Money isn’t Everything explores the many ways fintech is changing what it means to be a bank or credit union. Host Mary Wisniewski, Cornerstone's editor-at-large and long-time fintech reporter, interviews early-stage startups, academics, and creative fintech thinkers, on how they're rewriting financial services. Listen every other Thursday morning. Expect laughter.
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Join host Sam Kilmer, fintech advisor, in unscripted conversations with top fintech industry leaders. No planned corporate talking points, no scripts, no pitches. Just useful advice and insights. To keep it lively, Sam often brings co-hosts like author/researcher Ron Shevlin, former American Banker editor Mary Wisniewski, and former Bank Director President Al Dominick.
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Plugged In brings you raw, honest takes on all things in the banking industry. That means you aren’t going to get some buzzword-filled, cliche podcast – you’re getting an unfiltered look into topics in the financial world no one else is talking about. Your hosts, Al Dominick and Steve Williams, will talk to top players in the industry about what matters now, and what will shape the future. To groove along with Al and Steve's song references each episode, check out the official Plugged In Spo ...
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Gen Z: How to Woo the Most Diverse Generation Yet
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Send us a text While financial institutions across the country want to win over Gen Z, the demographic tends to mystify them. Katrin Kaurov, co-founder and CEO of Frich, is on a mission to help solve both challenges. Katrin talks to Mary about Gen Z stereotypes, techniques that resonate with young adults and rethinking financial literacy. She also …
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The Future of Security in Fintech with Parilee Wang, Charles Potts & Joe Cody
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In this episode of the Fintech Hustle podcast, host Sam Kilmer and co-host Mary Wisniewski sit down with guests Parilee Wang (Alloy), Charles Potts (ICBA, BankTech Ventures), and Joe Cody (Q2) to chat about the exciting world of fintech. They dive into what a typical day looks like for fintech pros, how banking and tech are blending, and why respon…
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Is Financial Therapy the Next Frontier in Banking?
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Send us a text The emotional side of money is an emerging area of interest for fintech and digital banking executives. On today’s show, Mary sits down with Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, who among other titles, is a financial therapist. In fact, through December 2024, Lindsay is working as Cash App’s financial therapist. Lindsay talks with Mary about the ne…
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Inside Detroit Fintech: Rethinking Value with Ben Maxim
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Send us a text In September, the Reseda Group held a fintech summit in Detroit, showcasing a range of technology designed to improve credit unions’ products and services. Mary emcee-ed the event. In this episode, Ben Maxim (the chief operating officer at the Reseda Group) chats with Mary about the flavorful themes that emerged during the Detroit ev…
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Today on the show, Steve quizzes Al on the hottest topics discussed at the recent Association for Financial Technology Fall Summit held in Palm Springs. Among them: the Federal Reserve’s rate cut and what it could mean for regional banks, mounting regulatory fintech issues, holes in talent pipeline and whether branches are going extinct in the next…
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Insights from the AFT Fall Summit // Sarah Fankhauser, Melissa Kopp, Jacob Bouer
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In this episode of the FinTech Hustle podcast, host Sam Kilmer and co-host Al Dominick engage with industry leaders Melissa Kopp (Neural Payments), Sarah Fankhauser (DCI), and Jacob Bouer (Array) at the AFT Fall Summit. The conversation explores their daily experiences in the FinTech sector, insights gained from the conference, especially from Apri…
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Ep 33: Lake City's Secret Sauce // CEO David Findlay
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Lake City Bank has managed to grow its book value per share even amid some of the thorniest industry challenges. David Findlay, Chairman and CEO of Lake City Bank, talks to Al and Steve about why the bank is creating an innovation and tech center in Indiana, the significance of elevating the retail banker role and the importance of community outrea…
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The Retention Perk That Also Improves Financial Health
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Send us a text A 2024 policy shift is letting employees offer a newer kind of perk: When employees make student loan payments, their employers can plop savings into their tax-advantage retirement plan as their matches. Today on the show, Mary sits down with Laurel Taylor, founder and CEO at Candidly, to explore why and how her company is tackling t…
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Barb MacLean, Danny Payne and Nick Evens at Finovate Fall 2024
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In this episode of the Fintech Hustle podcast, host Sam Kilmer and co-host Stacey Bryant chat with Barb MacLean (Coastal Community Bank), Danny Payne (Jack Henry), and Nick Evens (Curql Collective) at the Finovate Fall conference about their roles in the fintech industry. They discuss topics such as enabling community banks through technology, mode…
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Ep 32: How This 177-Year-Old Bank Innovates // Nitin Mhatre
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It’s action packed in banking right now as regulatory uncertainty mounts with the looming presidential election. Today on the show, Al and Steve pick the brain of Nitin Mhatre, the CEO of Berkshire Bank, on the most pressing issues in banking. They explore the tension of a bank changing for the times while preserving its relationship-driven company…
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Finding Fintechs: How This Young Bank Pursues Partners
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Send us a text 2024 is considered the year of the consent order in banking. The added regulatory scrutiny is shifting the way banks partner with fintech companies. In this episode, Mary sits down with Rodrigo Suarez, chief banking officer at Piermont Bank. They explore what the young New York bank is seeking out in fintech. Rodrigo also shares why …
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Ep 31: The Recipe for Growing a Bank in 2024 with WesBanco’s Jeff Jackson
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As Jeff Jackson, the CEO of WesBanco, sees it, M&A activity can only go up. In this episode, Al and Steve chat with Jeff about why that is and what is at stake for community banks across the country. They also explore other banking classics, including what the future of delivery in banking looks like, how to retain employees and what has helped the…
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How H&R Block Is Building Its Money App For The Masses
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Send us a text You likely know the brand H&R Block. But more than two years ago, the tax-preparation chain launched Spruce: an app that connects to a debit card and savings account where funds are held at its bank partner, Pathward. Today on the show, Mary sits down with John Thompson, vice president of product management for financial services at …
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Ep 30: Who's Swimming Without a Bathing Suit?
