Speakers

Adam Goller

EVP, Head of FinTech Banking Cross River

Adam is EVP, Head of Fintech Banking at Cross River, where he is responsible for the company's Fintech Banking products, partnerships and activities. Adam joined Cross River at its inception in 2008 and held the role of Chief Credit Officer at the bank for its first 12 years where he was responsible for the launch and expansion of Cross River's successful Marketplace Lending program. He previously held positions at Fitch Ratings as an Associate Director, and as Director of Underwriting at First Meridian Mortgage. Adam holds an MBA from Touro College, and a Bachelor of Science from Yeshiva University, both in New York City.

Adam Lowe

Chief Product & Innovation Officer CompoSecure

Adam Lowe is the Chief Product & Innovation Officer at CompoSecure. From the government labs in the defense department to the burgeoning blockchain technology market, Dr. Lowe is on the cutting edge of innovation. Lowe created Arculus, a custom digital security solution to secure customers' payments, authentication, cold storage and digital asset storage to protect against the rapid growth in fraud and theft. Lowe is sending ripples through the industry with the Arculus Secure Authentication solution that gives customers a safe and easy-to-use digital asset ecosystem. He leads a team of engineers and technicians responsible for product development, process innovation and prototype design. Adam also serves as the technical lead, curating and expanding CompoSecure's patent portfolio. Adam joined CompoSecure as a Principal Research Engineer and has held several positions of progressive responsibility. Prior to CompoSecure, Adam held a research development role at SRC Inc., a not-for-profit R&D company supporting the US defense and intelligence communities. There, Adam led the company's Biotechnology Advanced Technology Initiative, guiding a team developing classified technology.

Adam Shapiro

Managing Director Klaros Group

Adam is a leading expert on financial innovation, with a particular focus on helping clients find solutionsthat meet their business objectives while maintaining strong regulatory compliance and riskmanagement. Adam has a track record of helping clients successfully achieve difficult goals, such asgaining bank charters with non-traditional business models and scaling cryptocurrency businesses in theface of regulatory uncertainty.

Adam was previously Head of Strategy and Chief Control Officer for BBVA'sOpen Platform, where heplayed a key role in the design and launch of ground-breaking Banking as a Service platforms in the U.S.and Spain. Previously, Adam built and led Promontory Financial Group’s fintech practice, working withcryptocurrency firms, online payments companies, innovative lenders, banks and traditional firmsimplementing new financial technologies, as well as technology service providers to the financialservices industry. Prior to joining Promontory, Adam served at the U.K. Financial Services Authority,where among other roles he led the Retail Risk Team, developed the FSA’s Treating Customers Fairly andProduct Risk Framework initiatives, was Private Secretary to the Chairman, and developed U.K. policy onhedge funds.

Alex Pelin

Founder The Financial Club

Alex Pelin is a fintech innovator and community builder who founded the Financial Club and established the intimate Fintech Retreat and DeFi Retreat gatherings. His extensive network spans leading fintech companies, venture capital firms, financial institutions, and government agencies across North America, Europe, APAC, and LATAM.

As a fintech entrepreneur, Alex founded a startup that introduced modern financial tools for the US Rental market and launched the first digital bank specifically designed for US renters, with a mission to improve housing accessibility. His expertise encompasses payments, lending products, open banking, digital banking, banking-as-a-service, and digital assets.

Alexandre Gonthier

Founder & CEO Trustly

Alex is the Founder & CEO of Trustly, Inc., the successor to PayWithMyBank, Inc., which he started incubating in 2011 in New York, founded in 2012 in Silicon Valley, and merged with European-based Trustly AB in 2019. Alex is from Switzerland, so it's no surprise he's a money expert. Since 1997, he has been a founder and entrepreneur, building several successful payments companies. Prior to PayWithMyBank/Trustly, Alex was CEO and co-founder of iPIN (acquired by Aepona and, subsequently, by Intel Corp.), a leading digital payments platform for Visa, Wells Fargo, HSBC, AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Orange, BT, and GM. Alex was also the CTO of mobile payments company Paymo, which merged with Boku (LON: BOKU), the global leader in carrier billing-based mobile payments fueling customers like Amazon, Apple, EA, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Sky, Spotify, Tencent, and Sony. As CEO and Director of digital ticketing platforms Trinity Mobile and Ticketscript (now part of Eventbrite, NYSE: EB), he learned firsthand about payments from the merchant acceptance perspective. Alex was previously an Advisor to private equity firm 3i (LON: III) and a Venture Partner at venture capital firm Wellington Partners in London, with investments including BuyVIP, acquired by Amazon, and Ruckus Wireless, which went public on Nasdaq and is now part of ARRIS (NASDAQ: ARRS).

Anita C. Roberts

MD Silicon Hills Capital

Anita C. Roberts is an inspiring minority tech ecosystem builder and international speaker. She's aForbes lister, innovator, entrepreneur, and media maven on a mission to create positive economicchange for minorities and women in tech. She has held multiple executive and senior-level positions andserved as an army executive spokesperson and civilian public relations/marketing guru.

Currently, Anita is Managing Partner of Silicon Hills Capital and a Founding Partner of mvmt inc., twoventure firms focused on bridging the gap to venture capital for underrepresented founders. Throughthese funds, Anita helps build scalable, growth aggressive companies that create accessible technologiesto empower millions of people to live healthier, happier, and more productive lives. Anita also createdMade Media Group, a nonprofit organization that empowers and educates African American businessowners to build sustainable wealth, promote cultural relevance, and uplift their communities througheconomic equity.

Arman Carretta

Partner Goodwin Procter

Arman Carretta is a partner in Goodwin’s Technology practice, where he represents startups, growthcompanies, venture capitalists and growth investors. Mr. Carretta guides companies throughout theirlifecycle, from formation and financings through exit planning. He has led financing and M&Atransactions for companies in a wide variety of industries, including technology, fintech, proptech,crypto and web3, software and consumer products. He regularly advises companies on companyformation and structuring, general corporate counseling, corporate governance, capital raising andmergers and acquisitions. Mr. Carretta also represents venture capital and private equity firms, as wellas strategic acquirers in connection with their investments and M&A transactions.

Arvind Purushotham

Global Head of Citi Ventures Citi

Arvind Purushothamis the Global Head of Citi Ventures. He leads the team’s efforts to catalyzeinnovation and accelerate growth across Citi by bringing the outside in, convening stakeholders, helpingbuild new capabilities, and delivering thought leadership throughout boththe bank and the finance andtech ecosystems.

Arvind oversees all of Citi Ventures’ investing activities and partners with both Citi colleagues andleading startups to bring cutting-edge technologies and capabilities to Citi’s businesses and functions.

In addition, he advises the Citi Impact Fund, which invests in "double bottom line" U.S.-based privatesector companies that are helping address some of society's most pressing challenges.

Prior to Citi, Arvind spent nearly a decade as a Managing Director at Menlo Ventures, where he was aninvestor and Board member at companies including Kazeon Systems, Cavium Networks, Solidcore,nCircle Network Security, Intelligent Results, and Vhayu Technologies. Previously, Arvind was a designengineer and a ProgramManager at Intel Corporation.

Arvind obtained his BSEE from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, an MSEE from Case WesternReserve University, and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. He enjoys running,photography, and reading inhis spare time. Arvind is passionate about golf—a passion, sadly, that hisskill level does not match. He lives in Palo Alto, CA with his wife, two sons, and their black lab Rocky.

Benjamin Fernandes

Founder & CEO NALA

Benjamin Fernandes is an award-winning Tanzanian speaker and entrepreneur. Benjamin grew up in Tanzania then earned scholarships that took him to America for the first time at the age of 17. At age 21, Benjamin was the youngest African in history to ever be accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Fernandes was previously a national television personality in Tanzania. After that, he worked at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States. Fernandes founded NALA, a fintech startup that is on a mission to build payments for the next billion. NALA operates across 21 countries in Europe, the US and the UK with nearly 150 employees. In 2024, NALA recently became profitable. NALA recently raised a $40m Series A, backed by leading US investors such as Y- Combinator, Accel, Acrew, Amplo and Bessemer Partners.In 2020, Fernandes was listed as the 15th most influential Tanzanian.

In 2022, Fernandes was listed in the inaugural ROW100 most influential technology leaders in the world. In 2023, Fernandes was listed on the Top 100 Changemakers list for Africa. In 2024, Forbes online featured Fernandes on their daily cover with a cover story.

Benjamin Maxim

Chief Innovation Officer MSUFCU

Ben Maxim joined MSU Federal Credit Union in 2007 and currently serves in a dual role as ChiefInnovation Officer for MSUFCU and as Chief Operating Officer for MSUFCU’s wholly-owned CUSO Reseda Group. He is responsible for assessing emerging businesstrends and technologies, providing strategic direction for existing and future products and services, and facilitating innovation throughout the Credit Union including leading their innovation center The Lab at MSUFCU. He is also responsible for technology, product, growth and sales at Reseda Group. Maxim began work initially as a Web Developerand in 2014, he became E-Commerce Manager before moving into roles including Assistant Vice President of Software Development. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a professional certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship from Stanford University. Maxim was honored as Finopotamus’s 2022 Tekkie Awards Technologist of the Year, MCUL's 2024 Professional of the Year, CU Times’s 2024 LuminaryFinalist-“Innovation in Tech–CTO/CIO of the Year”. Maxim completed Filene Research Institute’s innovation leadership program, i3, in 2023. He also serves as an advisor and board member to multiple fintechs.

Brandt Smallwood

Chief Strategy Officer Bilt Rewards

Brandt Smallwood, Chief Strategy Officer, Bilt Rewards

Brandt is Chief Strategy Officer, with responsibility for Bilt’s loyalty program andpartnerships as well as its consumer finance offerings, including the award winning,Wells Fargo issued, BiltMastercard. Prior to joining Bilt, Brandt spent close to a decadein financial services in a variety of roles. First, as an investment banker in the FinancialInstitutions Group at Goldman Sachs, then as a founding team member and Chief ofStaff to the CEOand COO of Marcus: By Goldman Sachs and most recently as afounding team member and investment banker of the Financial Services Group atCenterview Partners, where he was a Principal. Brandt holds a B.A. in Economics andPolitical Science from Columbia University

Brian Foley

Managing Director Silicon Valley Bank

Brian is a market manager and one of the leaders of SVB’s National Fintech practice. He is in charge ofboth relationship management and warehouse lending for fintech. Brian joined SVB in 2019 and hasover 20 years of experience in structuring and executing warehouse, asset-based securities and otherstructured products. Previous to SVB, Brian spent seven years at Macquarie Group as a managingdirector in their Credit Markets Division.

