Agenda

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Breakfast & Registration

8:00 AM – 8:05 AM
Day One Welcome
Michelle King, CEO, Bank Director
Laura Schield, President & COO, Bank Director
Bank Director welcomes all attendees to this year’s Bank C-Suite Summit in our hometown of Nashville, TN.

8:05 AM – 8:35 AM
The State of Our Industry
Mark Kanaly, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP
In this session, hear the current state of the banking industry and the underlying factors driving change and creating opportunities for community banks today.

8:35 AM – 9:05 AM
Unlocking the Power of Your Strategic Vision
Alan Kaplan, Founder & CEO, Kaplan Partners
Mac Thompson, President & Founder, White Clay
Speaker to be Announced, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Moderated by: Bill Herrell, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Bank Director
Discover how to elevate your bank’s potential by mastering the art of strategic planning. Panelists explore the intricacies of creating and executing a robust strategic plan that not only aligns with your bank’s mission, vision and values but also responds adeptly to market trends and competitive pressures.

9:15 AM – 10:30 AM
Peer Exchanges: Session 1
A highlight of the Bank Director events, during the Summit, banker participants are divided by similar titles, roles and responsibilities to candidly discuss and debate various topics and issues facing banks today. All peer exchanges are led by an industry advisor and are conducted in a closed-door, off-the-record setting.

Technology-Focused Peer Exchange

• Digital Strategy
• Artificial Intelligence
• Talent: Building Your Team
• Making the Right Investment
• Integration Challenges
• Risk Considerations
• Due Diligence Best Practices

Human Resources & Talent-Focused Peer Exchange
Group 1 Advised by: Mika Moser, CEO, At C Level, LLC

• Talent
• Compensation
• Succession Planning
• Developing the Next Talent Pool
• Incentive Compensation – does it align with your strategic plan?
• Creating Your Growth Plan:  What’s Next?

Marketing-Focused Peer Exchange
Group 1 Advised by: Dan Marks, President, Infusion Marketing Group
Group 2 Advised by: Linda Bennett, Managing Director, Business Development, Adrenaline

• Data
• Products/Services
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• CRM
• Niche Banking
• Branding
• Competition

Finance & Risk Focused Peer Exchange
Group 1 Advised by:  Mac Thompson, President & Founder, White Clay and Josh Juergensen, Principal, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Group 2 Advised by:  Mark Kanaly, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP

• Balance Sheet Management
• Growth Initiatives & Strategy
• Growing Organically
• Competitive Threats
• Making the Right Investments
• Risk Management
• Technology Budget: Impact on the Bank
• IT Risks
• Regulation
• Credit Risk

10:40 AM – 11:10 AM
Weathering Uncertainty
Speaker to be Announced, IntraFi
Josh White, Shareholder, Elliott Davis Advisory, LLC
Moderated by:  Naomi Snyder, Editor-in-Chief, Bank Director
Equip your team with the skills needed to effectively identify and mitigate diverse risks, including credit risk, operational risk and information security. This session offers practical training to enhance employees’ risk management capabilities, ensuring they can proactively protect your institution against potential threats. Transform your workforce into a frontline defense in today’s dynamic risk environment.

11:10 AM – 11:40 AM
What’s Happening in Washington
What are the latest regulatory updates, and how do they impact our industry? During this session, learn about recent regulatory changes and how they influence bank operations, risk management and overall performance.

11:50 AM – 12:30 PM
Breakout Sessions (select one)

Breakout 1: Strong, Smart, Personalized Brands – The Website Experience
James Pannos, President, Pannos Marketing
Paul Tonelli, SVP, Chief Creative Officer, Pannos Marketing
Your website is your busiest branch – and a critical expression of your brand in action. This session shows how banks can leverage customized branding and smarter content to deliver personalized and stronger web experiences. Walk away understanding how all roads lead to your busiest branch.

Breakout 2: Retaining Top Talent in a Competitive Environment
Discover effective strategies for keeping top performers engaged and committed in a competitive job market. This session explores approaches for creating a supportive workplace culture, offering growth opportunities and implementing retention-friendly policies to ensure your organization attracts and retains the best talent.