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The frequent flyer miles are overflowing for Steve and Al as they continue to visit banks across the country. In this episode, they dish on the burning C-suite issues, including: recession risks, core deposit growth challenges (and ideas to overcome them) and an area they believe bankers need to step it up on – their succession planning. Don’t worr…
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Inside Fintech Sandbox: The startup traits required for success
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Send us a text As the executive director of Fintech Sandbox, Kelly Fryer interacts with all kinds of fintech startups. In this episode, Kelly offers her take on important startup issues. She talks with Mary about the challenges fintech startups located outside of the coasts are up against, clashes between fintech and bank cultures and career pathin…
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Allison Cerra, Laura Broderick, Sam Das & Brian Bauer
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In this episode of Fintech Hustle, host Sam Kilmer and co-host Mary Wisniewski are joined by a panel of guests including Allison Cerra (Alkami), Laura Broderick (Abrigo), Sam Das (TruStage Ventures), and Brian Bauer (Revio), where they discuss the impact of generational shifts on financial institutions, the need for data strategy and AI implementat…
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Send us a text In this episode, Mary chats with Tony Brancato, the head of product for the neobank for older adults called Charlie. Tony chats about why he thinks payments need to slow down, how shame is masking just how many seniors are getting scammed and where to acquire customers. They also chat about whether or not their parents hit the clubs.…
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The Fitness Coach for Finances: One Startup's Mission
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Send us a text StellarFi is not the first fintech company Lamine Zarrad has founded. This plucky serial fintech founder chats with Mary about his wild ride working as a bank regulator by day, and designing a pot payment startup (Tokken) on nights and weekends -- something he said he felt compelled to do. Now at StellarFi, he is compelled to rethink…
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Fixing Gaps in the Credit System Through Subscription Payments
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Send us a text Michael Broughton learned about the complications of the credit scoring system while struggling to access credit to help him pay for a portion of his USC tuition. Now, as the founder and CEO of Altro, he’s working to expand the ways people can build credit history by reporting subscription payments to credit bureaus. He tells Mary ab…
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Nicky Senyard and Ted Brown at Financial Brand Forum 2024 with Guest Co-Host Ron Shevlin
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In this conversation, Sam Kilmer, Ron Shevlin, Nicky Senyard (Fintel Connect), and Ted Brown (Digital Onboarding) discuss the role of CEOs and founders in the fintech industry. They talk about the evolving nature of the CEO role and the importance of building a strong team. They also discuss the challenges and opportunities in the banking industry,…
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Girl Math: Inside the psychology of payments
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Send us a text Sophia Goldberg, CEO and co-founder of Ansa and author of "The Field Guide to Global Payments," views Girl Math as a joyful expression. Sophia explores the social media trend with Mary and shares her view on why it matters to all brands. They also discuss what’s broken with gift cards and opine on reward programs that resonate with p…
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Pam Kaur, Julie Muhn and Christian Widhalm in the Hall at Finovate Spring
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In this episode of Fintech Hustle, Sam Kilmer interviews Pam Kaur (BankTech Ventures), Julie Muhn (Finovate), and Christian Widhalm (Bloom Credit) at Finovate Spring. They discuss various topics including bank technology, fintech innovation, credit data infrastructure, attracting the next generation of customers, regulations, and the future of bank…
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Send us a text Eric Siegel, founder of Machine Learning Week conferences and former Columbia University professor, has focused his attention on cutting through the AI exuberance in his newer book, “The AI Playbook.” Eric talks to Mary about what corporations get wrong about one of the buzziest technologies and offers practical steps to take instead…
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Laura Costello and Carlos Carvajal at Financial Brand Forum 2024 with guest co-host Ron Shevlin
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In this episode of Fintech Hustle, Sam Kilmer and guest co-host Ron Shevlin sit down with Laura Costello (Meridianlink) and Carlos Carvajal (Q2) to discuss what’s hot in marketing and offer their Financial Brand Forum takeaways.