Prior to that, he was a director at Bank of America. Brian earned a BBA in Accounting from the Universityof Notre Dame. He also earned an MBA in Financial Engineering from the MIT Sloan School ofManagement. In 2021, Brian was awarded the SVB Core Values Award, a distinction that recognizesSVBers who go above and beyond intheir practice of SVB values.

Brian lives in the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife and two children. He enjoys running,having completed 9 marathons, as well as a dedicated passion for Bruce Springsteen’s music and rootingfor the Cleveland Browns, Guardians and Cavs.

Brooke Major-Reid

Chief Capital Officer Affirm

Brooke Major-Reid serves as the Chief Capital Officer at Affirm, where she is responsible for the Company's Capital Markets, Treasury, Bank Partnerships, and Quantitative Markets teams. Prior to joining Affirm, Brooke was the Corporate Treasurer of Macy's,Inc., the omnichannel retailer. She is a seasoned finance and strategy professional who also successfully led short-term credit products businesses, among other senior roles, at Morgan Stanley where she worked for over 15 years. Before joining Macy's in 2019, Brooke was SVP, Head of Strategy at Cross River. She founded BEAMR Group Inc. in 2015, providing strategic and financial advice to startups, with a focus on women and minority-founded enterprises. She currently serves as a board member for Uncommon Schools, a nonprofit charter school management organization, and previously served as a corporate board member for Anaplan, Inc., which was acquired by Thoma Bravo in 2022.

Carolyn Rodz

Co-Founder & CEO Hello Alice

Carolyn Rodz, a three-time award-winning entrepreneur from Bolivia, is the co-founder and CEO of Hello Alice, a free platform that provides business owners with access to funding, networks, and services through data-driven technology. Hello Alice supports over a million companies globally, building one of the largest entrepreneurial communities in the U.S. Carolyn has been recognized as one of Inc. Magazine's "17 Women to Watch," named Hispanic CEO of the Year by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and testified before the U.S. Congressional House Small Business Committee. She has also co-chaired Houston's Women and Minority Small Business Task Force and been featured in major outlets like Inc., Forbes, and Fortune.

Catherine Porter

Chief Business Officer Prove

Catherine Porter is the Chief Business Officer at Prove, the world's most accurate identity verification and authentication platform used by both tech and traditional finance leaders, from Plaid and Binance to Bank of America and Citi. Catherine has over two decades of experience leading strategy, sales and marketing for consumer and enterprise technology companies, including VP of global partnerships and fintech innovation at Meta, CBO at all-in-one-payment platform Tilia, and various roles at category-leading companies including OpenTable, LinkedIn, Google and Oracle. Catherine is an expert in security and optimization solutions for digital payments and e-commerce;she has considerable international growth experience, with a concentration in Japan's internet and mobile ecosystem.

Chris Brown

President USA Intelygenz, a VASS Company

Chris Brown is a recognized leader in AI-driven enterprise transformation and deep technology innovation, serving as President of Intelygenz USA. With over two decades of experience in applied AI and enterprise automation, Chris specializes in turning AI concepts into productionready solutions that deliver tangible business value and competitive advantage.

As an Official Member of the Forbes Technology Council, Chris is a respected voice in AI strategy and deployment, frequently quoted in leading publications such as Forbes, PYMNTS, Finovate, and American Banker. His expertise spans AI implementation, intelligent automation, predictive analytics, fraud intelligence, and financial technology innovation.

Chris is a sought-after keynote speaker at global AI, fintech, and technology conferences, where he educates enterprises on fast-tracking AI adoption, optimizing AI for ROI, and leveraging AI for sustained growth. Under his leadership, Intelygenz partners with Fortune 500 companies and high-growth businesses to deploy production-ready AI solutions that drive efficiency, reduce costs, and create real-world impact beyond proof-of-concept.

Chris Dean

CEO & Co-Founder Treasury Prime

As CEO and Co-Founder of Treasury Prime, Chris is responsible for all aspects of Treasury Prime's strategy, execution, and operations. Prior to launching Treasury Prime, he served as CTO of "API first" company Standard Treasury. When the startup was acquired by Silicon Valley Bank, he took on the role of CTO of API banking for SVB. Earlier in his career, Chris founded or co-founded software companies including Merced Systems (enterprise software), Kyluka (a consulting firm), and Benefitter (ACA-based health plan.) Chris started his career as technical staff in the Machine Learning Systems Group of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He studied physics at California Institute of Technology.

Chris Fritz

Director Markets & Lending Digital Wells Fargo

Chris is the Director of the Lending and Investment Banking (Capital Markets) Digital Journeys. In this role, he and his team are transforming the wholesale digital journey from a traditional task-based experience into a data-driven, decision-making platform that facilitates simple execution.

The team is employing market and proprietary data with digital design and AI driven workflows to make each user's experience bespoke. Their work is done in partnership with CB and CIB teams as well as with the Treasury, Onboarding, and Self-Service Digital Product Teams. Chris is also a new host of Wells Fargo's Treasury Takeaways podcast with two episodes dropping in Q1.

Chris came to Wells Fargo in 2022 from Charles Schwab where he was the Managing Director of the Digital Trading Experiences. In this role Chris and team defined and delivered a comprehensive and improved digital trading strategy which included the award-winning Schwab Stick Slices and the Digital Trading Redesign.

Christina Tetreault

Deputy Commissioner, California DFPI Office of Financial Technology Innovation (OFTI) California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI)

Christina Tetreault is the Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Financial Technology Innovation within the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. In her role, she oversees engagement with key stakeholders, educates department staff on emerging innovations within the financial industry, and coordinates policy approaches to emerging products and services across the department. Previously, Christina managed the financial policy team for Consumer Reports, which connected her with entrepreneurs, lawmakers, innovation offices, advocates and stakeholders. This role and legal background allowed Christina to act as a spokesperson and liaison with major industry players and shape DFPI's work with emerging issues within the financial services ecosystem. In working with these key stakeholders, Christina has been instrumental in providing education and a platform for innovators to connect with the US’s fifth largest economy and their decision-makers.

Christopher Hollins

Head of Global Product Sales & Delivery SVB, a Division of First Citizens Bank

Christopher Hollins is the Head of Global Product Sales and Delivery at SVB, a division of First CitizensBank, where he has been instrumental in transforming the platform’s solution delivery model to ensurethat SVB’s Commercial Bank innovation economy clients have access to the best partners and Solutionsto solve business challenges and have optimal banking relationships along their journey.Christopher joined SVB in May 2021, bringing with him over 20 years of global marketing, sales andstrategy experience in financial services, mobile telecom, and technology. He has a record of innovationand leadership in iconic, brand led companies such as JPMC, American Express, and AT&T.

In addition to his many career accomplishments, Christopher is also an avid philanthropist who haschampioned multiple initiatives to improve and scale the financial success of entrepreneurs and smallbusiness owners. While at JPMC, Christopher was the Business Banking executive sponsor of Chase’sUnderserved Entrepreneurs project which helps to improve the ability of women and military vets tobecome financially successful business owners. He led the team to focus on ways to leverage broad datasources to improve their credit eligibility and business planning for better bankingrelationships with agoal of improving their meaningful access to credit.Christopher sits on multiple boards including the Board of Directors for the Sickle Cell DiseaseAssociation and the Donald and Winfred Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership.

Christopher is agraduate of Grinnell College and earned an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.Christopher and his family reside in New Jersey.

Clarisse Hagège

CEO Dfns

Clarisse Hagège is the co-founder and CEO of Dfns, a cybersecurity company specialized in walletinfrastructure for web3. In addition to her role at Dfns, she serves on the board of the MPC Alliance,mentors for Techstars Web3 Launchpad, and advises crypto startups at Station F.

Before founding Dfns, Clarisse earned a BSc in Geopolitics and History from Sorbonne, an MSc in Financefrom Sciences Po, and anMSc in Applied Economics from Dauphine University. She then spent ten yearsin investment banking, working for Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Crédit Agricole CIB. At CA-CIB, shewas the youngest person to become Chief of Staff to the CEO and took on various roles, includingresearch analyst, wealth management, and global coverage. She also initiated the bank's first hydrogenfinancing project.Today, Clarisse lives with her partner, Christopher, and their two children, splitting their time betweenNewYork and Paris.

Colin Walsh

Founder & CEO Varo Bank

Colin Walsh is the founder and CEO of Varo Bank, the first all-digital, nationally-chartered U.S. consumer techbank built from the ground up to advance the cause of financial inclusion and opportunity for all. Colin is uniquely positioned to lead the digital bank revolution building on his years of experience in consumer banking at large global financial institutions. He led Europe's largest credit and charge card business as an Executive Vice President at American Express. Colin also led the UK's largest mortgage and savings businesses at Lloyds Banking Group, and served as Managing Director for the firm's retail bancassurance, credit, debit and merchant acquiring businesses.

Dan Allred

MD, Fintech HSBC

Dan Allred is Fintech leader and Managing Director for Fintech Banking within the Innovation Banking group at HSBC, a $3 trillion asset bank purpose built for cross-border commerce. He is also a Board Member for FS Vector, a PE-backed company that partners with Fintech companies and Financial Services firms to navigate challenging regulatory and compliance matters. He has also served as an Advisor for Fintech companies like Modern Treasury, a VC-backed programmatic money movement platform for tech companies and partner banks. Previously, he was CEO of the North American business for Liquidity Group, a VC-backed global Fintech company whose machine learning software platform provides algorithmic underwriting and portfolio management solutions for asset managers and lenders. Prior to these roles, he spent 20+ years with Silicon Valley Bank as a group manager leading from the front by directly engaging the most influential clients, prospects, and investors in the market. He held several leadership positions at SVB, including Sr. Market Manager and Head of the US Fintech team where his team banked 72% of the Forbes Fintech 50.

David Cody

Co-Founder & Co-CEO Newity

Champion for America’s entrepreneurs, helping over 120,000 businesses access $11.4 billion in SBAloans30+ years of Business Development, Asset Management, and Capital Formation ExperienceDavid Cody founded NEWITY to help underserved entrepreneursaccess affordable funding to grow theirbusinesses. With three decades of asset management, business development, and capital formationexperience, David was eager to bring his Wall Street knowledge to Main Street and utilize technology toreach small businesses throughout the US.

