Anton Schutz is an experienced bank stock investor and founder of Mendon Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on early- to mid-stage technology companies. The Mendon Capital Advisors founder and CIO is leading the field for financial-focused funds as M&A activity accelerates.

April Clobes has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Michigan State University Federal Credit Union since March of 2015. She joined MSUFCU in 1996 and moved through the organization from a marketing specialist to management and executive positions prior to being named President/CEO.

Ms. Clobes has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from Michigan State University, a Master of Arts degree from Michigan State University in Advertising, and a Master of Business Administration from Western Michigan University. She has earned several awards, including Top Woman to Watch by the Credit Union Times in 2013; the Detroit Free Press Leadership Award in 2016; the ATHENA award from the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and an Honorary Alumni Award from Oakland University in 2017; and the Detroit Free Press Top Workplaces Leadership Award in the large category group in 2018.

Brandi Gregory has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry with an emphasis on relationship management, payments, and contract negotiations.

As a managing director in Cornerstone Advisors’ Contract Negotiation and Payments practices, Brandi leads a team of experts with a collective goal of helping banks and credit unions improve their financial performance through the optimization of their credit and debit card businesses. With her analytical skills and expertise, Brandi shows clients how to take a holistic view of their payments businesses to ensure their vendor partnerships and contracts for both branding and processing are aligned with their strategic long-term goals.

Brent Beardall is President & CEO of WaFd Bank, a national bank headquartered in Seattle, Washington (NASDAQ: WAFD).  WaFd Bank is the largest bank headquartered in Washington State with over $19 billion in assets and 215 offices located in eight western states.  In 2021 WaFd Bank was recognized as the best bank in four of its eight states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and New Mexico) by Newsweek.

He WaFd Bank in 2001 as Vice President & Controller. In 2003 he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer, a position he served in for eleven years. Prior to this he served as Chief Banking Officer where he was responsible for all client-facing activities of the bank. He was awarded the title of President & CEO in 2017, becoming only the sixth CEO in the bank’s 104-year history.

Mr. Beardall received a master’s degree in Professional Accounting from Brigham Young University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Washington State.

Chip Mahan has built his career revolutionizing the banking industry. He founded and currently serves as CEO and Chairman of Live Oak Bancshares, headquartered in Wilmington, NC. Its commercial banking subsidiary, Live Oak Bank, specializes in providing lending and deposit services to small businesses nationwide and is the nation’s leading SBA lender.

Chip is also a managing partner and co-founder of Canapi Ventures, a series of funds focused on providing venture capital to new and emerging financial technology companies. He currently serves on several fintech and financial services boards including Apiture; cloud-based cyber security firm DefenseStorm; and the American Bankers Association. He is also a co-founder of nCino, a cloud-based banking software built on the Salesforce platform; Finxact, the cloud-native core-as-a-service platform founded in part by Mahan and other industry pioneers; and Payrailz, a digital payment company.

Collyn Gilbert, the Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Valley Bank takes Plugged In's hosts, Al Dominick and Steve Williams, behind the scenes of the $54B+ institution.  The three share quite a few laughs while talking about how to architect a strategy, areas of potential opportunities — and how to keep strategic planning from becoming a glorified budgeting activity.

David Findlay serves as the Chairman of the boards of directors and Chief Executive Officer of Lakeland Financial and Lake City Bank. Mr. Findlay also served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2014-2023, President and Chief Financial Officer from 2010-2014 and Chief Financial Officer from 2000-2010. Prior to joining Lakeland Financial in September 2000, Mr. Findlay served as the Chief Financial Officer of Quality Dining Inc., a publicly traded company with its headquarters in South Bend, Indiana. Prior to that, he served in various capacities with The Northern Trust Company in Chicago, Illinois.

