financial marketers leave money on the table obsessing over their outbound marketing while often overlooking the critical role of the experience on their campaign landing pages. This session addresses common challenges such as the lack of actionable insights, scientific testing, velocity, and compliance issues that hinder growth. Learn how U.S. Bank is overcoming these barriers to drive acquisition success with actionable insights and real-world strategies to help you unlock growth, enhance user engagement, and maximize ROI.

• Turbocharging the Business Lending Pipeline

  Speaker: John Huntinghouse, VP of Marketing at TAB Bank
  Time: 2:25 pm – 2:45 pm

  View Session Description

  TAB Bank’s business lending portfolio was hitting a wall as ROI remained flat. In this case study, you’ll see how TAB Bank built detailed personas utilizing advanced data science tools to create a multi-phase digital marketing campaign. By retargeting business prospects with ads at multiple stages in the sales funnel, TAB Bank achieved a 7.5x overall ROI with a 74% YoY increase in their sales pipeline while decreasing their cost per lead by 53%.

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Juniper Ballrooms

• Scaling Gen AI Responsibly: Steps to Establish Responsible AI

  Speaker: John Ratzan, Senior Managing Director Accenture at Accenture
  Location: Juniper 1

  View Session Description

  With the enthusiasm and significant investment in generative AI use cases and pilots over the past year, many financial institutions have realized that to effectively deploy generative AI at scale, they need to have responsible AI governance and controls in place.

  Join us for a session that will cover some of the critical prerequisites for technology, data, talent and responsible AI to leverage the capabilities of generative AI.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Techniques to mitigate AI hallucinations and enable transparency and explainability in AI models
  • Best practices from leading banks for model validation and monitoring
  • How to ensure data privacy, mitigate AI model bias, and maintain operational resilience in case of issues
  • Key governance and accountability controls to implement

• Retail Deposit Growth Playbook: Adaptive Strategies for Evolving Customer Expectations

  Speaker: Gaurav Bhatia, CMO & Head of Retail Deposits of PenFed CU
  Location: Juniper 2+3

  View Session Description

  The battle for retail deposits is fierce. To thrive in this competitive environment, banks and credit unions must adopt a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy that efficiently attracts deposits while effectively maximizing customer retention.

  Learn how to adapt to customers’ evolving needs amid this intensifying competition for deposits. With valuable insights into consumer behavior, customer preferences, and depositors’ expectations, this session will show you how to leverage all the tools in the deposit growth playbook — from data analytics and pricing strategies, to marketing and digital innovations.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to reach a wider audience, engage potential depositors, and significantly increase conversion rates
  • How to maintain competitiveness and profitability with dynamic pricing strategies that balance rates, fees, balance requirements based on market conditions and customer behavior
  • How to identify high-value segments, understand their financial needs, and structure products accordingly
  • Strategies to personalize deposit-focused marketing messages that are tailored to individual customer preferences
  • How to optimize effective marketing campaigns in digital channels for deposit growth, including social media, email, and SEO

• Harnessing Emerging Technologies as Catalysts for Growth

  Speaker: Surjit Chana, Technology Executive & Harvard Fellow & Bank Board Director at Harvard & Beneficial State Bank
  Location: Juniper 4

  View Session Description

  Emerging technologies are revolutionizing the retail banking space, rapidly reshaping consumers’ expectations and how they interact with financial institutions.

  This session will take a comprehensive look at the significant opportunities and the complex challenges of key emerging technologies. You’ll understand how these massive technological leaps are completely disrupting traditional banking models, forcing financial institutions to adapt at speed and scale.