As Co-CEO, David provides strategic guidance for NEWITY. David’s proven track record of identifyingmarket dislocations and developing successful businesses around them provides traction to build uponNEWITY’s success to date. David’s ability to think big-picture and spearhead partnerships enriches thedepth and breadth of NEWITY’s offerings.

Leader at Galway Advisors, Fortress Investment Group, and Matlin Patterson Asset Management L.P.David has had direct or secondary involvement in the development of more than 300 asset managementproducts. He also has capital formation and distribution experience raising over $50 billion across assetclasses and products in both institutional and retail channels.

David developed new businesses while growing assets under management to more than $40 billion,expanding both the scope and reach during his tenure.

David Watson

President & CEO The Clearing House

David Watson is the President and CEO of The Clearing House. Mr. Watson brings extensive experience to the role, with an international career spanning more than 20 years in the financial services industry. Prior to joining TCH, he was with Swift, the global financial messaging provider, where he most recently served as Chief Product Officer, responsible for the company's product engineering, development, and innovation. Previously, Mr. Watson was Chief Strategy Officer, where he had responsibility for market and competitive intelligence, strategic planning, thought leadership, and execution of key strategic initiatives for the company.

Dominic Venturo

SEVP, Chief Digital Officer U.S. Bank

Dominic Venturo is Senior Executive Vice President and the Chief Digital Officer of U.S. Bancorp. He hasspent the past 26 years with U.S. Bank in positions of increasing responsibility within digital, innovationand product management.

As Chief Digital Officer, Dominic is responsible for setting and executing the enterprise-wide digitalstrategy for U.S. Bank. The Digital team works to empower our customers with excellent digitalexperiences, so they can bank when, where, and how they want, with smart, personalized tools thathelp them manage their money. Under Dominicâ€™s leadership, U.S. Bank has been recognized as aleader in digital banking, including the No.1-rated mobile app in the industry, among numerous otheraccolades for digital mortgage tools, mobile check deposit, user experience and more.

Dominic was Chief Innovation Officer at U.S. Bank from 2015 to 2020. Prior to that, he led theinnovation team for U.S. Bankâ€™s payments division and held a number of other payments-relatedpositions. Dominic also held various roles primarily focusing on Small Business at Bank of America and itspredecessors from 1989 to 1998.An accomplished speaker and industry visionary, Dominic has received numerous awards, includingbeing named to theTop 25 Most Influential Innovators list by Innovation Leader, Elite 8 by Bank Systemsand Technology, Innovators to Watch by Bank Innovation and Mobile Banker of the Year by BankTechnology News.

He has served on the national board of Girls With Impact (GWI), a nonprofit that focuses on leadership,entrepreneurship and innovation. The program helps women ages 14-24 increase their confidence,college readiness and professional skills â€“ expanding the talent pipeline of women, particularlywomen of color,across industries. Dominic has also previously served as a corporate board member forenterprise software firm R3 and was a former board member of the Minneapolis College Foundation.Dominic earned his bachelorâ€™s degree in finance from Oregon State University and is a graduate ofthe Pacific Coast Banking School at University of Washington.

Donald Musso

President FinPro

Donald “Don” Musso founded FinPro, Inc. in 1987 and it has become a nationally known thought leaderin Community Banking. In 2012, Don also formed FinPro Capital Advisors, Inc. as a wholly ownedsubsidiary of FinProto conduct Capital Market and Investment Banking Activities.Don has a diverse background and skillset. In addition to his 37 years of experience at FinPro and FCA,Don has started numerous denovo’s (several as a founder), is a large investor in Community Banks and isa member of various bank boards. He also frequently discusses community bank policy with all of theBanking agencies in Washington DC and has been a driving force on national policy around denovo’s andmost recently on time sequenced liquidity.Don is a recognized expert in value creation for banks, risk management, strategic planning, loan anddeposit growth, corporate governance, asset/liability management, customer segmentation anddelivery alternatives, de novo bank formation andinvestment banking.

Don is a frequent speaker at various trade association functions and taught at various banking schools.He has authored numerous articles and papers on community banking and is frequently quoted invarious banking publications.

He produces the Musso Minute each week on LinkedIn and is an active posteron Community Banking matters.

Don earned a B.S. in Finance from Villanova University and a M.B.A. in Finance from Fairleigh DickinsonUniversity.

Dori Yona

Co-Founder & CEO SimpleClosure

Dori Yona is the founder of SimpleClosure, a company dedicated to helping startup founders navigatethe complexities of shutting down their businesses with ease, efficiency, and trust. After experiencingfirsthand the challenges of winding down a company, he recognized the need for a streamlinedsolutionand set out to build one.In the past year alone, SimpleClosure has helped over 500 companies close down seamlessly, savingfounders time, money, and unnecessary stress. With a background in building and scaling startups, Doriunderstands both the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. He is passionate about creating solutions thateliminate unnecessary friction for founders—whether they’re pivoting, exiting, or launching their nextventure.

Dr. Gail Burgos

Chief Executive Officer Paytech Women

Dr. Gail Burgos is an accomplished diversity and inclusion expert with a distinguished career spanningover two decades in leadership roles at renowned companies. As the former Senior Diversity andInclusion Officer at TSYS and Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at 1st Sentry, Dr.Burgos dedicated her professional life to advocating for greater inclusivity in corporate environments.

Following her 25-year tenure with TSYS, she transitioned into entrepreneurship and founded BurgosConsulting Group, Inc., where she currently serves as the CEO, guiding organizations to enhance theirdiversity strategies and build inclusive cultures.

Edwin Handschuh

CEO 1Konto

Edwin Handschuh is the Co-Founder and CEO of 1Konto, a leading digital asset and FX OTC liquidity provider revolutionizing institutional access to digital finance. Under his leadership, 1Konto launched 1KPrime, a premier OTC liquidity platform delivering deep liquidity, best price execution, and seamless trading for institutional clients. He is also developing Prime Flow, 1Konto’s upcoming automated, real-time cross-border payments solution featuring embedded, composable workflows designed to streamline and accelerate institutional transactions. Once launched, Prime Flow will enable institutions to seamlessly process real-time cross-border payments within their existing operations, offering unparalleled flexibility and efficiency in global financial workflows.

Eileen Holcomb

Head of Sales Engagement - Home Lending Transformation Wells Fargo

Eileen leads the Sales Engagement product team as well as product strategy and business management for Customer Experience, Sales & Services within Home Lending Transformation. She is responsible for building and executing on the Home Lending sales and marketing strategy, defining and managing the end-to-end customer relationship management (CRM) and sales management tool ecosystem while testing out new technologies to drive efficiency.

Prior to this, Eileen led Digital Activation Strategy & Readiness in Commercial, Corporate & Investment Banking Digital (CB CIB Digital), which included driving adoption of our digital solutions through data-driven analyses and strategies, managing Voice of Client & Complaints programming & enabling readiness for new solutions for sales and clients. She joined Wells Fargo in 2022 to lead Product Strategy & FinTech partnerships.

Before joining Wells Fargo, Eileen was the head of Strategy & Transformation in Access Digital Channels at JPMorgan (JPM) focusing on running the investment program, building out the strategic communications and launching the client engagement program. She also led global client experience for Digital Channels in the Corporate & Investment Bank. Prior to that, Eileen was at Bank of America (BoA) leading Strategy, Innovation & Data in Business Banking as well as other strategy and product innovation roles in their treasury and consumer businesses. She joined BoA in an MBA leadership development program. She started her career at E&Y doing financial consulting. She went to Babson College for undergrad and earned her MBA from Boston College.

Erin McCune

Expert Partner Bain & Company

Erin McCune is a payments and fintech expert focused on digitizing enterprise/SMB payments and financial processes. Her areas of focus include: A2A transactions, cross border payments (P2P, B2B, B2C), recurring billing and subscriptions, B2B payments, AR/AP process optimization and the intersection of corporate finance, treasury banking and enterprise software/ERP/accounting.

Currently, Erin is exploring BaaS/embedded finance for business use cases; API enabling A2A; ensuring that "faster payment" and ISO 20022 transform bill pay, B2B, and how SMEs invoice and get paid; the interplay between large companies and their smaller counterparties (whether vendors or customers); addressing transactions and delivering data via directories and digital IDs; payment enabling eGov for national, state/provincial, and municipal entities to improve access and service levels; blockchain and its implications for supply chain, B2B and cross-border payments. She is based in San Francisco, California.

Esther Scheiner

CEO Shiboleth Inc

Esty Scheiner is the Founder and CEO of Shiboleth, an AI-driven platform that automates regulatorycompliance for financial institutions. Esty is a self-taught cybersecurity expert who earned CISSP andOSCP certifications in record timing and thrives at the intersection of AI, compliance, and finance.

Before founding Shiboleth, Esty was a Security Engineer at Invoca, where she developed LLM-basedsolutions to automate SOC 2 compliance. She began her career at NYU’s Computer Science program andwent on to become a software engineer at Buggy at the age of19, where she quickly rose to lead a six-person R&D team. When she’s not immersed in her work, Esty finds solace in the outdoors, enjoying hiking and skiing.

Eyal Lifshitz

Founder & CEO Bluevine

Eyal Lifshitz is the Co-founder and CEO of Bluevine, the banking platform that serves as the financial operating system for startups and small businesses. Through a single account, companies can earn more, save more, borrow, and manage their money whenever and wherever they do business - without ever stepping into a branch. Accessible through one dashboard, its product suite integrates high-yield business checking, accounts payable, debit and credit cards, loans, and lines of credit. Since 2013, Bluevine has served over 500,000 customers, delivered over $14 billion in loans, and is currently trusted with over $1 billion in managed customer deposits.

Genevieve Dozier

VP, Product, Enterprise Payments Huntington Bank

Genevieve Dozier is an influential business leader and well regarded strategist having spent two decades in the payments industry. She is Founder & CEO of Warpaint Consulting providing insights to inspire investors, companies, teams and individuals through consulting, coaching, training, writing and professional keynote speaking. Previously she held leadership positions at BB&T now Truist, Ingenico, CardConnect, First Data, Fiserv, and was Chief Business Development Officer at a fintech startup. She holds an Advisory Board position at Money 20/20 and previously held Board seats at PayTech Women and VizyPay. Genevieve is a multi award winner including ETA Top Forty Under 40, NYC Fintech Women Inspiring Fintech Female Network Builder, Money 20/20 Rise Up Program, PayTech Women Making Waves award and Game Changer award. Genevieve was a contributor to a Forbes article on How to Master Workplace Confidence in Three Steps, the book, Mega Deals that reveals strategies on B2B complex selling for $100M + deals and the ebook Inclusive Hiring: what it means and how to apply it within your organization.