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What This Startup Teaches Us About Behavioral Economics
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Send us a text Debbie, an early-stage fintech startup, is rewriting the rules on rewards. Instead of offering consumers rewards for spending, Debbie offers rewards for paying down their debt and saving money at a time when credit card and auto loan delinquency rates have increased to their highest level since the Great Recession, per data from the …
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Ep 29: Are You Ready For Some… Bank CEO Perspective // Mike Daniels
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Mike Daniels, the chairman and CEO of Nicolet Bank and Green Bay Packers’ board member, talks to Al and Steve about what it takes for a community bank to flourish right now and the NFL offseason. They also chat about how to preserve company culture when the business is scaling and offer tips on what not to do in pursuing deposits. Also, Mike provid…
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What is fintech (really)?: Finovate founder weighs in
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Send us a text It’s past and present fintech innovations in this edition of Money isn’t Everything. In today’s show, Mary sits down with Jim Bruene who founded one of the first fintech events, Finovate, at a time when many didn’t know fintech was becoming a thing. They explore the challenges of staying creative at a corporation and offer workaround…
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Ep 28: The Lessons of '24 (So Far): This Is Going To Be Rough!
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In this episode, Al and Steve discuss the mounting scrutiny on banking-as-a-service providers, the perplexities tied to a higher interest rate environment and the mounting concerns of succession planning. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Your hosts also chat about when M&A activity will pick up, how to preserve and nurture creativity while also mit…
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Can fintech and banks truly help people build savings habits?
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Send us a text Consumers are depleting the savings they built during the pandemic. Mary Wisniewski sits down with Ethan Bloch, the founder of Digit, one of the first algorithmic saving apps to hit the U.S. They examine: overdraft fees, best practices for building a product that inspires behavior change and whether fintech has improved financial ser…
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Send us a text The financial services industry isn’t that basic. Sure, banks and credit unions hold money. But their ambitions are much grander. Hosted by long-time fintech reporter Mary Wisniewski, Money isn’t Everything explores the ways banking may change for better or worse. We’ll hear from rebels of banking, journalists and fintech entrepreneu…
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Ep 27: The bold bankers with Al Dominick and Mary Wisniewski
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It’s hard to stand out in banking but not impossible. In this cross-over edition of Plugged In, Al Dominick sits down with Mary Wisniewski to explore talent retention, theatrical innovation acts and the importance of the return on tech. They also get into mistakes banks make (ahem, on their social media video efforts) and introduce Mary's new show,…
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Mark Forbis, Tiffany Matthews and Jeff Harper from AFT Spring Summit 2024
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Sam Kilmer and co-host Stacey Bryant catch up with industry legend Mark Forbis (THL Partners), Tiffany Matthews (Tyfone) and Jeff Harper (Fintegrate) at the AFT Spring Summit 24 to throw down on various topics related to the fintech industry. They discuss their day-to-day experiences, including the challenges and opportunities they encounter, highl…
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Ep 26: What does it take to be a successful bank? // Tom Michaud
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Tom Michaud, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, is back! This time, he joins Steve and Al to answer the question bankers across the country want to know: How to compete with big institutions and non-banks. On the show, they get into common mistakes banks make, takeaways from KBW’s Winter Financial Services confere…
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Erin Simpson, Sue Salecky, Kelly Brown and Nathaniel Harley from AOBA 2024
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The latest Fintech Hustle podcast takes an adventurous spin as we carpool through the desert with fintech rock stars Nathaniel Harley, Kelly Brown, Sue Salecky, and Erin Simpson. Recorded between sessions at banking's premier conference, Acquire or Be Acquired, Sam Kilmer and co-host Al Dominick dig into our guests' conference takeaways to uncover …
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Ep 25: Pizza parties, digital banks, university appeal // April Clobes
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In this episode, Al and Steve sit down with April Clobes, president and CEO of MSU Federal Credit Union, to chat about growth strategies in Michigan, a state that ranks 49th in overall population growth since the 1990s. Spoiler: For the university credit union, it includes more intimate marketing, like sponsoring green-and-white pizzas (the univers…
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Samantha Paxson from Co-op Solutions and Nathan Baumeister of Z-Suite join Sam and Mary to discuss aligning growth strategies with consumer needs. You'll also get a peek into Samantha's philanthropic journey with Shades Up for Kids, blending personal passion with the credit union ethos. Samantha and Nathan share stories from the trenches on fosteri…
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Ep 24: Banking on Resilience: Navigating the Digital Frontier // Kirk Wycoff and Tom Cestare