  You’ll see use cases and real-world applications showcasing how emerging technologies can be effectively deployed to systematically to maximize their impact.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How emerging technologies like like AI, generative AI, blockchain, and quantum computing are lowering costs, increasing revenues, and uncovering new opportunities
  • A strategic roadmap focused on adapting business models to leverage emerging technologies
  • How to ensure your core systems and data infrastructure are robust, scalable, and capable of supporting advanced technological deployments
  • Ethical considerations and safeguards that must be in place when utilizing AI and other emerging technologies
  • How new innovations and transformative technologies are reimagining customer engagement and enhancing customer interactions

Aria West Conference Center | Level 1 | Bristlecone Ballroom Stage

Short, 20-minute case studies presented directly by bank and credit union executives showcasing their most innovative growth strategies and breakthrough marketing stories.

• Competing at the Speed of Digital: How One Regional Stepped Up Its Game

  Speaker: Sumant Pustake, EVP, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Berkshire Bank
  Time: 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm

  View Session Description

  See how a 200-year-old regional player competes with megabanks and nimble digital competitors by conceiving and launching a brand-new digital banking platform called Berkshire One in just four months. Hear how the Berkshire team successfully juggled multiple challenges — from orchestrating a portfolio of specialized vendors and partners, to reassuring internal teams and external stakeholders — all without smudging its existing, community-focused brand.

• Tellerless Branches: Improving CX Through Digital Transformation

  Speaker: David Eldred, Chief Experience Officer of Solarity Credit Union
  Time: 3:25 pm – 3:45 pm

  View Session Description

  Explore how Solarity leveraged data analytics to power a new segmentation strategy as they radically redesigned their service delivery model. Learn how Solarity not only anticipated but strategically managed consumer behaviors and preferences as they pursued the transformative journey to a completely tellerless experience. This case study will provide invaluable insights critical for banking executives looking to future-proof their institution in the Digital Age as they balance technological advancements with personalized service.

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Juniper Ballrooms

• Beyond Google: Digital Marketing Strategies for the New Realities of AI-Powered Search

  Speaker: Wil Reynolds, Founder of Seer Interactive
  Location: Juniper 1

  View Session Description

  The online traffic financial institutions once got from Google is drying up. Why? Because Google has abandoned the old rules of online search, choking off your pageviews along with it. What worked in 2020 simply doesn’t work anymore. This raises the real question: Does Google even matter anymore?

  In this session, you’ll see how your digital marketing strategy need to adapt as consumers increasingly turn to AI platforms like ChatGPT to find the answers they need, and find out why banking is most likely to be disrupted by this move to AI search.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How your marketing and acquisition strategy is impacted by massive shifts in digital channels
  • How changes in consumers’ digital behaviors are disintermediating Google, and how consumers are really getting their banking advice now
  • How to track your visibility in AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, and why smaller banks might do especially better in this world than they did with Google
  • How to catch competitors using low-quality AI tools to generate content, and how to make sure you don’t replicate their mistakes and break out of this ‘sea of sameness’

• Titans of Deposits: Best Practices for Unlocking Growth

  Speaker: Nathanial Harley, CEO & Co-Founder of MANTL
  Location: Juniper 2+3

  View Session Description

  Deposits are a critical strategic priority for retail banking providers. But how will financial institutions grow deposits in 2025 as they navigate the shifting rate landscape and tricky macroenvironment?

  In this session, you’ll learn best practices from banks and credit unions that are generating billions in new deposits across a wide range of asset sizes. You’ll see how these “Titans of Deposits” are finding success in an increasingly aggressive deposit-gathering market, including tips for increasing customer LTV, deepening wallet share, and improving customer retention.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to overcome major deposit growth obstacles in 2025 without relying solely on APY-centric offers
  • Digital marketing and acquisition strategies — from national to local — to attract diversified deposits at an attractive price per dollar
  • Key benchmarks to evaluate the ROI efficiency of your deposit strategy, including tech and marketing spend
  • The role automation should play in the business deposit account opening process to raise commercial deposits at scale
  • How to optimize touchpoints for deposit growth by turning service channels like branches and call centers into sales channels
  • Table stakes for account opening technology in 2025, and how to overcome legacy infrastructure challenges

• Fusing Marketing Strategy with Next-Gen Tech to Personalize Digital-Banking Experiences

  Speaker: Carlos Carvajal, CMO of Q2
  Location: Juniper 4

  View Session Description

  Relationships that were once built and nurtured offline continue migrating deeper into the digital-first world. Facing this relentless pace of innovation, financial institutions must now fuse new technologies with proven marketing tactics in order to deliver deep, personal touchpoints that drive results.