Heather Schumacher

Head of Cards & BaaS Operations First International Bank & Trust

Heather Schumacher is a seasoned payments industry veteran with over 20 years of experience.Currently serving as the Head of Cards and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) Operations at First InternationalBank and Trust, Heather has a robust track record of leadership in financial operations, projectmanagement, technology and development, customer service, customer experience, accountmanagement, vendor management, and information security.

Before her current role, Heather held the position of Chief OperationsOfficer at two banks and twofintech companies, where she led teams to success with her executive decision-making abilities. With aBachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, Heather combines technicalexpertise with strategic leadership.

Passionate about leading and building teams, Heather is dedicated to developing people and theircareers. She thrives in training and organizing teams to achieve their highest potential, fostering anenvironment of growth and success.

Jade Mandel

Managing Director Goldman Sachs

Jade Mandel is a Managing Director on the Goldman Sachs Growth Equity team, with more than a decade of investing experience focused on Fintech and Enterprise Software that sells into the Financial Services industry. She leads the funds US thematic across the Banking Infrastructure, Wealth Technology and Consumer Fintech sectors. Prior to GS Growth, she spent time on the Principal Strategic Investments (PSI) team in Hong Kong and started her career in GS's Corporate Development team focused on strategic M&A. Jade holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Asian Studies from Cornell University. She represents the firm as a director on the boards of Amount, Bowery Valuation, Canoe Intelligence, Caribou, H2O.ai, and Nav. Outside of work, Jade is an avid Professional Basketball fan.

James Jones

Co-Founder and CEO Bump

James Jones Jr. is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bump, a wealth-building banking platform for creators. His career highlights include professional experience as Co-Founder and CEO at Bump since December 2021, Co-Founder and CEO of a legaltech marketplace (acquired) from September 2014 to November 2018, and Managing Partner at The Jones Firm, PLLC from October 2007 to January 2017, where he represented artists, influencers, and record labels. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, an undergraduate degree in communications from Winston-Salem State University, and an Executive MBA, Scaling Ventures Certification from Harvard Business School. His achievements include being named 2019 Tech Entrepreneur of The Year by Black Enterprise Magazine, co-founding the legaltech marketplace which was sold for $23 million in under 5 years, and receiving several awards, including a Webby Award in Law (2018) and the ABA's Brown SELECT Award for Legal Access (2017). He has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, Essence, Black Enterprise, TechCrunch, and the Miami Herald. James brings a unique blend of legal expertise and entrepreneurial experience to his role at Bump, which is backed by notable investors and aims to become the leading fintech and wealthtech platform for creators globally.

James Moughon

VP, Digital Products Praxent

James is a visionary leader in digital transformation at Praxent®, a boutique financial technologyconsulting and engineering firm that helps companies modernize their technology faster, overcome thecomplexity of building market-leading digital experiences, and future-proof core systems. With over 17years of experience in digital products and a focus on AI process improvement, he is dedicated torevolutionizing the way financial services organizations engage their customers by creating seamless,intuitive digital experiences.

At Praxent, James leads the digital transformation practice—driving strategy and execution thattransforms business objectives into market-leading products. He tackles challenges such as inconsistentaesthetics, complex user flows, and outdated frontend skillsets through innovative solutions that spanUX redesigns, design systems, full-stack engineering, fintech integrations, DevOps, AI & automation, andcloud solutions.

Jeff Tijssen

Expert Partner, Global Head of FinTech Bain & Company

Jeff Tijssen is an Expert Partner and the Global Head of FinTech at Bain & Company,and is based in their London office.Jeff has worked with many of the world’s leading financial institutions to lead large-scaletransformation efforts and design, buildand launch new digital ventures. He was on thefounding team of several digital banks and has successfully built several newbusinesses.

Jeff has spent over 20 years advising clients how to transform their organisation anddevelop new innovative businessmodels and capabilities, and works extensively withleading FinTech players and neobanks around the world as they explore new avenuesfor growth. He also advises many of the world’s largest private equity investors.Prior to joining Bain, Jeff built and led the global consulting business at 11:FS, aFinTech consultancy, and worked for two other leading global consulting firms. He hasheld executive roles in the digital and innovation space at various Tier 1 banks aroundthe world, and has experience working in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, LatinAmerica and the Middle East.

He is a Board advisor, a speaker at international industry events, and has beenpublished in renowned media outlets such as Bloomberg, Financial Times, HarvardBusiness Review and The Economist. He also sits on the Board of Trustees at theShakespeare Schools Foundation and the Dutch Centre.Jeff holds a MSc in Economics and Business from the Erasmus University in TheNetherlands. He lives in London with his wife Katya and his daughter Ariana.

Jessica Zhang

Co-Founder & CEO Pier

Jessica Zhang is the CEO and Co-Founder of Pier, a solution known as "Stripe for Credit" that automates the end-to-end credit lifecycle. Businesses trusts Pier's API-driven solutions to launch scalable, compliant credit products by simplifyingorigination, underwriting, servicing and regulatory reporting. Pier is backed by investors including Y Combinator, Liquid 2 Ventures, ACME and Horizon Ventures. Prior to Pier, Jessica was Chief of Staff at Stilt where she helped launch Onbo, a B2B credit API product, contributing to its over $375 million raise in equity and debt. Jessica has over $7 billion in transaction experience from her work at JPMorgan and is a two-time founder (Oppti, Forbes 30U30). A frequent speaker at fintech conferences and guest lecturer at Cornell University, Jessica is passionate about democratizing access to credit and revolutionizing how businesses approach credit infrastructure. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.

Jimmy Stallings

President of Payments Stride Bank

Jimmy Stallings is President of the Payments Group of Stride Bank. Stallings' group delivers innovative payment solutions to millions of customers through strategic partnerships with household brands like Chime, Affirm, and Lyft. His background in engineering and entrepreneurship has proved invaluable as the Oklahoma-based community bank quickly scaled to 5x its original size to become a top 10 Visa issuing bank. Prior to joining the executive team, Stallings served on Stride's Board of Directors as Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee. Under his leadership, Stride Bank has become one of the most sought-after fintech partner banks in the industry due to its unparalleled operational, regulatory, and strategic excellence.

Joaquin Ayuso de Paul

Chief Product Officer Zero Hash

Joaquin Ayuso de Paul is the Chief Product Officer of Zero Hash, the leading crypto andstablecoin infrastructure platform trusted by industry leaders like Stripe, FranklinTempleton, Shift4, and Interactive Brokers. Zero Hash has secured over $170M infunding, settled over $45 billion in transaction volume and onboarded 5m+ people to thecrypto and stablecoin economy.

Joaquin is a serial entrepreneur who founded Tuenti (the "Spanish Facebook") with15M+ users, followed by Kuapay, a mobile payments app. As CEO and Founder ofDenizen at BBVA, he developed digital banking for US-Europe expats. Most recently,he led crypto and web3 payments strategy as Head of Nium Labs.Joaquin graduated from ICAI, Spain, in CS degree, and collaborated with their Technology Research department for the last of those 2 years

Jody Bhagat

President of Americas Personetics

Jody brings deep operating experience in financial services - leading digital businesses, managing direct channels, and leading digital transformation programs. As President of Americas at Personetics, he is responsible for creating market leadership and driving customer impact. He was previously a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he helped financial institutions define and execute digital transformation programs to drive customer growth and operating efficiency. Jody also served in senior digital operating roles at U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, and Providian. In these positions, he led digital sales and service functions and direct to consumer businesses to deliver organic growth and enhanced customer experience. Jody has an MBA from Northwestern University and a BS in Computer Engineering from The University of Michigan.

Julapa Jagtiani

Senior Economic Advisor & Economist Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Julapa Jagtiani is Senior Economic Advisor and Economist at the Federal ReserveBank of Philadelphia, a Central Bank Research Fellow at the Bank for InternationalSettlements, and a Fellow member of the Wharton Financial Institutions Center. Shewaspreviously Senior Economist at the FRB Kansas City and the FRB Chicago, andAssociate Professor in Finance at Baruch College of the City University of New York. Atthe Philly Fed, Julapa has participated in several supervisory policy initiatives, includingthe Basel Retail Qualification, the CCAR Stress Testing, and more recently FintechSupervision program. Dr. Jagtiani’s recent research has focused on fintech partnershipand BaaS, AI/ML and alternative data, and cryptocurrency trading activities. She haspublished influential research articles in top academic journals. She also leads theefforts at the Philly Fed in organizing the Annual Fintech Conferences to bring togetherworld renowned experts to discuss fintech innovations, their impacts on consumersandthe future of finance, and potential policy solutions. Julapa received a PhD in Financeand an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, where she held the RockefellerFoundation Fellowship.

Julien Phipps

Co-Founder, Partner Tropoly

Julien is an innovative executive with over 20 years of leadership experience in growth marketing, sales partnerships, and strategic planning across the technology, finance, and sustainability sectors. With a proven track record of driving transformative solutions and implementing effective revenue scaling plans, Julien excels in leading diverse teams and navigating complex industries. He holds an LLM from the University of Toronto, BCom from Royal Roads University amongst other lifelong learning from various institutions. As Founder of Tropoly Inc. and Accellerra Ventures Inc. and in key roles at Nav Technologies, Flowcast, Emailage, Alt 5 Sigma, all of which have achieved significant milestones. His community impact includes revitalizing the Vancouver Chamber of Commerce and leaving a community legacy impact via the Canada One Foundation and KitsFest at Vancouver's beautiful Kitsilano Beach. Julien is a strategic sales and rev ops leader with a strong commitment and passion for innovation, excellence, and organizational success.

Kareem Saleh

Founder & CEO FairPlay

Kareem Saleh is the founder and CEO of FairPlay, the world's first Fairness-as-a-Service company.Financial Institutions use FairPlay’sAPIs to embed fairness considerations into their marketing,underwriting, pricing, and collections algorithms as well as to automate their fair lending compliance.