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Join Al Dominick and Steve Williams as they speak with Kirk Wycoff, managing partner, and Tom Cestare, COO, of Patriot Financial Partners to delve into how banks are building resilience through digital innovation. This episode features discussions on the integration of technology in banking operations, the importance of maintaining a robust digital…
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Ep 23: It’s Not Too Corny to Talk About Love and Banking
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In this year’s final episode of Plugged In, Al and Steve reflect on their favorite moments from 2023 – including in banking, books and music. They also explore the top traits that make for smarter banks. Bonus: Hear the backstory of how the GonzoBanker Awards were developed. Subscribe to Plugged In for the latest from industry leaders in Banking, F…
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Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of the FinTech Hustle podcast? This special flashback episode pulls back the curtain as we, your hosts Sam Kilmer, Mary Wisniewski, Ron Shevlin, Al Dominick, and the usually behind-the-scenes Bailee Wishart, journey through our favorite podcast moments, featuring key moments from former guests Kara Parke…
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Ep 22: Scaling the Bank: ‘We’re Not Going to Stand Still’ // Maria Tedesco
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Al and Steve sit down with Maria Tedesco, the president of Atlantic Union, the commonwealth of Virginia’s largest independent bank. They explore how to navigate some of the thorniest industry challenges, including: retaining deposits in a rising rate environment, cultivating trust in digital channels and leading efforts to diversify talent, especia…
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Sarah Howell & Dan O'Malley from JAM Fintop
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Sam Kilmer and co-host Al Dominick are joined by Infinant’s Sarah Howell and Numerated’s Dan O’Malley at the JAM FINTOP Summit in Nashville. The lively unscripted chat explores how to cope with executive naysayers, cultivating courage as a changemaker and promising fintech trends. Al and Sam don't disappoint with their signature style: Pocket squar…
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Ep 21: Smarter Bank Live! With Al Dominick and Steve Williams
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Al and Steve are back! Here is the audio version of their Smarter Bank Live virtual event that you don't want to miss. Join the insightful discussion on how banks can transform into "Smarter Banks" in the current environment. They explore 5 key pillars - being hyper-efficient, differentiated, nimble, data-driven, and opportunistic. Steve and Al sha…
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Ep 20: Testing Ideas, Inspiring Talent and Growing Franchise Value // Kevin Blair
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Kevin Blair, the CEO of Synovus, shares with Al and Steve his views on hybrid work, sourcing talent from outside of banking, and chasing ideas even when the undercurrents are tough like right now. Among the bank’s recent pursuits? Launching Maast (money-as-a-service) while preparing to become a $100B bank.Subscribe to Plugged In for the latest in B…
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Tori VanCura-Rutland and Tyler Brantley Live from AFT Conference
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Sam Kilmer is joined by HC3’s Tori VanCura-Rutland and Core10’s Tyler Brantley at the Association for Financial Technology’s conference in Lake Tahoe. There, they dish on the notion of banks becoming utility players, encourage the industry to focus on determining which problems to solve, and more. Sam promises it’s not a body slam round.…
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Emily Steele and John Waupsh Live from Finovate Fall
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By Sam Kilmer
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Ep 19: It’s Awfully Hard to be Creative (and Other Existential Challenges) // Chip Mahan
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On this episode Al Dominick and Steve Williams sit down with legendary entrepreneur Chip Mahan, founder of companies like Live Oak Bank and Canapi Ventures. Chip shares his unique perspective on innovation, building customer trust, controlling your tech destiny, and more. You'll hear Chip's incredible origin story, how he convinced reluctant partne…
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Ep 18: Baby Don’t Hurt Me: Bankers and AI // Sarah Hinkfuss
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How is AI transforming banking and financial services? On this episode, Al and Steve talk with Sarah Hinkfuss (Bain Capital Ventures) to provide an insider's perspective on the impact of generative AI tools like ChatGPT.They discuss strategies banks are taking to adopt AI: building custom models in-house, configuring existing solutions, and adoptin…
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By Sam Kilmer
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Ep 17: Tech Companies Aren't Immortal and Banks Aren't Dead
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On this episode, Al Dominick and Steve Williams give an unfiltered look at what's next for financial institutions during a time of rising rates, economic uncertainty, and fast-changing technology.You'll get the duo's straight talk on:Why historic Fed rate hikes call for long-term strategic planning, not knee-jerk reactionsHow to retain top talent a…
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Ep 16: Banking on Creativity // Jill Castilla
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On this episode of Plugged In, Al and Steve talk with Jill Castilla, President and CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond, who shares her perspectives on incorporating creativity, promoting transparency, and implementing innovation in banking. Among her achievements are the successful revitalization of downtown Edmond through the 'Heard on Hurd' music fest…
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