  In this session, you’ll learn how to align successful marketing strategies with the latest technological advancements, including a clear roadmap to forge deeper digital relationships and future-proof your brand.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to integrate proven marketing strategies with modern technologies and new digital banking innovations
  • How to effectively leverage AI and data analytics for personalized marketing, predictive analytics, and customer service automation
  • How to map and optimize the customer journey, with real-world examples of marketing strategies that personalize digital banking experiences
  • How to elevate, align and differentiate the brand experience you deliver across branch and digital channels
  • Tactics that will attract and engage younger generations

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Starvine Ballrooms

Open to bank and credit union attendees only. Enjoy a gourmet breakfast buffet as the banking industry’s most experienced solutions providers explore the latest trends and insights in these educational sessions. No RSVP required, but seating is available on a first-come basis so arrive early to guarantee your spot.

• Using Behavioral Science to Drive Growth & Loyalty with Emotionally Intelligent Banking

  Speaker: Michael Stojda, CEO of Exagens
  Location: Starvine 1+2
  Sponsor: Exagens

  View Session Description

  This session will show you how to identify low-cost tweaks across your digital and physical channels that will turn disconnected customer interactions into seamless, memorable experiences. Using behavioral science and psychological insights, you’ll see how to rethink customer journeys, simplify complex processes, and build a roadmap that enhances CX. Includes real-world success stories from fellow bankers.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to create cost-effective, human-centered solutions with “Behavioral Banking”
  • Practical tactics to humanize digital banking and strengthen customer relationships
  • How to turn digital engagement into moments of real connection in ways that resonate deeply

• Advisory vs. Transactional Service: How One FI Leverages Technology to Differentiate their Brand, Service, & Experience

  Speakers:
  – Samantha Hess, Chief Operations Officer at United Heritage Credit Union
  – Deena Massa, Vice President of Branch Operations
  – Kurt Klassen, Executive Vice President at LEVEL5
  Location: Starvine 3+4
  Sponsor: LEVEL5

  View Session Description

  The layers involved with leading and implementing any kind of change throughout a branch network can be daunting. Add to that the layers of complexity that are a part of selecting and implementing new technologies and you have potential for a disaster that could damage your institution’s brand, staff morale, and customer experience. How can you navigate this potential minefield to define the technology changes that are right for your organization and lead through the change process effectively?

  United Heritage Credit Union had a strong brand in their markets and a range of branch types that had served customers well for many years. Samantha Hess and Deena Massa, with their roles on the leadership team focused on Digital Services for many years, have led the effort to upgrade United Heritage’s in-branch and online technology to deliver an enhanced customer experience. Through a deep understanding of both United Heritage’s brand strengths and day-to-day branch operations, Samantha, Deena, and the United Heritage team have made sweeping upgrades to the technology implemented across their branch network. Not only that, but Samantha and Deena have provided effective change management leadership in a way that has maximized adoption and reduced friction for both staff and customers.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Key factors driving the decision to migrate to a tellerless branch model, shifting from a focus on transactional to advisory services
  • The most important questions to answer when considering new technologies
  • How a clear understanding of both current and desired states informed technology being implemented now and in the future
  • How to optimize branch efficiency while enhancing the customer experience
  • To integrate brand differentiation into technology decision-making and change management
  • Insights United Heritage has learned throughout their technology upgrade journey

• Behind the Scenes: What Leaders Need to Know to Make Digital Banking Succeed

  Speakers:
  – Scott Lieberman, US Customer Advisory Leader at KPMG
  – Anand Shah, U.S. Banking Solutions Leader at KPMG
  Location: Starvine 6+7
  Sponsor: KPMG