Previously Kareem served as Executive Vice President at Zest.ai, where he led business development forthe company’s machine learning-powered credit underwriting platform. Prior to Zest.ai, Kareem servedas an executive at SoftCard, a mobile payments startup that was acquired by Google. Kareem alsoserved in the Obama Administration, first as Chief of Staff to the State Department’s Special Envoy forClimate Change, where he helped manage the 50-person team that negotiated the Paris ClimateAgreement, then as Senior Advisor to the CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)where hehelped direct the U.S. Government’s $30B portfolio of emerging market investments withresponsibility for transaction teams in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Kareem is a Forbescontributor and a frequent speaker on the application of AI to financial services. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and an honors graduate of the University of Chicago.

Kate Walton

MD & CCO, Merchant Payments JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Kate has built a robust career in payments, technology, and financial services, taking on management,sales, and strategy roles that cater to a diverse array of enterprise customers and portfolios. Currentlyshe serves as the Chief Commercial Office atJ.P. Morgan, where she is tasked with scaling the firm’scommerce offerings. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Kate held a significant role at Stripe, where she ledstrategic platforms, focused on building key partnerships, and scaled innovative products and solutions.Her experience also includes serving as Head of Strategic Sales at Amazon Business. Additionally, Katehas held various sales and marketing positions at American Express, working across both merchant andB2B portfolios.

Kevin Barr

Head of Digital Cash and TS Innovation BNY Mellon

Kevin Barr serves as Head of Digital Cash and Innovation within BNYM Treasury Services. In these roles,Kevin’s primary focus is the development of Real-Time, 24/7 clearing and cash management capabilitiesacross traditional and digital infrastructure, aswell as engagement with the Digital Asset, VentureCapital, and FinTech space. In addition, Kevin leads industry engagement with working groups on CBDCsfrom a payments perspective.

Prior to his current role, Kevin worked in Treasury Services Strategy and Relationship Management,focused on the 5-year business strategy, sales strategy, and segment growth initiatives. Kevin alsoserved as a strategist in the Fintech Strategy and Partnerships team, as well as holding multiple roles incorporate strategy, transformation, pricing, and sales.

Kevin joined BNY Mellon in 2011, with a B.S. in Economics and a minor in business from The Ohio StateUniversity in Columbus, OH.He has served as BNY Mellon’s representative on the Mobility Group for the Pittsburgh DowntownPartnership and is a member of the BNY Mellon WIN, PRISM, and VetNet groups.Kevin was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He enjoys golfing, reading, and playing music.

Kumar Narayan

Executive Director J.P. Morgan

Kumar Narayan heads USD Clearing product at J.P. Morgan and is responsible for setting the strategy forUSD Clearing, developing roadmap for the product and implementing business initiatives to maximizethe P&L, and managing overall risk to ensure businesssoundness. Prior to this role, he managed the USDClearing Product at Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of America and Citigroup. Kumar representedJPMorgan on the SWIFT US National Group and Chaired the USNG in 2023.Kumar has 20+ years of experience in the Transaction banking space including 15+ years specializing inthe Payments industry.Kumar has an MBA from the S.P Jain Institute, Mumbai, and a Bachelor of Engineering from NIT, Surat.

Kunal Bist

Global Head - Strategic Partnerships, TTS Citi

Kunal runs Strategic Partnerships globally across Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) at Citi. He joined Citi, India in 2001 and has worked across multiple areas of TTS in his over 2-decade career in Transaction Banking across geographies including Middle East, India and most recently North America. Most recently, he was the Global Head of Cross Border Receivables, Ewallets Product management and Payments Partnerships as part of the Payments global leadership team at Citi. Having managed various Products, Operations, Sales and sizeable internal partnerships, Kunal moved into his new role managing Strategic partnerships globally across the entire TTS business for Citi.

Laura Gibson-Lamothe

Executive Director Georgia Fintech Academy

Laura Gibson-Lamothe is the Executive Director of the Georgia Fintech Academy, headquartered atGeorgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, serving institutions across the UniversitySystem of Georgia. With over 18 years of experience in the banking, finance, and financial technologyindustries, she has held key roles at organizations such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Ally,Featurespace, and Protiviti. Throughout her career, Laura has successfully led high-impact projects,including co-brand credit card implementations and PCI compliance initiatives.

At the Georgia Fintech Academy, Laura is dedicated to bridging academia and industry, creatingmeaningful connections and innovative programs to equip students with the skills needed for success infintech. Under her leadership, the Academy has connected thousands of students with careeropportunities, expanding the impact of fintech education across Georgia’s 26 public universities. Laura ispassionate about cultivating the next generation offintech talent, with a focus on diversity, financialliteracy, and mentorship.In addition to her role at the Academy, Laura serves on the boards of the Technology Association ofGeorgia Fintech Society, PayTech Women, and LaAmistad. PayTech Women is committed to creating astronger and more diverse industry by empowering and investing in women in the payments and fintechsectors, while LaAmistad prepares Latino students and families for success through academic and life-enrichment programs. Laura is a recognized leader in fintech, frequently speaking at conferences ontopics related to mentorship, leadership, and opportunities for women in STEAM fields.Recently, Laura was named one of Georgia Trend’s 2024-2025 Most Influential Leaders and wasrecognized as a finalist for the 2024 Women in Technology (WIT) Women of the Year award.

Laura Kornhauser

Co-Founder & CEO Stratyfy

Laura Kornhauser is the Co-founder and CEO of Stratyfy, a technology company empowering financial institutions with transparent, easy-to-use AI solutions that drive smarter, more informed risk-based decisions.

Recognized as one of American Banker’s Most Influential Women in Fintech for 2024, Laura is a leading voice in the fintech space, particularly around the responsible use of AI in financial services. A thought leader on bias mitigation and fairness in automated decision-making, Laura frequently speakson the intersection of AI and finance.

She is a founding member of MoreThanFair, a research participant in the groundbreaking study on fairness in machine learning with FinReg Lab and Stanford University,and an expert contributor for MIT’s AI Policy Forum. Most recently, she joined the inaugural Conferenceof State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) Artificial Intelligence Advisory Group, where she supports members innavigating legal, policy, and supervisory challenges related to AI.

Before founding Stratyfy, Laura spent 12 years at JP Morgan as an Executive Director. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BSE in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University.

Laura Spiekerman

Co-Founder & President Alloy

Laura Spiekerman is the co-founder and President of the identity risk management company Alloy. Priorto Alloy, Laura led Business Development & Partnerships at a paymentsstartup, where she first metAlloy co-founders Tommy Nicholas and Charles Hearn. Today, over 600 banks, credit unions, andfintechs turn to Alloy to take control of fraud, credit, and compliance risk, and grow with the clearestpicture of their customers.

Laura has been recognized by American Banker as one of 2023’s MostInfluential Women in Fintech and by Crain’s New York as a 2021 Notable Woman on Wall Street. Laura isa proud Barnard College alumna and lives in Berkeley, California.

Luke Voiles

CEO Pipe

Luke Voiles is a passionate fintech leader and business builder, who brings over two decades of experience with innovative industry leadership into his role as Pipe's CEO. Before joining Pipe, he was the GM of Square Banking at Block where he led the global team responsible for managing, launching, and scaling small business banking and lending products. Previously, he led the team building out Intuit's small business lending unit, QuickBooks Capital, from scratch, scaling it to $2 billion in loans originated. Luke made the switch from private equity to fintech after more than a decade as a distressed asset and credit special situations investor at top-tier funds, including TPG Capital and Lone Star Funds. He has a JD and an MBA from SMU and a BA in Computer Science and Economics from Austin College.

Magnus Larsson

Co-Founder & CEO MAJORITY

A global entrepreneur, Magnus Larsson has led various ventures focused on creating innovative tech solutions to connect people around the world. His most recent venture, MAJORITY, is an all-in-one mobile banking app and community membership for internationals living in the US. Founded in 2019, MAJORITY raised its first venture capital funding in June of 2021 and has raised over $90M in equity funding to date. Registration is open to anyone from another country now living in America, with or without a Social Security number, allowing many to have access to banking and financial services for the first time in their lives. MAJORITY is the leader in mobile banking for migrants in America, revolutionizing the traditional banking industry and paving the way for financial inclusivity.

Marcia Klingensmith

CEO FinTech Consulting, LLC

Marcia Klingensmith, known globally as the “Instant Payments Maven”, is the CEO ofFinTech Consulting, LLC with a passion for innovation in the payments landscape. Withover 20 years of experience of bringing products and services to market at Fortune 500companies like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Visa, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, and FISGlobal.

Her deep expertise spans banking transformation, instant payments, ISO200222 (theFinancial Rosetta Stone), cross-border transactions, and the future of money.Marcia isa trusted advisor who helps financial institutions and fintechs in North America, SouthAmerica, and the Caribbean navigate the ever-evolving world of payments. She iscommitted to promoting conversations that push the boundaries of financial technologyand empowers businesses to leverage its potential for growth.

Connect with Marcia at the FinTech MeetUp conference to explore how she can helpyou navigate your digital transformation journey.

Margie Kreutz

Executive Director, Merchant Partnerships JPMorganChase

I have been with JPMorgan Chase for the past 16 years, serving in various roles including Business Development, Relationship Management, and currently, Strategic Initiatives. My passion for DEI initiatives is evident through my long-standing membership in PayTech Women, where I serve as a Corporate Champion and on the President's Advisory Council. I have also been recognized as a Cohort for the Rise Up Academy for Money 20/20 and serve as Board Co-Chair for Women on The Move, supporting and elevating women throughout their career journeys. Currently, I am the Chapter Board Chair for my firm's DEI Woman on the Move business resource group.

Mariette De Meillon

Chief AI Architect Equifax

Mariette De Meillon is the USIS Chief AI Architect, leading business analytics and data engineering initiatives. With over 13 years of experience in data and analytics, Mariette has designed and deployed models for banks and credit unions across the US. Her work with big dat a in the financial services industry helps banks and credit unions make strategic decisions. An analyst at heart, Mariette’s expertise spans a range of areas, from Business Intelligence and SQL Server to Big Data, Data Science, and most recently, Generative AI. Mariette's career has evolved alongside the data landscape, and she currently leads a team of analysts and data scientists responsible for influencing the strategy of banks and credit unions. In her role as Chief AI Architect, Mariette helps the business unit explore the adoption of Generative AI.