Breakout 3: Open Banking & BaaS: Building Your Ecosystem Strategy
Take an in-depth look at how banks can strategically leverage Open Banking principles and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) models to create new revenue streams, expand market reach, and foster innovation. Explore partnership models, risk management in an ecosystem and the technology stack required.

Breakout 4: The Vendor Blind Spot
Stablecoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain offer banks innovation but face contradictory regulations across jurisdictions creating compliance challenges. This session explores key regulatory conflicts and actionable risk mitigation strategies to consider.

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Networking Lunch
Sponsored by:  Ellsworth Systems, LLC

1:30 PM – 2:10 PM
Breakout Sessions (select one)

Breakout 1: Drive Operational Leverage with Smart, Data-Driven Marketing
Dan Marks, President, Infusion Marketing Group
With competition heating up and budgets tightening, banks need to work smarter – not harder – to grow. Discover how targeted, data-driven marketing can be your secret weapon to drive operational leverage, attracting low-cost deposits, loans and new to bank relationships. Join us to learn how to stretch every marketing dollar further and turn insights into real, measurable results.

Breakout 2: Leading with Purpose
Discover how effective leadership goes beyond self-interest to drive team success. Learn actionable strategies for fostering a collaborative and supportive environment that empowers your team to thrive. Unlock the potential of leading with purpose and creating a culture of shared success.

Breakout 3: Building Cybersecurity in an Era of Evolving Threats
Learn the best practices for building a robust cyber resilience strategy, ensuring operational continuity and protecting your organization against evolving threats in today’s digital environment.

Breakout 4: The Crypto Conundrum: Balancing Innovation and Compliance
Uncover risks beyond direct vendors in their sub-contractor networks. This session reveals how secure partnerships can expose your bank to major financial, operational and reputational threats, including from competitors. Gain actionable strategies for robust due diligence, effective contract management and enhanced oversight to safeguard your institution from these cascading vulnerabilities.

2:20 PM – 3:00 PM
Breakout Sessions (select one)

Breakout 1: Relationship Banking in a Digital-First Age
Most banks claim to prioritize relationships, but their decision-making often remains transactional and reactive. Fragmented data and a lack of a holistic view prevent frontline teams from identifying their most valuable and profitable customers. This session provides a strategic blueprint to transform relationship banking from a mere slogan into a reality.

Breakout 2: Building A High-Performing Team
Many traditional banking professionals lack the necessary technical skills in data analytics, AI, and cloud computing, while tech-savvy younger hires may lack essential “soft skills” like communication and negotiation. The talent divide can put your institution at a competitive disadvantage. This session explores how to bridge the gap and build a high-performing team.

Breakout 3: Access vs. Features: A New Tech Priority
New data reveals that 82% of customers prioritize ease of access over new features. This necessitates a shift in  technology focus from product enhancement to front-end optimization. This session offers a technical framework to enhance your digital banking platform’s user experience, ensuring development efforts align with customer demands.

Breakout 4: Vetting AI for Fraud and Compliance
AI can assist  in the fight against fraud, but a poorly vetted tool can expose your bank to significant regulatory and financial risk. This session provides a practical guide for thoroughly vetting vendors and selecting AI solutions that effectively mitigate risk and ensure compliance.

3:10 PM – 3:40 PM
Evolution or Extinction: Point/Counterpoint Debate
Speaker to be Announced, Baker Hill Solutions LLC
Additional Speakers to be Announced
Moderated by:  Sal Inserra, Senior Advisor, Bank Director
A favorite of Bank Director conference attendees, this session pits industry experts against each other to debate the most controversial issues in strategic growth.  You don’t want to miss this heated – and informative – session!

3:40 PM – 3:55 PM
Refreshment Break

3:55 PM – 4:55 PM
Peer Exchanges: Session 2
Building on the first round of peer exchanges, banker participants return to their same peer groups and attend the second round of peer exchange sessions facilitated by industry leaders.

