This event focuses strategies & tactics for financial firms to unlock more value from their AI investments.
Session Details
Now that the AI genie is out of the bottle, financial services firms are on the hook to make sure it delivers on its promise. This virtual event showcases strategies and tactics for realizing the value of AI while minimizing risk and maintaining the requisite security.
This virtual event brings together industry experts, thought-leaders, and professionals from financial services firms to share and showcase how they’re capitalizing on AI in their organizations.
Tailored for technology professionals at financial services firms, this event offers a detailed look into how AI is evolving at financial firms. Attendees will:
- Gain insight into the development of AI technologies including large-language models (LLMs), generative adversarial networks (GANs), neural nets, and their impact on the financial landscape.
- Learn practical and actionable tactics and strategies for improving decision-making, supporting customer engagement, and streamlining operational processes via the use of AI
- Discover solid best practices for de-risking AI and ensuring that their organizations align appropriately with regulatory and compliance frameworks and requirements.
This engaging event provides a platform for stimulating discussions and the exchange of ideas, and delivers practical insight for attendees seeking to “up their AI game”.
Panel Discussion | Best Practices in AI Implementation, Management, and Governance
This panel of industry all-stars shares their insight and wisdom on strategies and tactics that actually work when it comes to AI implementation, management, value realization, and governance.
Earn 3.0 CPE credits at this event! Click here for more information.
Agenda
10:00am – 10:05am
WSTA Introductions
James Kostulias | Managing Director, Integration Management Office, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. & WSTA 1st Vice President
As Managing Director in the Integration Management Office at Charles Schwab, James is responsible for leading the conversion of TD Ameritrade accounts to Schwab. In the Integration Management Office, James partners across all corporate areas, business lines and support functions to deliver the necessary projects, processes, and platforms in support of the Integration of the two firms. Previously, Kostulias was the Head of Retail Experience at TD Ameritrade, where he was responsible for the execution of the firm’s Retail Strategy, Client Experience, Digital Platforms, Learning and Development, Client Segmentation and LEAN Strategy. Prior to that, he served as Head of eCommerce, leading the digital strategy for web, mobile, social media, market data, and research, after holding TD Ameritrade’s Chief Information Officer position overseeing technology relationship management and project delivery for all business units.
Kostulias has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and has spent more than 19 of those years with TD Ameritrade/Charles Schwab across their Retail, Technology, and Active Trader businesses. He’s held a variety of leadership roles within the organization, including leading the TD Ameritrade and Scottrade Integration where he was responsible for all aspects of integration planning, strategy and execution, balancing four million client accounts to the penny. Prior to joining TD Ameritrade, Kostulias was with Datek Online where he held a variety of Operational Management Positions and with Moody’s Investor Services, where he designed and implemented a Global Senior Credit Analyst Professional Development Training Program.
Kostulias was the President of the Wall Street Technology Association from 2016-2022, previously sat on the FINRA Technology Advisory Committee, and is a graduate of the SIFMA Securities Institute Program at Wharton. Kostulias holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Rutgers University and Series 4, 7, 24 and 63, licenses.
10:05am – 10:20am
Industry Perspectives | Keeping it Real: Effective AI Governance In A World of Hype
John Burke | CTO, Nemertes
John Burke is CTO with Nemertes Research. He conducts and analyzes primary research in, and advises key enterprise and vendor clients on, hybrid cloud, software-defined networking including SD-WAN, automation, and DevOps. As a research analyst and consultant, he draws on his 30 years of experience as a practitioner and leader in IT to better understand the needs of IT executives and the challenges facing vendors trying to sell to them. His experience has given him broad and deep knowledge in computing, communications, and IT management. Mr. Burke holds an MA in the history of science and a bachelor of science in electrical engineering, both from The Johns Hopkins University. His interests include baking, birding, and beer.