Michael Rangel

Co-Founder & CEO Novo

In her role as Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at Nymbus, Michelle leads the teams administering the Risk, Compliance, Fraud, Vendor Risk, and Information Security functions for the company. She's passionate about partnering with banks and credit unions to bring innovative and compliant solutions to market, but also changing the narrative of these traditional oversight functions across fintech and the broader financial services industry from cost centers to strategic differentiators. Prior to joining Nymbus, Michelle was the Vice President of Compliance and later Vice President of Risk Management at a $1B credit union in the Midwest. She also worked as a senior regulatory compliance consultant for RSM US LLLP. Michelle began her career in banking while in pursuit of her undergraduate degree in Accounting. She holds a JD from the University of Iowa College of Law and is licensed to practice in the state of Iowa. Michelle has been with Nymbus since 2020 and maintains active NCCO, NCRM, and CRCM compliance certifications.

Michelle Meyer

Chief Economist, Head of the Mastercard Economics Institute Mastercard

Leading the Mastercard Economics Institute as chief economist, Michelle's responsibilities include development and delivery of differentiated economic, financial policy and market thought leadership for customers, Mastercard and public policy. As part of one of the world's largest and most dynamic technology companies in the payments space, sitting at the center of commerce for more than 50 years, the Mastercard Economics Institute helps businesses make sense of the macroeconomic climate and extract relevant information to address their needs. Michelle oversees a growing team of economists, data scientists, visual artists, and story tellers to develop public and proprietary economic reporting derived from Mastercard's global network and proven external dat a sources.

Mike Shepard

Head of Consumer Lending Partnerships U.S. Bank

Mike Shepard has been with U.S. Bank for 27 years and is currently Senior Vice President Head of Partnerships for Consumer Lending. In his role his team is responsible for assessment and implementation of new partnership opportunities across home equity, unsecured lending and mortgage. Prior to this role Mike held a variety of leadership positions across U.S. Bank including leading the Consumer Lending Products & Credit Risk Management teams and was part of the Payments Division for over eight years responsible for the U.S. Bank branded credit and debit card portfolio business and sales strategies for consumer and small business payment products in U.S. Bank branches.

Naomi Sanghavee

MD, Global Head of eCommerce Solutions J.P. Morgan

Naomi R. Sanghavee, Managing Director and the Global Head of eCommerce Solutions at J.P. Morganand leads a team of Payments Business Development executives across the globe. Her team providesholistic payments solutions for eCommerce, tech and fintech clients. She is alsoa co-leader for variouswar rooms focusing on the client experience, risks and solutions in the eCommerce and tech space.Before stepping into her current role, Naomi held other positions with the bank, including CommercialBank West Banking Lead for theMultinational Corporations Team and Corporate & Investment Bank FXMarketer on the CDMC team in New York.

Known for her leadership and support of DE&I initiatives in the workplace, Naomi advocates for diversityin recruitment, and of thought, as she is apassionate mentor for colleagues working in Payments,throughout different lines of business including Analysts and Associates, and some of the bank'sbusiness resource groups: Women on the Move and ASPIRE (Asians and Pacific Islanders Reaching forExcellence).

Naomi has a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Marketing from the University of SouthCarolina. She is a proud product of immigrant parents and a mother to an energetic 8-year-old boy.Outside the office, she is an avid traveler and lives with her family in Los Angeles, CA.

Nick Evens

President & CEO Curql

As President and CEO of Curql Collective, LLC, Nick cultivates opportunities to help fintech and credit unions collaborate on breakthrough technologies that minimize threats and successfully transform, improve, disrupt, and position the industry with abest-in-class member experience. The Curql Fundshave 130 credit unions and industry investors with over $500MM in capital to be deployed intransformative technology for the benefit of credit unions. Prior to leading Curql Collective, Nick was President of The Veridian Group, Inc. (TVG), the wholly owned CUSO holding company of Veridian Credit Union, where he led equity investment strategy and direction for the $7.8B institution. Based in Waterloo, Iowa, TVG’s holdings include Veridian Insurance and Veridian Fiscal Solutions with a total staff over 45 strong. During his tenure, Nick managed TVG’s more than ten direct minority investments inCUSO companies, positioning the organization with direct equity stakes in Dwolla, Alkami Technology,and Moov and committing approximately $10MM in six venture or seed capital funds. Nick serves on the board of NACUSO and CSS as well as fintech companies, Coviance and Illuma.

Nicole Casperson

Founder & CEO Fintech Is Femme

Nicole Casperson is an award-winning journalist, author, content director, professor, and leading voice in fintech. As the Founder & CEO of Fintech Is Femme, she leads a thriving media platform and community of over 50,000 fintech leaders dedicated to shaping a more inclusive financial landscape. Leveraging her extensive background as a former finance reporter and editor specializing in B2B sectors, Nicole provides trusted insights and analysis through her industry-leading newsletter, podcast, and event series. She has been honored as a Top Inspiring Female in Fintech and recognized as a pioneering force in DEI initiatives. Nicole's impactful contributions span prestigious speaking engagements, regular features in Forbes, and the release of her debut book, Fintech Feminists: Increasing Inclusion, Redefining Innovation, and Changing the Future for Women Around the World, published under Wiley.

Patricia Yun

Head, Digital Commerce TD Bank

Patricia Yun is Head, Digital Commerce at TD Bank where she leads product management and commercialization of leading e-commerce and digital payment solutions to small businesses, commercial and corporate clients. Over her 15 year career in financial services, she has held leadership roles in both the issuing and acquiring and value add products including loyalty and rewards. Patricia has driven significant bank, technology and merchant partnerships including launch of Costco credit cards and driven loyalty partnerships across different verticals including airline, gas and auto. She serves on the Women in Payments Global Community Council and is passionate about diversity and inclusion in the tech and payments industry. She has also been featured as Women in Tech in wifihifi and NYC Fintech Women.

Peggy Mangot

Head of Fintech Partnerships, Global Banking JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Peggy Mangot is Head of Fintech Partnerships, Global Banking at JPMorgan Chase. Peggy brings a unique perspective with broad experience across traditional financial institutions, the Fintech startup ecosystem & large technology companies. Previously, Peggy was the Operating Partner for PayPal Ventures, a global strategic VC investing in fintech, commerce and infrastructure. Prior to PayPal Ventures, Peggy was GM/SVP, Innovation at Wells Fargo where she led the development and launch of the bank's challenger bank and its enterprise identity management platform (KYC/KYB and fraud at account open). Formerly, Peggy was founder & CEO of SparkGift, a Y Combinator backed micro-investing platform. Peggy also led a partnerships team for Google, focused on launching new mobile payment & commerce products. During her career, Peggy also held senior roles at Visa, Allianz, Accenture, PwC and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Peggy earned her B.S. in Finance from Indiana University and her J.D. from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Peter Hazlehurst

CEO Synctera

Peter Hazlehurst, CEO and co-founder of Synctera, is a global FinTech entrepreneur and philanthropist with nearly 30 years of experience creating financial products for banks, FinTechs, and large tech companies. Launched in 2020, Synctera is an end-to-end platform with guided, personalized experiences that help FinTech builders create world-class products with embedded banking and card issuance. Peter moved from Australia to the US for his first startup in 1993, building a core banking system called Phoenix, that still powers many community banks today. Since then, Peter has served as Head of Uber Money, Chief Operating Officer at Postmates, Senior Director of Product Management at Google, CEO and Board Member of Google Payments Corporation, and Chief Product Officer at Yodlee. Peter also led Product at Nokia for Enterprise Mobility and Mobile email and has served as a CTO and consultant at several startups.

Phil Goldfeder

CEO American Fintech Council

With nearly two decades of experience at the intersection of the public and private sectors, Phil Goldfeder currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the American Fintech Council (AFC), a leading industry association representing responsible financial technology (fintech) companies creating critical access to safe and affordable financial services. AFC, comprised of the nation’s largest fintech companies, fosters innovative, transparent, and responsible products that promote competition, consumer protection, and financial health, inclusion, and equity. AFC is committed to robust industry standards, with a focus on consumer protection and regulatory compliance, in addition to advocating for and embracing appropriate government regulation.

Prashant Fuloria

CEO Fundbox

Prashant Fuloria is the Chief Executive Officer at Fundbox and formerly served as the Chief Operations Officer and Chief Product Officer of the company. Prashant brings over two decades of experience in the technology and product management industry. Prior to joining Fundbox, he was the Chief Product Officer at F lurry, Inc. Over his career, Prashant has held roles in product management, advertising, and monetization, including managing Google's products for the Asia-Pacific region, building monetization products for Google AdWords, and leading the product team for Facebook Ads. He is also a Lecturer in Operations, Information, and Technology at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. Prashant holds a PhD and MA in Business, a PhD Minor in Operations Research, and an MS in Statistics, all from Stanford University.

Ravi Adusumilli

President Airwallex

Ravi Adusumilli is the President for Airwallex in the Americas region. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ravi oversees the company's strategy and operations across the US, Canada, and Latin America, identifying opportunities to drive Airwallex's rapid regional growth. Ravi also plays a key role in supporting the company's global strategy as a member of Airwallex's global leadership team. Prior to joining Airwallex, Ravi served as the Global Head of Business Development and Partnerships at Pinterest, where he led business development, strategic partnerships, product partnerships, and partner programs globally, driving significant growth in revenue and user engagement. Ravi served in similar roles at Tile, Helix, Facebook and Netflix.

Reed Bouchelle

VP, Strategic Initiatives Visa

Reed Bouchelle is a senior commercial and strategy leader with 20 years of global experience in financial services, payments and management consulting. Reed is currently a Vice President of Strategic Initiatives on the North America Product organization at Visa, focused on driving growth for cutting-edge payments solutions. He previously led strategic partnerships at Plaid and earlier in his career was a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelors of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Reed lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children.

Renaud Laplanche

Founder & CEO Upgrade

Renaud is the co-founder and CEO of Upgrade, Inc., a fintech company offering mobile banking and responsible credit to everyday consumers. Under his leadership, Upgrade has delivered over $35 billion in affordable credit to consumers in just over 6 years and launched Upgrade Card, an innovative credit card named the fastest growing credit card in America by Nilson Report in 2021 and 2022, making Upgrade the only fintech company ranked among the top 25 U.S. Card issuers. Upgrade was ranked the fastest growing company in the Americas by the Financial Times in 2021 and is one of the most valuable US fintech companies with a valuation that reached $6.3 billion in its latest financing round.