5:05 PM – 5:35 PM
The Power of People
Kristin Pruitt, President, Lake City Bank
Andrew Samuel, CEO, LINKBANK
Additional Speaker to be Announced
Moderated by:  Michelle King, CEO, Bank Director
This session examines how a strong culture and empowering leadership foster a motivated workforce that adapts to change and drives innovation. Discover how these dedicated teams are not only meeting today’s financial challenges but also shaping the future of community banking.

5:35 PM – 6:35 PM
Networking Peer & Guest Reception
Sponsored by: HC3

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Breakfast

8:00 AM – 8:05 AM
Day Two Welcome
Michelle King, CEO, Bank Director
Laura Schield, President & COO, Bank Director
As we begin day two of the Summit, Michelle and Laura reveal key findings from this year’s Bank Director research and what is top of mind for bank executives based on respondent feedback.

8:05 AM – 8:35 AM
Maintaining Your Competitive Edge
Speaker to be Announced, Q2
Speaker to be Announced, SRM
Additional Speaker to be Announced
Moderated by:  Emily McCormick, Vice President of Editorial & Research, Bank Director
In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing economic landscape, financial institutions face constant pressure to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. This panel discussion brings together industry leaders and experts to share their insights on strategies for maintaining a competitive advantage.

8:45 AM – 9:25 AM
Breakout Sessions (select one)

Breakout 1: Branch Renaissance: Maximizing ROI Through Strategic Marketing, Acquisition & Cross-Sell
Juliet D’Ambrosio, Chief Experience Officer, Adrenaline
This session examines how leading financial institutions are transforming branches from cost centers to high-performing revenue engines through strategic marketing and customer engagement. Explore cutting-edge approaches including: “zonal planning” to optimize customer flow and increase conversions, experience design to deepen engagement, merchandising to drive product awareness and uptake, staff choreography to maximize relationship-building, and data-driven customer journey optimization.

Breakout 2: Bridging the Skills Gap
This session provides insights into identifying existing skills gaps in the executive team, developing targeted training programs and fostering a culture of continuous learning to equip leaders with the competencies necessary to navigate today’s complex financial landscape.

Breakout 3: Evaluating Core Systems for the Digital Era
Speaker to be Announced, ICI Consulting
Choosing the right core system has never been more critical. This session highlights how financial institutions are reassessing core platforms, navigating modernization efforts and leveraging AI as a practical tool for smarter operations. Discover how thoughtful evaluations and negotiations can help balance innovation with cost control while supporting growth and customer engagement.

Breakout 4: Navigating Compliance & Regulations for Operational Excellence
This session will provide comprehensive updates on essential regulations, including Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. Participants gain practical and actionable insights aimed at not only ensuring compliance with these complex regulations but also strategies that organizations can implement to streamline their compliance processes effectively.

9:25 AM – 9:40 AM
Refreshment Break

9:40 AM – 10:40 AM
Peer Exchanges: Session 3
Banker participants return to their previous peer exchange groups for the third round of peer exchange sessions facilitated by industry leaders.

10:50 AM – 11:20 AM
Keynote: Building Essential Skills to Elevate Leadership
This keynote session explores the foundational leadership skills including strategic thinking, emotional intelligence and effective communication which are essential for cultivating a high-performing culture within banking organizations. Discover how investing in professional development and skill-building can empower leaders to inspire their teams, drive innovation and navigate the complexities of the modern banking industry.

11:20 AM – 11:50 AM
Identifying the Next CEO
Speakers to be Announced
Moderated by:  Michelle King, CEO, Bank Director
In today’s dynamic banking landscape, aspiring CEO candidates must equip themselves with a diverse array of skills and competencies that go beyond traditional banking expertise. Join us for an engaging session where seasoned CEOs from leading financial institutions share their insights on the essential skill sets that pave the way to the corner office.

11:50 AM – 11:55 AM
Closing Remarks
Michelle King, CEO, Bank Director