Abstract
Many businesses struggle and fail to adequately prepare themselves for production use of LLMs. They have minimal policy around it, and for most, what policy they have is either unenforced or unenforceable. They have also failed to adequately adapt their existing processes in areas like data management and communications logging to the use of the AI tools, in a global environment in which the legal framework around AI gets more complex every few months, thanks to everything from the Biden executive orders on AI to the EU AI Act. As a result, they leave themselves open to greater risks of compliance failures, data breaches, and other actionable failures or mistakes.
Join Nemertes’ John Burke as he explores both the kinds of policies and processes financial services firms should have in place around AI use to maximize utility at acceptable risk levels, and the kinds of tooling they should be exploring to make those policies not just enforceable but enforced and auditable.
10:20am – 10:40am
Strategic Use of Generative AI with Intelligent Automation
Lou Bachenheimer, PhD | CTO, Americas, SS&C Blue Prism
Lou Bachenheimer, PhD is the CTO of Americas at SS&C Blue Prism, where automation and transformation has become a passion. Before joining Blue Prism, Lou was a Senior Client Technical Specialist for IBM Watson and Cloud Platform where he was distinguished as an IBM Recognized Speaker. Lou earned his PhD in computational nanotechnology from the University of Connecticut and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in robotics and mechanical engineering. Outside of work, he enjoys playing Warhammer 40k and reading Brandon Sanderson. Dr. Lou Bachenheimer lives in Connecticut with his wife Kelley and their two children..
Rob Paisley | Strategic Industry Director, Global Team Lead, SS&C Blue Prism
Rob is a seasoned Pre-Sales Archite specializing in Business Process Management (BPM), DevOps, RPA, and IDP platforms. With 15+ years of experience at firms like IBM, Kofax, Ayasdi, and CognitiveScale, he is a trusted advisor known for driving business value and achieving client goals. At SS&C Blue Prism, Rob pioneered industry-focused frameworks for insurance investment accounting and loan management, showcasing his innovative approach. Rob now leads the strategic industry and x-sell team at SS&C Blue Prism.
Abstract
During this presentation, we will share our philosophy for how to pair the strategic use of AI with Agentic Automation, practical advice for how to deploy these technologies at scale, and examples from our own internal transformation journey.
I will also need two questions for the moderator to ask the speakers should their be no audience questions during their 5 minute Q&A after their 15 minute presentation.
10:40am – 11:00am
Presentation
Heath Newburn | Global Field CTO, PagerDuty
Heath Newburn is PagerDuty’s Global Field CTO. He works with clients on integrating their strategic capabilities with PagerDuty’s solutions to create new business outcomes. Heath has a long history in technology, coming from the labs at IBM and has been in software development, QA, product management, support, and operations. He was a technical lead in operations on the Iridium satellite program at Motorola. Heath was the product manager for IBM Tivoli Monitoring, ran the Netcool product management, and was the NA Sales CTO for IBM’s Cloud and Smarter Infrastructure. Heath has four adult sons and lives in Georgetown, TX with his wife and spends his time outside of tech making and finding great BBQ.
11:00am – 11:20am
AI-Driven Incident Resolution: Practical Approaches for Faster MTTR
Tom Batchelor | Field CTO, Observe Inc.
Tom Batchelor is a seasoned technology executive with over 20 years of experience in the IT and software industries. Currently leading strategic initiatives at Observe Inc., Tom focuses on empowering businesses through AI-driven observability solutions that drive innovation and efficiency. With a deep understanding of enterprise challenges, he has been instrumental in helping organizations optimize operations and embrace digital transformation. Tom’s extensive expertise in AI, observability, and IT operations has positioned him as a thought leader, dedicated to guiding financial services firms in leveraging cutting-edge technologies to navigate today’s complex business landscape.
Abstract
In “AI-Driven Incident Resolution: Practical Approaches for Faster MTTR,” discover how AI can streamline operations by automating investigations and minimizing downtime. This session will highlight real-world examples, showing how AI tools can boost system reliability and improve customer satisfaction. Attendees will gain actionable insights on troubleshooting applications and infrastructure more effectively, accelerating incident resolution.