Ronen Assia

Managing Partner Team8

Ronen Assia is Managing Partner of Team8 Fintech. For over twenty years, Ronen Assia has been successfully merging technology and design together into useful and accessible products, and defining user experience across various devices and platforms. Most recently Ronen served as eToro's Chief Product Officer, managing product and engineering, and has helped grow the company into a Fintech unicorn serving 31M users in more than 100 countries. eToro pioneered Social Investing, enabling every investor to see, follow and automatically copy the portfolios of other investors in the network. As of January 2020, Ronen serves as board member and non-executive director at eToro. Prior to co-founding eToro in 2007, Ronen designed products ranging from medical devices and household appliances to numerous desktop and web applications. Ronen holds a BA in Industrial Design from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem and an MA in Product Design from the Royal College of Art, London.

Rory O'Reilly

Co-Founder & CEO Knot

Rory O'Reilly is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and Co-Founder of Knot, a fintech company revolutionizing merchant connectivity. He co-founded Knot with his brother, Kieran O'Reilly, in 2020 after launching a card program and recognizing how difficult it was for users to update their cards on file - a notoriously painful process. Knot's core product, CardSwitcher, solves this by enabling users to seamlessly update their cards across top merchants, driving revenue and retention for card issuers. Building on this foundation, Knot is expanding into a full merchant connectivity platform, developing a suite of products that enhance how financial institutions and merchants interact.

Roy Ng

EVP, Chief Business Officer - Platform & Enterprise FIS

Roy Ng is the Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of FIS Platform and Enterprise Solutions. Roy joined FIS via the company's acquisition of his company Bond in 2023, where he was co-founder & CEO. Bond is a leading embedded finance platform focused on credit solutions, and its mission is to accelerate the pace of financial innovation and inclusion. Roy has over 20 years of experience in leading, scaling, and transforming technology companies across various sectors and markets. He is passionate about leveraging fintech to create personalized and compliant banking products that enhance customer engagement and loyalty.

Ryan Breslow

Founder & Chairman Bolt

Ryan Breslow is the founder and chairman of Bolt, a leading checkout technology company. Bolt ignites retailersâ€™ brands by unlocking access to a universal shopper network of 80 millionshoppersâ€”enabling merchants to offer a seamless shoppingexperience to customers at everytouchpoint in their purchasing journey.In addition to Bolt, Ryan has founded and led several other ventures. Breslow is the founder and CEO ofLove.com, an online marketplace of the world's largest selection of organic andsustainable brands. He is also the founder of The Family Accelerator, a high-impact startup accelerator, Prism, a loan platform forstartup equity, where he serves as Chairman, Eco, a decentralized finance platform integrating spending,saving, and rewards, and The Movement, where he combines his passion for wellness with teachingdance and promoting mindfulness.

Beyond his entrepreneurial ventures, Ryan has emerged as a culture setter in the workplace. He is apioneer of Conscious Culture, a framework focused on creating intentional, values-driven workplacesthat prioritize employee well-being and clear communication.To learn more about Ryan, find him on Instagram and X.

Sarah Levy

CEO Betterment

Sarah Levy is the CEO of Betterment, the largest independent digital investment advisor, serving more than 900,000 customers with over $55Bn in assets under management. Betterment’s industry-leading technology provides wealth management solutions for three distinct customer segments – retail, workplace 401(k), and institutional. Across its business segments, Betterment’s one unifying idea is expanding access. Historically, great financial advice was reserved for the wealthy. Through a combination of scalable technology and service excellence, Betterment has lowered the barrier to entry and created an on-ramp for people to brighter financial futures. Betterment’s mission of Making People’s Lives Better informs everything they do.

Sarah brings over 25 years of brand building, customer loyalty, corporate strategy, and operational excellence to her role. Prior to joining Betterment, Levy was the COO of Viacom Media Networks where she oversaw global strategy, finance, and operations for the $10Bn division that housed some of Viacom's iconic brands, including Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and BET.

Levy’s passion for brands and consumer experience is critical in today’s financial services environment where investors have many more choices of where to entrust their resources than they did even a few years ago. Their desire to work with companies that understand them and reflect their values is central to Betterment’s value proposition.

Levy is also a Board Member for The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, Inc. (2012 to Present) and Funko, Inc. (2019 to Present). She graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Economics and received her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Shamir Karkal

Co-Founder Sila

A true FinTech pioneer, Shamir Karkalplayed a crucial part in building the infrastructure that would pavethe way for online banking. He started out as a programmer and systems engineer before joiningmanagement consultancy McKinsey & Company. In 2009, he co-founded Simple, the first bank ofits kindin the United States, and later headed the Open Platform at BBVA. Shamir was drawn to serve smallercompanies, co-founding Sila in 2018 with the goal of empowering financial innovations. Shamir studiedphysics and computer science at Bangalore University and is a graduate of Carnegie Mellonâ€™s TepperSchool of Business. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon. Shamir is a frequent speaker atconferences, on industry podcasts, and quoted as an industry expert and thought leader in the media.

Sharon Rodriguez

CEO and Founder HighPeak

Sharon Rodriguez, CEO of HighPeak.ai, brings 20+ years of leadership experience spanning Fortune 500 companies and startups.

A global senior executive who leverages technology to transform business operations, she brings a proven track record of catalyzing top-line revenue growth, building strong teams and cultures, optimizing customer experience, and achieving outsized outcomes.

An expert in global strategic operations and change management, she navigates tech implementation, customer experience, product development, GTM strategy, team building, and finance.

Beginning her career lending operational vision to major biotech companies like Pfizer, Sharon Rodriguez brings 20 years of experience across leadership, strategy, and operations. She has consistently delivered growth and streamlined operations in areas such as Tech, AI, Fintech, Insurtech and Financial Wellness.

Shivani Siroya

CEO & Founder Tala

Shivani Siroya is the founder and CEO of Tala, the first financial platform for the Global Majority. Through Tala, customers across the globe can instantly access credit, deposit and payment services. Over 10 million customers across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India have used Tala products to start and expand small businesses, manage day-to-day needs, and pursue their financial goals with confidence. Tala has raised nearly half a billion dollars in investments and debt, backed by visionary investors including IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital, and PayPal Ventures. The company has been named to the Fortune Impact 20 list, CNBC's Disruptor 50 five years in a row, and Forbes' Fintech 50 list for eight years running.

Sophia Goldberg

Co-Founder & CEO Ansa

Sophia Goldberg is the co-founder and CEO of Ansa, the leading digital infrastructure platform for embedded customer balances. Named one of The Information's 50 Most Promising Startups 2023, Ansa’s stored value wallet solution helps increase customer retention and drive new revenue opportunities for merchants. A self-proclaimed 'payments nerd', Sophia is the author of the best-selling The Field Guide to Global Payments, a comprehensive guide exploring the intricate ways money moves around the world. She has been named as one of American Banker's "Innovators of the Year 2024" in digital banking and one of NYC Fintech Women's Inspiring Fintech Females of 2023. Prior to Ansa, Sophia spent many years at Adyen, where she managed key global accounts, and worked across commercial and product roles in addition to serving on the board of PaymentEd. Earlier in Sophia's career, she developed her political acumen during her tenure on Secretary Hillary Clinton's finance team during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Srikanth Geedipalli

SVP, Analytics & AI Products Experian

Srikanth is an analytics executive with over 20 years’ experience in Banking, Product, Consulting and Analytics. At Experian, he is the SVP of Analytics & AI Products, with a focus on the Ascend ecosystem. He leads Experian’s industry leading products including Ascend Sandbox, Attribute Toolbox, and Ascend Intelligence Services. Srikanth’s strategic priorities include building new solutions on Ascend, embedding Gen AI capabilities in his products and expanding to new markets. He is also driving the transformation of analytics from a consulting practice to a product led business, leveraging Experian’s rich data assets and a modern-tech AI platform.

Stefany Bello

SVP - Digital Partnerships, Fintechs and Enablers in North America Mastercard

Stefany Bello is a seasoned executive driving digital innovation at Mastercard. As Senior Vice Presidentof Digital Partnerships, Fintechs, and Enablers for the US, she spearheads the execution of Mastercard'sdigital strategy, collaborating with industryleaders including digital giants, neobanks, processors,program managers, payout companies, and innovative startups.

Stefany is instrumental in expanding Mastercard's digital footprint, fostering strategic partnerships, anddriving transformative initiatives across the US digital payments landscape. Since joining Mastercard in2009, she has held various global leadership roles in Advisors, Prepaid, Financial Inclusion, Debit, Digital,Retail, and Commerce. Her contributions to the evolution of the paymentsecosystem are significant,with a focus on groundbreaking solutions such as digital and mobile payments, cryptocurrencies,tokenization, and cybersecurity. Notably, Stefany holds a patent for the Mastercard Aid Network, aninnovative, non-financial service designed to streamline aid distribution in challenging environments.She serves on the board of CodeArt, a non-profit organization focused on helping young girls in STEM.

She is also one of the leads of the Latin American & Caribbean chapter of “The Belle Block”, aMastercard led community focused on educating and empowering women and non-binary individuals tobenefit from Web3 technology and crypto. Additionally, she serves on the advisory board of a loyaltystart up, Reworth.Stefany holds a bachelor's degree from Manhattanville College in international business managementwith concentrations in Latin American studies and Finance. Additionally, she is fluent in English, Spanish,Italian, and proficient in French.

Most recently, Stefany was named:
1.Young Global Leader Class of 2023 at the World Economic Forum.
2. Top women in web3 across LAC by Crypto conexiones.
3. Top rising talent by the Women’s forum for the economy & society,
4. Most Influential Latina by Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).
5. Executive role model by Involve in partnership with Youtube
6. Top 50 Most powerful women in Dominican Republic by Forbes

Steve McLaughlin

Founder, CEO & Managing Partner FT Partners

Steve McLaughlin is the Founder, CEO, and Managing Partner of Financial Technology Partners (FTPartners), a leading investment bank exclusively focused on FinTech. Established in 2001, FT Partnershas become a prominent advisor in the FinTech industry, with Steve personally leading and closinghundreds of FinTech M&A, capital raises, and IPO advisory transactions.FT Partners has advised on numerous high-profile transactions across various FinTech sectors, includingpayments, digital banking, blockchain& crypto, wealth and capital markets technology, alternativelending, InsurTech and healthcare technology, and financial management solutions. The firm’s deepindustry expertise and tailored approach have earned it a reputation for delivering exceptional resultsfor clients.Recognized as a leading figure in the FinTech industry, Steve has been ranked #1 on InstitutionalInvestor’s “Most Influential Dealmakers in FinTech” report and named “Investment Banker of the Year.”He has also been ranked the #1 FinTech banker in Silicon Valley by The Information. FT Partners has won“Investment Banking Firm of the Year” four times since 2004.Prior to founding FT Partners, Steve was a senior investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where he led theGlobal Financial Technology Group. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA)from Villanova University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.Visitwww.ftpartners.comor follow Steve atwww.x.com/ftpartners

Steven J. Ramirez

CEO Beyond the Arc

Steven J. Ramirez is the CEO of fintech marketing and AI innovation agency, Beyond the Arc. He and histeam support banks and fintechs with Go-to-Market strategy, content creation, and AI solutiondevelopment.Steven is a popular industry strategist, writer, and speaker in banking and fintech. His insights haveappeared in American Banker, Mortgage Banking, Breaking Banks podcast, Banking Transformedpodcast, Finovate, Financial Brand, Bank Innovation, and otherindustry forums.Beyond the Arc is known for the Payments GTM Playbook. The agency helps banks and paymentproviders launch new embedded and instant payment capabilities and relaunch legacy payment andbanking products.