  View Session Description

  Learn how to support your institution’s strategic vision for the future of digital banking while navigating market uncertainties. Through real-world case studies, attendees will gain actionable strategies for integrating advanced digital technologies and driving operational efficiency across front-office functions. This session is designed to equip senior leadership teams with the insights needed to foster sustainable growth throughout the customer lifecycle by effectively managing digital transformation initiatives across marketing, sales, service, and CX.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to anticipate and prepare for emerging trends and identify key investment areas that can unlock sustainable growth and create a competitive advantage
  • How to break the cycle of reactivity through improved business- and operating models that support current needs with the flexibility to support technology advancements
  • How to lead successful digital transformations, grounded in industry leading practices and informed by real-world case studies

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Starvine Ballrooms

Open to bank and credit union attendees only. Enjoy a gourmet lunch buffet as the banking industry’s most experienced solutions providers explore the latest trends and insights in these educational sessions. No RSVP required, but seating is available on a first-come basis so arrive early to guarantee your spot.

• Extracting Actionable Insights from Endless Data to Drive Predictable Growth

  Speakers:
  – Kurt Klassen, EVP at LEVEL5
  – Fabio Biasella, Director of Strategic Services at Engage Fi
  Location: Starvine 1+2
  Sponsor: LEVEL5

  View Session Description

  Financial institutions today are swimming in data. But how do you know if you’re looking at the right data? Even if you’re looking at the right data, how do you extract the most important, actionable insights to drive loan and deposit growth? And where does AI fit in? Unfortunately there’s no silver bullet, and it’s always changing — every quarter, every year. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and fall back on methodologies or approaches that worked 10, 20, or 30 years ago, hoping for results. But as we all know, hope is not a strategy.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Common mistakes community banks and credit unions make when developing data-driven strategies
  • How to develop ideal customer personas that inform everything from branch site selection and tech decisions, to staffing requirements and marketing strategy
  • Where and how data-backed insights should directly impact your branch experience

• From Chaos to Confidence: How to Navigate the Next Wave of Market Disruption

  Speaker: Brianne Santos, EVP/Client Success at Kasasa
  Location: Starvine 3+4
  Sponsor: Kasasa

  View Session Description

  With interest rates in flux and economic uncertainty on the horizon, the challenges and opportunities facing community institutions echo those of the early 1980s and 2000s. What lessons can we draw from those historical cycles to inform smarter decisions today? In this session, we’ll explore how financial institutions navigated similar periods of market disruption, identifying the strategies that drove their success, and the pitfalls that hindered their progress.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Practical insights to adapt, build resilience, and position your institution for long-term success in an evolving financial landscape
  • How to avoid common missteps that can lead to unnecessary losses during periods of uncertainty
  • Proactively respond to shifting interest rates and consumer behaviors with data-driven insights

Aria West Conference Center | Level 1 | Bristlecone Ballroom Stage

Short, 20-minute case studies presented directly by bank and credit union executives showcasing their most innovative growth strategies and breakthrough marketing stories.

• Geotargeting & Segmentation Strategies for Acquisition & Growth

  Speaker: Danielle Herd Webb, Evp/chief Retail Officer at Texas Bank & Trust
  Time: 1:00 pm – 1:20 pm

  View Session Description

  Most financial marketers rely on demographic data when building a marketing segmentation strategy. Not Texas Bank & Trust. They use a sophisticated geotargeting model built around account data to identify lookalikes with high-probability conversion rates. See how this multi-channel marketing strategy — coupled with referrals, improved onboarding, and front-line execution — has yielded a significant 30% increase in core customer growth across both business and retail checking portfolios.