Eric Sprink serves as President and CEO of Coastal Community Bank and Coastal Financial Corp. Coastal prides itself on being “un-bankey” and has organically grown from less than $200 million in assets when Eric joined the bank in 2006, to more than $2 billion today.
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Because of the relationships the bank has built with FinTech’s, Eric is a frequent speaker and advocate for bank/Fintech partnerships. He has worked closely with a number of regulatory bodies as the banking industry evolves and faces disruption.
In spite of living in the Pacific Northwest, Eric is a Tarheel and will happily share his thoughts on North Carolina sports. Active in community affairs, Eric is a past chair of the Community Bankers of Washington and is involved with numerous local non-profits.

With more than 40 years of financial services experience, Gene Ludwig is widely recognized as a thought leader in business and economic analysis, and an expert on banking regulation, risk management, and fiscal policy. 

Mr. Ludwig is co-managing partner of Canapi Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investments in early to growth-stage fintech companies, and CEO of Ludwig Advisors, which advises financial firms on critical matters. He is founder and former CEO and chairman of Promontory Financial Group, where he was an IBM executive after the firm was acquired in 2016. He is also the founder and former chairman of Promontory Interfinancial Network (now IntraFi Network). Under his leadership, the Promontory family of companies have become synonymous with excellence in compliance and risk management.

Ian Andrews is Chief Marketing Officer at Chainalysis and host of the podcast Public Key. In this role Ian is helping crypto businesses, financial institutions and government agencies make the world of cryptocurrency safe for everyone. Prior to Chainalysis, Ian held leadership positions at market defining startups including Pivotal Software, Aster Data, and Opsware.

Jeffrey Jackson (WesBanco) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation and the Bank.  He formerly served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation and President and Chief Operating Officer of the Bank from August 15, 2022 until August 1, 2023. Mr. Jackson formerly served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Regional Banking for First Horizon Bank based in Memphis, TN and also served as Regional President for the State of Florida and Market President for Southeast Tennessee and Atlanta.  Prior to his career in banking, he spent 15 years with IBM in a variety of positions.  Mr. Jackson is a graduate of Auburn University and received a Certificate of Corporate strategy from Columbia University.

As President and CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond, Jill Castilla is a nationally recognized innovator in the banking industry. Under Jill's leadership, the one-branch community bank in an Oklahoma City suburb became a major player on the national stage and now sits alongside banking industry heavyweights.

Her background includes service in the U.S. Army and Oklahoma Army National Guard and various positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Jill currently serves as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army. She was also appointed to the Federal Advisory Council, representing the Fed's Kansas City District.

Jill's collection of industry accolades include: one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking (American Banker), Banker of the Year (Cornerstone Advisors), Most Innovative CEOs in Banking (Bank Innovation), Most Admired CEOs in Oklahoma (Journal Record), among others.

Former CEO and President of FirstBank, and currently board member for the largest headquartered bank in Colorado with $28 billion in assets, Jim Reuter boasts extensive banking and payments experience with a proven track record of innovation and transformation. Under Jim's leadership, FirstBank successfully navigated the pandemic and 2023 banking crisis while at the same time achieving record financial performance and earning numerous awards for customer satisfaction. A driver of innovation and change, Jim led the fourth bank in the nation to be part of the Zelle payment network, as well as one of the first to offer mobile banking and open accounts online. He has received multiple awards and honors for leadership and social impact, including the 2020 Denver Business Journal Most Admired CEO, and the 2023 DEI Leader Award. Jim has been sought out for industry leadership roles with the American Bankers Association, Federal Reserve Bank, and the Midsize Bank Coalition of America.

Former Idaho Central Credit Union (ICCU) CEO and President, Kent Oram,  announced his retirement effective December 31, 2022. 