Takeaways:
• Accelerate incident resolution with AI
• Increase system reliability and uptime
• Deliver exceptional customer experiences
11:20am – 11:40am
AI Governance By Design: Building Your AI Governance Maturity
Kjell Carlsson, Ph.D. | Head of AI Strategy, Domino Data Lab
Dr. Kjell Carlsson is the head of data science strategy and evangelism at Domino Data Lab where he advises organizations on how to drive business outcomes with artificial intelligence (AI) and data science. Previously, he covered AI, ML, and data science as a Principal Analyst at Forrester Research where he wrote reports on topics ranging from computer vision, MLOps, AutoML, and conversation intelligence to augmented intelligence, next-generation AI technologies, and data science best practices. He has spoken in countless keynotes, panels, and webinars, and is frequently quoted in the media. Carlsson received his Ph.D. in Business Economics from the Harvard Business School.
Abstract
Effective AI governance remains one of the biggest hurdles to realizing the full potential of ML and Generative AI, and it is particularly urgent thanks to increasing regulatory activity at the state and federal level. While governance frameworks exist, they fail to connect high-level principles with the practical actions needed to manage risk effectively across the AI lifecycle. The result is increased risks, stalled projects, and missed opportunities for impact. In this session Dr. Kjell Carlsson will discuss how firms can bridge the governance gap, assess their governance maturity, and build scalable capabilities that ensure trust, legal compliance, and accelerate AI adoption.
11:40am – 12:00pm
Transforming Financial Services Operations with Synthetic Labor
Gary Smith | Executive Managing Director, KnowledgeLake
Gary Smith is an Executive Managing Director of
KnowledgeLake, where he leads the company’s efforts in providing innovative AI automation and Synthetic Labor™ solutions. With over three decades of experience in full-scale enterprise automation, Gary is committed to driving business efficiency and growth through cutting-edge technology. Gary has worked with dozens of companies to solve high-volume operational challenges and increase productivity.
Abstract
Join Gary Smith, Executive Managing Director of Sales at KnowledgeLake, for an in-depth webinar that delves into the rapidly evolving landscape of financial services. While most financial institutions have mastered the technological side, they now face an urgent labor problem that affects their core operations, from efficiency ratios to share prices and lending capabilities.
In this webinar, Gary will discuss how labor shortages are impacting banks’ abilities to borrow and lend at preferred rates and how the rise of FinTechs is creating fierce competition by targeting traditional banks from the bottom up. He will also explore how improving customer experience and operational efficiency with the use of Synthetic Labor can help banks remain competitive in this new era of financial services.
Learn how AI-powered solutions can solve labor challenges, enhance your customer experience, and position your organization to thrive in a highly competitive landscape.
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain critical insights into the future of financial services!
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Panel Discussion: Best Practices in AI Implementation, Management, and Governance
Abstract
This panel of industry all-stars shares their insight and wisdom on strategies and tactics that actually work when it comes to AI implementation, management, value realization, and governance.
(Moderator) John Burke | CTO, Nemertes
John Burke is CTO with Nemertes Research. He conducts and analyzes primary research in, and advises key enterprise and vendor clients on, hybrid cloud, software-defined networking including SD-WAN, automation, and DevOps. As a research analyst and consultant, he draws on his 30 years of experience as a practitioner and leader in IT to better understand the needs of IT executives and the challenges facing vendors trying to sell to them. His experience has given him broad and deep knowledge in computing, communications, and IT management. Mr. Burke holds an MA in the history of science and a bachelor of science in electrical engineering, both from The Johns Hopkins University. His interests include baking, birding, and beer.
Joe Cordeira | Chief Data & Analytics Officer, UBS Wealth Management Americas
Joe is the Chief Data & Analytics Officer for Wealth Management Americas. In this capacity, he is responsible creating business value from our data and analytics assets which includes responsibility for our data platforms, data management office, regulatory reporting, MIS, and advanced analytics / STAAT.