• Attracting & Retaining Next-Gen Retail Customers

  Speaker: Emily Abbas, Evp/chief Consumer Banking & Marketing Officer at Bankers Trust
  Time: 1:25 pm – 1:45 pm

  View Session Description

  Facing an aging demographic, Bankers Trust launched a comprehensive research initiative to uncover switching triggers, pain points, tech trends and CX preferences for “next generation” consumers ages 20-40. In this case study, you’ll see how a wide range of low- and no-cost research solutions — from quantitative studies and qualitative focus groups, to mining customer data and internal employee surveys — can uncover critical insights that will impact your strategic plan as you build a road map for growth, acquisition, and retention.

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Juniper Ballrooms

• The Hidden Growth Engine: Internal Marketing to Drive Brand Advocacy & Revenue Growth

  Speaker: Kerry-Ann Stimpson, CMO of JMMB
  Location: Juniper 1

  View Session Description

  The best brand ambassadors aren’t customers, they are your own employees. But great employee advocates aren’t born, they’re made. That’s why financial brands need to ‘market’ to their employees internally the same way they market to consumers externally, if not more so.

  In this session, you’ll learn how to implement a framework for a successful employee brand advocacy program that drives deposits and loans, and how to affect behavioral shifts in employees that enable them to become your brand’s raving fans.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Techniques to audit employee alignment with your brand, and how to identify areas for improvement
  • How to implement creative internal advertising campaigns, branch roadshows, and promote internal brand ambassadors
  • Effective onboarding, training, and developmental programs that sensitize employees to your brand’s mission and purpose
  • Methods and metrics to measure the impact of internal marketing, and the KPIs to get buy-in from executive leadership teams

• Branch Renaissance: Driving Acquisition, Cross-Selling & Engagement

  Speaker: Juliet D’Ambrosio, Chief Experience Officer of Adrenaline
  Location: Juniper 2+3

  View Session Description

  Consumers are using branches today more than any other channel to open accounts and acquire new products, and financial institutions investing in branches report above-average growth rates between 6–10%. In fact, three out of four consumers — including Gen Z — say branch access is critical when choosing their PFI, and Gen Z consumers are now using branches 3x more frequently than Baby Boomers.

  Don’t miss this session examining the critical role branches play in today’s delivery strategy, and learn how to mitigate risks and harness opportunity from your retail network. This presentation will arm you with the right questions to ask, factors to consider, and how to get started on a future-proof branch strategy.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to use data to create and optimize your strategic retail branch delivery roadmap
  • How to use “zonal planning,” experience design, merchandising, staff, and a “kit of parts” to choreograph customer journeys and optimize the experience
  • How to integrate and leverage smarter technology into your branch environments
  • How to maximize the effectiveness of in-branch marketing and brand content by orchestrating the right delivery of the right message at the right place and time
  • How to optimize your video content and manage your playlist according to cadence, frequency, and market segmentation

• Fueling Growth, Engagement and Retention Through Digital Financial Wellness Programs

  Speakers: Scott Gardner, Founder & Partner (former head of Search & Content at Bank of America; helped launch Better Money Habits) Formerly at BofA and Joanne Ojeda, VP & Consumer Thought Leadership and Financial Education at Truist
  Location: Juniper 4

  View Session Description

  Join this session for insights, industry trends, and success stories showing how banking providers generate measurable ROI from their financial guidance initiatives. You’ll see specific examples of various content activations through targeted distribution channels (i.e., organic search, social, email), showing how to position your institution as a trusted financial guide for consumers.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to build your online financial wellness program around empathetic, actionable, purpose-driven digital content and achieve tangible business outcomes
  • How personalized financial guidance can deepen relationships, increase lifetime value, and reduce churn
  • How providing digital financial tools and guidance can be used to prospect for user intent, attract new customers, and fill your sales pipeline
  • How empathetic financial guidance can serve as a strategic lever to enhance loyalty and drive brand differentiation
  • How to track and measure the impact of financial guidance initiatives to ensure alignment with your organization’s growth goals
  • Actionable strategies to boost search engine visibility and improve search rankings with content focused on financial advice and wellness

Aria West Conference Center | Level 1 | Bristlecone Ballroom Stage

Short, 20-minute case studies presented directly by bank and credit union executives showcasing their most innovative growth strategies and breakthrough marketing stories.