Oram joined ICCU in 1984 and was named CEO in 2007. During his CEO tenure, ICCU grew from $613 million to $8.7 billion in assets, $520 million to $7.4 billion in loans, $536 million to $7.7 billion in deposits, 67,797 members to 516,538 members, 249 team members to 1,700 team members and from 18 branch locations to 46. Oram was selected as the CUES Outstanding Chief Executive in 2013 and was inducted into the CUES Hall of Fame in 2014. He has been recognized as an Idaho Business Leader of the Year, Idaho Business Review CEO of Influence, and Idaho Business Review ICON. Oram recently served as Chair of the Northwest Credit Union Association. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Portneuf Medical Center as well as the Board of Directors for the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Kevin Blair is chairman, CEO and president of Synovus, a $60 billion asset bank founded in 1888. He leads a team focused on accelerating growth in loans, deposits, profits, and shareholder value by growing client relationships. Under his leadership, the company prioritizes improving client relationships by focusing on ease of doing business, seamless delivery, advice and guidance, and empowering team members to make a difference.

Kirk Wycoff has more than 25 years of entrepreneurial banking experience.  He served as Chairman, President and CEO of Continental Bank from its inception in 2005 through its sale in 2014. Mr. Wycoff also served on the investment committee of NewSpring Ventures (which he co-founded in 1999) and NewSpring Mezzanine Fund.

Mr. Wycoff was Chairman and CEO of Progress Financial Corp. from July 1991 to April 2004.  During his more than 12 years with Progress, the bank grew from $280 million in assets and seven offices, to more than $1.2 billion in assets and 21 offices.  Prior to leading Progress Bank, Mr. Wycoff served as Chairman and CEO of Crusader Savings Bank, a Philadelphia community bank which he transformed into a profitable mortgage lender.  He also held senior level positions with Girard Bank, Philadelphia Savings Fund Society and Reliance Insurance Company.

He is currently managing partner at Patriot Financial Partners

Lindsey Johnson joined the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) as President and CEO on July 5, 2022.

Prior to joining CBA, Johnson served as President of U.S. Mortgage Insurers, where she worked with member companies to advance the value of private mortgage insurance to borrowers and taxpayers.

Johnson previously held previous positions at PwC, as well as in the U.S. Senate, where she served as the Republican Staff Director for the Senate Banking Committee’s National Security and International Trade and Finance (NSITF) Subcommittee, as well as a Senior Policy Advisor to Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois).

Johnson also was Director for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta for seven years, representing the Bank in D.C. at the highest levels of government during several key legislative reforms that impacted the Bank including the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and Dodd-Frank Act.

Maria Tedesco is the President and COO of Atlantic Union Bank. Drawn to the banking industry for its potential to help people achieve their dreams of owning a home and saving for the future, Maria has over thirty years of varying experience in the industry. 

Prior to joining Atlantic Union Bank, Maria served as COO for the U.S. Retail and Business Banking lines at BMO Harris Bank. She worked at three different banks in the Boston area, where she grew up, starting at BayBank Harvard Trust, a small community bank in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her capabilities and passion for the industry were quickly recognized as she took on increasingly larger roles at Citizens and Santander Bank.

Maria has served various charitable and professional organizations, including the Girl Scouts of America and the Consumer Bankers Association. She graduated from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and accounting and earned her MBA from Northeastern University.

Mary Wisniewski has covered fintech and digital banking for more than 12 years. Her bylines have appeared in Gonzobanker, American Banker, Bankrate, the Associated Press and more.

She is an editor-at-large at Cornerstone Advisors where she helps shape content strategy and hosts Money isn’t Everything, a biweekly podcast that explores early-stage fintech ideas. She also writes a monthly editor’s note, Finteching with Mary, on LinkedIn.

Mary is a frequent speaker at a variety of leading digital banking events and guest on money-related podcasts, including: the Money Experience Summit, Finovate, Fintech Meetup, Breaking Banks, NPR’s The Indicator from Planet Money and more.

Mary received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Pepperdine University.

Mike is currently Chairman, President & CEO and a Director of Nicolet Bankshares, Inc., and Nicolet National Bank, which he co-founded in 2000 with Bob Atwell. Starting from zero, Nicolet is now an $8.5 billion in assets, and is publicly traded on NYSE under the symbol NIC. Nicolet has continued to grow organically every year since inception and has also grown through M&A activities. All told, Mike has led the successful integration of ten acquisitions in eight years. With close to 950 employees and 57 banking locations Nicolet is the second largest bank headquartered in Wisconsin and has offices in Michigan and Minnesota.