Steven has led the agency’s AIand machine learning practice for the last 15 years. His latest initiative isRoadmap to AI, a program helping clients accelerate their development and adoption of Generative AIsolutions. He works with client stakeholders to develop and rapidly execute Proof of Concept projects toimprove productivity and automate team workflows.

Steven earned his BA and MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Sumeet Bhalla

SVP, Consumer Chief Lending Officer PenFed Credit Union

Mr. Bhalla has over 26 years of experience in financial services and currently serves as PenFed's Senior Vice President, Consumer Chief Lending Officer. In his current role, Mr. Bhalla is responsible for managing Product P&L, Product Growth & Strategy, and Lending Operations. He drives growth at PenFed through risk and reward optimization through digital transformation, data-driven advanced modeling techniques, and partnerships. He previously served as the Chief Credit Officer and was responsible for managing risk in PenFed's loan and deposit portfolios through policy management, account administration, collections, and loss mitigation.

Tahira Dosani

Co-Founder and General Partner ResilienceVC

Tahira Dosani, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ResilienceVC, is a seasoned fintech investor and operator. Her track record involves investments in over 75 early-stage startups – including four that have achieved unicorn status. Her venture capital career is focused on investing in and supporting startups whose core products create better financial outcomes for their customers. Prior to ResilienceVC, Tahira served as Managing Director at Accion Venture Lab, a leading global early-stage venture capital impact fund focused on inclusive fintech. She was a Director at both LeapFrog Investments, a private equity impact fund focused on financial services, and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, leading strategic initiatives and investments across Asia and Africa.

Earlier in her career, she supported the launch of Afghanistan’s first mobile payments platform at Roshan, and was a Management Consultant at Bain & Company. Tahira is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University and is an advisor to Village Capital, a mentor for TechStars and serves on the Investor Advisory Board of The Fourth Floor. Based in Washington, D.C., she’s an avid reader, martial arts practitioner, and explorer.

Tammy Petro

Executive Director - Technology, MMBSI J.P. Morgan

Tammy Petro is a Relationship Executive at JPMorgan, specializing in the Technology and InnovationEconomy within the Middle Market Banking & Specialized Industries Group. With decades of globalexperience, Tammy is renowned for her ability to connect visionary founders with scalable moneymanagement solutions, leveraging her extensive professional and venture capital network to drivesuccess at every stage of growth.

Before joining JPMorgan in 2018, Tammy was a serial entrepreneur and fintech investor, gaininginvaluable insights and expertise in the global market. Her unique perspective as both an investor andentrepreneur allows her to understand the nuanced challenges and opportunities faced by founderstoday.

Tammy is also a Stanford-trained designthinking facilitator, bringing innovative problem-solving skills toher role. She holds an MFA and BA in Design & Computer Science from the University of Iowa. Outsideof work, Tammy enjoys traveling and teaching her Boston Terrier dog, Biz new tricks.

Terry O'Neil

Head of Connected Commerce Citi Retail Services

Terry O'Neil is the Head of Connected Commerce for Citi Retail Services. In this role, Terry expands and redefines Citi's suite of point-of-sale financing capabilities to drive growth for Citi and its partners. This includes the expansion of Retail Services' embedded payment capabilities with the launch of the Citi Pay family of products, to boost loyalty and engagement with merchant partners' customers. He also leads the Strategic Fintech Partnerships team for U.S. Personal Banking, operating across Citi to identify, design, and onboard relationships with leading Fintech partners creating innovation and transformational solutions across payments, lending, and digital banking.

Theodora Lau

Founder Unconventional Ventures

Theodora Lau is the founder of Unconventional Ventures, a public speaker, and an advisor. She is the author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (2025), the co-author of The Metaverse Economy (2023) and Beyond Good (2021), and host of One Vision, a podcast on fintech and innovation. Her monthly column on FinTech Futures explores the intersection of financial services, tech, and humanity. She is named one of American Banker’s Most Influential Women in FinTech in 2023. She is a contributor and commentator for top industry events and publications, including Finovate, American Banker, BBC News, Fintech Times, and The Power 50. Her work has also been published by the Journal of Digital Banking, The Banker, Forbes Technology Councils, MIT Tech Review, and Harvard Business Review.

Todd Rovak

Co-Founder & CEO Carefull

Todd Rovak is the Co-Founder and CEO of Carefull, the first AI-enabled digital platform designed to protect older adults from fraud, scams, and money mistakes while supporting next-generation financial caregivers. Through partnerships with financial institutions, Carefull brings new simplicity, intelligence, and tools to this underserved financial lifestage. Previously, Todd was the CEO at Fahrenheit 212, a product innovation firm where he led the creation of new products for Fortune 500 companies, focusing on financial services. After Fahrenheit 212 was acquired by Capgemini in 2016, Todd was asked to lead Capgemini’s North American business. His experience in financial services revealed the lack of technology supporting older adults and their financial caregivers. Recognized for his entrepreneurial drive and customer-centric approach, Todd has become a leader in the AgeTech and elder fraud space, with appearances in The New York Times and CNBC.

Tom Warsop

CEO ACI Worldwide

Warsop joined the ACI Board of Directors in June 2015 and became non-executive Chairman in June 2022. He has led various portfolio companies for several leading private equity firms since 2012, including One Call Care Management, York Risk Services Group, and The Warranty Group. He served as Group President at Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a provider of technology solutions to the financial industry, from 2007 to 2012. He served in various capacities at Electronic Data Systems for 17 years, including President of its Business Process Outsourcing unit in Asia Pacific, Vice President in the United Kingdom, and Vice President of Global Financial Services. He currently serves on the Board of One Call Care Management.

Tony Hayes

Managing Partner Banking & Payments Group

Tony Hayes is the Founding Partner of Banking & Payments Group, a management consulting firm dedicated to serving the banking and payments industry. The firm provides best-in-class actionable advice to senior executives, bringing unmatched expertise and dedication to its clients. Before forming Banking & Payments Group, Tony was a Senior Partner and Global Lead for Payments at Oliver Wyman. Tony and the practice served a wide range of clients across the full payments ecosystem and in every major region. Additionally, he was the co-head of the Retail & Business Banking practice in the Americas. Prior to joining Oliver Wyman in 2007, Tony was a Managing Director with Dove Consulting where he led the firm's Financial Services practice. Tony is a recognized expert on consumer and small business payments, with work in credit, debit and prepaid cards mobile wallets, faster payments and cash, and with clients spanning issuers, ATM deployers, networks, merchant acquirers, mobile network operators, central banks and private equity investors.

Ulrike Guigui

MD Deloitte Consulting

Ulrike Guigui is a Managing Director in Deloitte Consulting where she leads engagements focused on helping the top US banks and payment companies address their pressing challenges in the areas of growth, operating model design and payment transformation. She is the leader of Deloitte's Open Banking practice in the US. Ulrike has 25+ years of experience in leading transformative change across financial services organizations. She recently re-joined Deloitte after serving as the Head of Enterprise Payment Strategy at Wells Fargo. There she led a team focused on leveraging the assets and leadership position of Wells Fargo to create platforms, partnerships, and strategies to shape the future of payments. Additionally, she represented the bank on key payment topics across industry bodies, including the Payco board of The Clearing House and the board of Akoya, the bank owned open banking facilitator.

Vishal Garg

CEO Better.com

Vishal Garg is the Founder and CEO of Better.com, America's leading digital mortgage lender. Dedicated to making homeownership faster, more affordable, and accessible for all, Better.com leverages technology and automation to streamline the home-buying process and eliminate bias. Since its founding in 2015, the company has facilitated over $100 billion in home loans, $39 billion in insurance, and $4 billion in real estate transactions-all completed online and commission-free. In January 2023, Better.com introduced the groundbreaking One Day Mortgage, enabling customers to receive pre-approval, lock-in rates, and obtain a mortgage commitment letter within 24 hours. The company went public via SPAC in August 2023 and, in 2024, launched Betsy, an AI-powered tool that uses large language models (LLMs) to enhance customer interactions and automate key processes, supporting Better.com's seamless digital mortgage experience. Vishal has received numerous awards, including E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year, Housing Wire’s Most Influential Mortgage Executive, and the Golden Pegleg Award for Outstanding Alumni from Stuyvesant High School. Originally from India, Vishal is a lifelong New Yorker. He grew up in Queens, NY, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School and NYU. Vishal now lives in downtown Manhattan with his loving wife and three kids.

Ximena Aleman

Co-Founder & Co-CEO Prometeo

Ximena Aleman is Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Prometeo, a fintech company striving to create an open andconnected financial market in Latin America. Since inception, the company has solidified its marketposition through partnering with prominent financialinstitutions, including two of the largest globalmegabanks. Additionally, it has garnered support from investors such as Antler Elevate, PayPal Ventures,Samsung Next, Cometa, and Magma Partners.

Prometeo has emerged as a pivotal player in the financial sector, offering streamlined access toinformation and payments to 1200 financial institutions across 11 countries. Ximenaâ€™s achievementsin the fintech community have earned her roles such as WeFinTech Ambassador and accolades includingGlobal Catalyst and Entrepreneur of the Year by AMBA in 2022, "Top 100 Women in Fintech" by FinTechMagazine in 2024. A pioneer in the adoption of open finance in the region, she has used her influence asa leader to advocate for female entrepreneurship in Latin Americaand raise awareness about thefunding gap faced by women-led startups.

2025 Speaker lineup

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