• Generative AI Roadmap to Amplify Marketing Efficiency

  Speaker: Jennifer Sobotta, Marketing Director at Forward Bank
  Time: 2:00 pm – 2:20 pm

  View Session Description

  See how Forward Bank utilizes AI to achieve operational efficiencies, enhance productivity, and uncover new opportunities. You’ll see how the bank leverages AI for sentiment and motivational analysis to define target personas that optimize conversions as you explore a range of AI tools — ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, ElevenLabs, Perplexity, NotebookLM — along with a “prompt library” accelerates adoption. But Forward Bank’s adoption of AI goes well beyond marketing, touching every department — from simplifying complex, data-intensive, repetitive tasks, to AI-generated staff onboarding and training videos.

• Harnessing AI to Personalize Cx in Digital Channels

  Speaker: Dan Westhues, CMO & Evp of Central Bank
  Time: 2:25 pm – 2:45 pm

  View Session Description

  Learn how to effectively leverage AI to deliver hyper-personalized, proactive financial insights, advice, and guidance tailored to each customer’s financial situation and goals. Discover practical strategies for evolving mobile banking beyond transactions into a “personalized advisory” platform that replicates a high-touch branch experience. Based on over 16 million AI-powered insights generated with a stellar 4.55 user rating, you’ll see real-world examples of how to transform traditional product cross-selling into contextual, value-driven customer engagement.

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Juniper Ballrooms

• The Secret Financial Lives of Americans in 2025

  Speakers: Ben Zeidler and Gunny Scarfo, Co-Founders of Nonfiction
  Location: Juniper 1

  View Session Description

  Based on a groundbreaking study exploring the hidden realities of Americans’ finances, this session examines the deep disconnect between the public personas that people project and the financial realities they privately face, revealing significant gaps in the banking industry. You’ll take an uncensored look into the double lives people lead when it comes to their finances, and uncover the emotional and practical challenges they face regarding money. With fresh insights for 2025, banking leaders will see new potential revenue streams and learn new marketing strategies to help people with these unspoken needs.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Eight major financial needs of Americans that are often ignored and largely unaddressed
  • The harmful habits and adverse behaviors people struggle with that fuel their financial stress and insecurity
  • What Americans want from their banking providers — and what they are willing to pay for, but which aren’t being offered
  • How financial institutions can innovate in both small and large ways to meet the needs today’s consumers

• Digital + Human: Delivery Strategies for the Next-Gen Branch Experience

  Speaker: EJ Kritz, Executive Experience Officer at DBSI
  Location: Juniper 2+3

  View Session Description

  Next-gen branch models prioritize the human experience while seamlessly integrating cutting-edge innovations to achieve a strategic balance between engagement and advanced digital technologies. This session will give you actionable insights, forward-thinking strategies, real-world examples and case studies highlighting the right blend of touch and tech you need to keep pace with consumers’ evolving expectations.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to design branch environments and engineer staffing models that foster meaningful connections and streamline customer journeys in today’s increasingly digital world
  • How fintech partnerships and differentiated branch concepts are turning traditional HR models upside down
  • Tools that facilitate human interactions within the context of innovative retail branch concepts
  • Reasons why your “top performing employees” might be your biggest enemy, and methods to rethink in-branch staffing personas
  • How HR can support your retail growth strategy when recruiting and hiring branch staff with lessons found in the grocery store cereal aisle
  • How innovative quick-service restaurants and influential retailers are inspiring new branch delivery concepts in banking

• Forum 2025 Growth Strategies: Turning Ideas Into Action

  Speaker: James Robert Lay, Founder/CEO of DGI
  Location: Juniper 4

  View Session Description

  Everyone who attends The Financial Brand Forum typically heads home with pages full of notes brimming with big ideas, innovative strategies, and new opportunities. But how do you synthesize all these transformational concepts into your institution’s strategic growth plan? When you get back to the office, how will you help your team embrace and adopt everything you’ve learned?