He joined UBS Global Research in 2014 as the Head of Client Analytics & CRM before becoming CTO of UBS Evidence Lab.
Joe earned his Computer Science degree from NYU Tandon School of Engineering and holds an MBA from NYU Stern. Prior to joining UBS, Joe led Analytics and CRM related technology areas at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.
John McCambridge | Financial Services, Insurance & Finance Teams Solutions - Global Director, Dataiku
John has extensive experience as a consultant, developer, and designer at the intersection of financial services, technology, and analytics. They joined Dataiku as Global Director of Solutions for Financial Services and Insurance to ensure the firm offers powerful solutions and deep empathy to all our clients, allowing us to operate as thought partners.
Steve Ross | Director of Cybersecurity, Americas, S-RM
Steve Ross is a director of cybersecurity and the Head of Business Development for S-RM, a global cybersecurity and corporate intelligence consultancy. Steve started in special operations signals intelligence with the United States Marine Corps before transitioning to private sector cybersecurity and data privacy consulting. Steve specializes in enterprise cyber incident response and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), and has served in such roles with PwC and Verizon before moving to S-RM. Steve is based in Southern California.
Ranjit Samra | Managing Director, Head of Product and Experience, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Ranjit Samra is the Head of Technology for J.P. Morgan Wealth Management at JPMorgan Chase (JPMC). Ranjit oversees technology for the U.S. wealth management division, including Chase Wealth Management, J.P. Morgan Advisors, J.P. Morgan Online Investing and J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors. Leading a global team of over 1,000 technologists, Ranjit drives technology infrastructure, innovation and modernization for wealth management products to deliver fully integrated digital client and Advisor experiences across all channels. Ranjit is a member of the Consumer & Community Banking (CCB) Technology Leadership Team and the U.S. Wealth Management Leadership Team.
Ranjit joined JPMC in March 2018, as the Head of Controls, Legal and Regulatory Technology in Corporate Technology. Before joining JPMC, Ranjit was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Corporate Services Technology at Credit Suisse (2016 to 2018). Prior to that, Ranjit was at Morgan Stanley for 23 years, where he was promoted to Managing Director in 2010.
Ranjit is an experienced CIO with over 30 years of global financial services experience developing software solutions across a broad spectrum of businesses including Wealth Management (2020 to present; 2010 to 2015), Corporate Functions (2016 to 2019), Commercial Real Estate Investing and Private Equity (2006 to 2008), Equity Research Analytics (2005), Global Custody and Prime Brokerage (1992 to 2003). Ranjit also successfully established ‘start-up’ Technology Centers for Morgan Stanley in Mumbai (2003) and Montreal (2008). He is a highly entrepreneurial leader with a proven track record to build and motivate high performing teams, develop strong business partnerships and lead large application development teams through modern engineering practices and digital transformational programs. Ranjit is passionate about developing leaders and has served as a senior mentor throughout his career.
Ranjit earned a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from City University and a Master of Business Administration from Cass Business School, both in London, U.K. Ranjit has lived and worked in six global cities: London, Luxembourg, Zurich, New York, Mumbai and Montreal.
Ranjit and his family have resided in Stamford, Conn. since 1997, where he is the Treasurer of his local neighborhood Association. Ranjit has served his local community as a member of the Council of Trustees for the Sikh Temple in Norwalk over the last 20 years and as a co-founder, administrator and teacher of the Sunday School program. Since 2020, Ranjit has served as the Chair of the NY/CT Regional Board of BuildOn, an organization that empowers youth from some of America’s most under-resourced high schools to build solidarity through service and make the world a better place for all. In 2018, Ranjit participated in a BuildOn Trek to build a school in Nepal and raised funds for the Robin Hood Foundation by running the NYC Marathon.
1:00 PM
Closing Remarks
Location Details
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