Mike is a 1986 graduate of St. Norbert College in De Pere WI. He also serves on a number of community and non-profit boards, including being the founding President of the Nicolet National Foundation. He is on the Board of Directors of the Green Bay Packers as well as the Board of Trustees at St. Norbert College. 

Nitin Mhatre joined Berkshire Bank as Chief Executive Officer and a Director in January 2021. He was previously Executive Vice President, Community Banking at Webster Bank, where he was a member of Webster Bank's executive team and led its Consumer and Business Banking groups and Webster Investment Services. Prior to joining Webster, he spent more than 13 years at Citigroup in various leadership roles across consumer-related businesses globally. Mr. Mhatre has served on the Board of the Consumer Bankers Association, headquartered in Washington D.C., since 2014 and was Chairman of the Board from 2019-20. He also serves on the Board of Cradles to Crayons Boston, based in Newton, Massachusetts.

Ron Shevlin has been a management consultant for more than 25 years, working with leading financial services, consumer products, retail, and manufacturing firms all over the world. As Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors, Ron calls on his analytical acumen to author a variety of corporate and commissioned research reports.

Considered one of the banking industry’s most notable experts, Ron’s opinions are regularly sought for inclusion in major banking publications. He writes weekly for Forbes and has published hundreds of articles for his Snarketing blog. A seasoned professional speaker, Ron’s insights and quirky sense of humor are in high demand for trade events and podcasts.

Sarah Hinkfuss, partner at Bain Capital Ventures, works with growth-stage founders across both application software and fintech. She is particularly interested in backing founders who have personal experience in the market they are creating.

Tom Brown is the CEO of Second Curve Capital, and has an outstanding twenty-year track record as an investor, analyst, and thought leader in the financial services industry. From 1989 through 1998, Tom was was the top-ranked bank analyst on Wall Street nine times, according to Institutional Investor magazine’s annual survey. 

In addition to his strong reputation as a financial services investor, Tom has a large following within the banking community. A three-part series of reports he published beginning in the mid-1990s, The Future of Banking, was widely acclaimed within banking circles for its thoughtful analysis of the challenges facing the banking industry, and for the innovative solutions it put forth. The reports continue to be highly regarded as a blueprint for effective banking strategies. Tom is regularly sought out to speak to bank boards of directors and industry associations seeking insights on critical industry issues.

Tom Cestare, partner and COO at Patriot Financial Partners, has over 30 years of experience in banking.  Prior to joining Patriot, Mr. Cestare served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2010-2020 at Beneficial Bancorp, a $6 billion bank based in Philadelphia, where he was responsible for corporate finance and accounting, risk management, investor relations, capital deployment and optimization, corporate planning/budgeting/forecasting, profitability analysis, interest rate risk and liquidity management, and investor relations. While at Beneficial, Mr. Cestare assisted in the conversion of Beneficial from a mutual to a fully public company raising over $500 million of capital which enabled the bank grow from $4.0 billion in assets to over $6 billion in assets at the time of it sale.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Cestare was the EVP and Chief Accounting Officer of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., a $92 billion Philadelphia bank. 

Tom Michaud serves as Stifel Global Co-Head of Global Institutional Equities & Advisory and the Chief Executive Officer of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), an investment bank specializing in the financial services sector. Tom co-led the firm's rebuilding efforts following 9/11 and was instrumental in launching the firm's IPO in 2006.

Tom was named Chief Executive Officer in October 2011. Under his leadership, KBW has evolved into the nation's premier investment bank to the financial services industry. The company is routinely recognized for its leadership in mergers & acquisitions, capital raising, and equity research. Tom maintains strong personal relationships with leading industry executives, policy makers, and institutional investors and has been instrumental in executing many of KBW's largest transactions. More recently, Tom has become an authority on the digitalization of banking and the emergence of fintech.