  This session will show you how to navigate the complexities of change within your organization to unlock new exponential levels of growth. You’ll learn how to turn quickly turn Forum 2025 insights into action, with practical tools and strategies you can implement immediately.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • Practical tools and a growth framework that empowers teams to adapt quickly to emerging trends and new technologies
  • How to inspire your team to adopt a fresh perspective, resist inertia, and break free from their status quo routines
  • How to get your entire organization to embrace change, and maximize the return on your investment of time and money at the Forum 2025
  • The critical role Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Adaptability Quotient (AQ) play when leading teams through complex change
  • How to leverage connections with other Forum attendees and ensure success after the event

Aria West Conference Center | Level 3 | Juniper Ballrooms

• The Power of Your People: Driving Business Outcomes Through Employee Advocacy in Social Channels

  Speaker: Mark McDonnell, Enterprise Acquisition Leader at Hootsuite
  Location: Juniper 1

  View Session Description

  Want to empower your team to post on social media, but don’t know where to start? In an industry where trust and reputation are everything, supporting employees to become brand advocates is essential—as long as it’s by the rules. Ultimately, every financial institution should be investing in employee advocacy to share on social platforms (compliantly), build a community, attract new prospects, and retain current relationships.

  Discover the tactical playbook used by financial institutions to harness the power of social media as an employee advocacy platform. Learn how to extend brand reach, attract new customers, and strengthen existing relationships—while saving money on advertising along the way.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • The evolution of employee advocacy programs as a key driver of business results in the financial services industry, and how social selling can drive more leads
  • The emerging social networks that financial services companies should be tapping into in 2025 (or risk leaving revenue on the table)
  • How BOK Financial built a successful employee advocacy program on social channels… and what’s next
  • How banks and credit unions can use LinkedIn to attract and recruit top-tier talent

• Growth Opportunities & Challenges in the Cannabis Banking Market

  Speaker: Delene Gilbert, VP/Cannabis Banking at Prism Bank
  Location: Juniper 2+3

  View Session Description

  In the fast-growing cannabis industry, there are massive opportunities for banking providers willing to step up as trusted financial partners. But this market is not without its challenges.

  This session takes a deep dive into how retail financial institutions can navigate the intricacies of compliance while crafting a powerful go-to-market strategy. We’ll explore how to carve out your niche and engineer a differentiated brand with a value proposition that speaks directly to the cannabis industry’s unique needs.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How to make compliance and transparency core elements of your marketing strategy, and position your expertise as a competitive advantage
  • How to take a proactive approach to regulatory changes and stay ahead in this evolving landscape
  • How to target various subsegments of the cannabis industry — from growers to dispensaries — and craft messages that resonate with each
  • How to leverage data analytics to track trends, target the right segments, and refine your marketing strategies
  • How to leverage partnerships with key players in the cannabis space to co-market your services and offer comprehensive, value-packed solutions

• Instant Payments: Riding the Wave Into the Future

  Speaker: Rusiru Gunasena, Senior Vice President & The Clearing House of The Clearing House
  Location: Juniper 4

  View Session Description

  Instant payments are set to explode, catapulting from $22 trillion to $58 trillion by 2028. Join a panel of leading experts from the payments space as they explain what retail financial institutions need to know to capitalize on upcoming trends in the instant payment landscape.

  The session will outline key use cases for customers — from merchant funding and digital wallets, to payroll and real estate transactions — highlighting key trends, opportunities, and specific segments to target that will accelerate adoption of instant payments.

  This session will teach banking executives:

  • How retail financial institutions can connect to the RTP network and make instant payments work
  • How instant payments allow for a faster, more seamless experience, and reduce uncertainty over potential fraud
  • When we can anticipate U.S. cross-border instant payments, and how this innovation will revolutionize international payments
  • The future of Request for Payment (RfP) capabilities
  • How instant payments are being used by SMBs to increase cash flow and decrease payment delays