Within the run-up to FinovateFall, which takes place on September 9 by 11 in New York, we requested a number of audio system for his or her views on applied sciences shaping monetary providers, the largest challenges dealing with banks, and why they maintain coming again to Finovate.
Under is a preview of what 4 audio system needed to say forward of this 12 months’s occasion.
Michael Reynolds, Enterprise Expertise Government at KeyBank

Michael Reynolds leads clever automation at KeyBank, the place he oversees robotic course of automation, clever doc processing, low-code growth, and generative AI initiatives. Underneath his management, KeyBank’s digital workforce now performs the equal of greater than 500 staff’ price of labor.
Why Finovate?
“Finovate is likely one of the few conferences the place you may see actual, working expertise, not idea slides. The reside demo format lets banks shortly assess what’s production-ready, determine rising fintech companions, and evaluate innovation throughout a number of classes in only a few days. Finovate highlights tons of of fintech demos and attracts a big viewers of banking decision-makers, making it a extremely sensible venue for each studying and networking.”
What is going to banks have to prioritize over the subsequent 18 months?
“Banks might want to prioritize AI-powered productiveness and agentic automation. The winners will probably be establishments that mix AI with sturdy governance, safety, and operational integration, not these merely deploying chatbots.”
The place is AI making the largest influence right this moment?
“Inside our group, essentially the most quick influence is in operations and worker productiveness: automating handbook processes, accelerating information retrieval, bettering service supply, and serving to groups focus extra time on increased worth work whereas sustaining applicable controls and oversight.”
Sam Kilmer, Managing Director at Cornerstone Advisors

Sam Kilmer leads Cornerstone Advisors’ work with fintechs, monetary establishments, and personal fairness companies. A longtime banking govt and host of the Fintech Hustle podcast, he spends a lot of his time serving to organizations navigate innovation and partnerships.
Why Finovate?
“Finovate is fast-paced, so likes hit quick and dislikes are over shortly. It exposes me to a variety of earlier stage firms.”
What ought to the trade give attention to subsequent?
“Banks might want to enhance exhibiting outcomes and storytelling authentically to face out from more and more AI-generated content material and claims.”
Andrew Endicott, CoFounder at Gilgamesh Ventures

Andrew Endicott is Co-Founding father of Gilgamesh Ventures, an early-stage fintech enterprise capital agency investing globally in firms from pre-seed by Collection A. Earlier than changing into an investor, he co-founded bank card fintech Petal and lately authored the e-book Is Finance Expertise?
Why Finovate?
“Nice combine of monetary establishments and fintechs multi functional place. Actually excited to be a part of it.”
What monetary providers drawback nonetheless wants fixing?
“There are a lot of issues in finance which might be unsolved, however I really feel that wire transfers are a giant one.”
Katherine Avery, Founder at Chimayo Consulting

Katherine Avery is founding father of Chimayo Consulting and a veteran enterprise threat govt with greater than 20 years of expertise spanning banking, capital markets, commodities, digital belongings, and AI governance. She helps monetary establishments construct governance frameworks that maintain tempo with quickly evolving expertise.
Why Finovate?
“Finovate earns its place as a result of it’s practitioner pushed quite than vendor theater. The demos are reside and unscripted, judged by individuals who really implement this expertise, which forces a stage of rigorother conferences don’t demand.”
What ought to banks prioritize over the subsequent 18 months?
“Banks have to operationalize AI governance now, not after deployment. The establishments that deal with mannequin threat administration, explainability, and third get together AI oversight as foundational, quite than bolted on post-launch, would be the ones nonetheless standingwhen regulators catch as much as the tempo of adoption, which they’ll inside this window.”
What’s one change you imagine will essentially reshape fintech within the subsequent 5 years?
“The change I imagine will essentially reshape fintech within the subsequent 5 years is the shift from AI as a discrete software to AI as an embedded determination maker throughout underwriting, monitoring, and buyer interplay. That shift collapses the outdated boundary between innovation and threat capabilities. Governance can not sit downstream of deployment.”
What’s one fintech pattern you imagine will speed up within the last quarter of 2026?
“One pattern I anticipate to speed up in This fall 2026 is the transfer towards agentic AI in again workplace and compliance capabilities. Establishments are getting extra comfy letting AI take bounded, delegated actions in monitoring and management testing, and that consolation willkeep constructing by 12 months finish.”
What’s one drawback in monetary providers that fintech nonetheless hasn’t solved nicely sufficient but?
“The issue fintech nonetheless hasn’t solved nicely sufficient is third get together threat visibility. Banks are stitching collectively extra distributors and platforms than ever, and most threat frameworks nonetheless can’t see deep sufficient into that offer chain to catch focus or contagion threat earlier than it turns into an actual occasion, not only a checkbox on an evaluation.”
See them on stage at FinovateFall
These are only a few of the views you’ll hear at FinovateFall this September. From AI governance and clever automation to enterprise investing and rising fintech tendencies, our audio system convey firsthand expertise from the establishments constructing—and funding—the way forward for monetary providers.
Browse the total agenda and register right this moment to listen to these consultants, watch reside fintech demos, and join with leaders from throughout the banking and fintech ecosystem.
Picture by Leeloo The First
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