Bio

Sam is an active mentor, thought leader, and sought-after speaker focusing on the human element of digital and banking innovation. He has over twenty-five years of experience working in the payments, mobile, and banking space across North America and Europe for both global banking and technology companies, and in the start-up community.

He was the Managing Partner at 11:FS, co-host of FinTechInsider podcast. and recurring host of Breaking Banks podcast. He has presented for such places as the Thailand Stock Exchange, FinTechStage Luxembourg, FinnoSummit Bogota, Money2020 US and Europe, SAMA Saudi Arabia, SIBOS Singapore, Seoul’s AI Conference, American Banker’s Conference, and CUNA.

Speaking Topics

The banking and payments industry stands at the edge of a monumental transformation, driven by groundbreaking advancements in AI, quantum computing, IoT, and cloud technologies. In this keynote, we’ll explore how these innovations are not only redefining how money moves but also challenging the very frameworks of trust, security, and customer expectations.

Discover how AI is enabling hyper-personalization and fraud detection at scale, quantum computing is pushing the limits of encryption and problem-solving, IoT is integrating payments into everyday devices, and the cloud is revolutionizing agility and resilience for financial services.

Rather than fearing disruption, we’ll examine how these technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for growth, inclusivity, and efficiency. Join us to envision a future where banking and payments are faster, smarter, and seamlessly embedded in our lives—ushering in a new era of possibility for businesses and consumers alike.

Get ready to embrace the end of the old world, because the future feels fine.

Unstuck: AI Agents and the Era of Financial Empowerment

In a world where financial complexity often leads to inertia, AI agents are poised to redefine how consumers and businesses make decisions—and in doing so, disrupt the very foundation of traditional banking. This keynote dives into the transformative power of AI agents, unpacking how they work and the profound impact they will have on consumer and business financial behavior.

We’ll explore the pervasive problem of decision inertia—why many consumers miss opportunities to refinance homes, consolidate debt, or optimize investments, and why businesses delay vital financial actions like accessing better credit or managing cash flow. Through real-world examples, we’ll demonstrate how AI agents, once granted permission, act proactively on behalf of users to make smarter, faster financial choices.

But this shift won’t just empower users; it will upend banking as we know it. Today’s banking model often relies on user inertia to drive revenue—whether through unused lines of credit, suboptimal rates, or overlooked fees. AI agents will challenge this status quo by optimizing financial decisions in real-time, continuously seeking out the best options for users. Banks will face immense pressure to adapt, shifting from inertia-driven profits to models that emphasize proactive, user-focused value.

Join us to discover how AI agents are not just tools of convenience but disruptive forces reshaping the financial landscape. This is the dawn of a new era in banking, where user empowerment and innovation leave inertia behind.

Insights and Trends Empowering the Digital Consumer

One of the key outcomes in the post-Covid world is the clear emergence of the digitally empowered consumer. Every sector from media, to retail, to government, and even financial services has seen rapid acceleration and adoption of digital engagement and empowered consumers over the past two years. In this session we will review the key emerging consumer behaviors directly impacted by digital, discuss engagement strategies for digital natives, and review various industry case studies of how companies have competed in the evolving digital landscape.

Attendees will leave this workshop with:

• A deeper understanding of the emerging competitive landscape.
• Interactive exercises that can be used to help their financial institution be better at collaborating around innovation.
• Insight into how the best companies prepare themselves for future threats and opportunities.
• Strategies for keeping the member and their user experience front-and-center.
• Ways to future-proof how their bank or credit union adapts to changes of all kinds.
• A realistic view of where digital is really going in the next five years – separating the hype from the reality.

Leadership Under Pressure

This session will focus on leadership lessons from a decade of serving aboard nuclear submarines. How you successfully lead an organization under tremendous external and internal pressure, an ever-changing regulatory environment, continuous new technology advances, growing competition, and a changing workforce. Oh yeah, we will talk about financial services too!

 

AI and ML - What's The Truth? What's the Hype? What's in Store for Banks and CUs? What Should You Do?

Every industrial revolution was (and is) dependent on the convergence of multiple new technologies. The 4th Industrial Revolution, which is currently taking place, is no different. And AI is a key technology driving this revolution. While it is true that AI will replace many of the traditional banking jobs; it will also greatly enhance and augment other banking roles, improve the personalization of banking products and services, and provide your members with the next wave of financial products. AI and ML are both transformative technologies that are part of a evolving ecosystem of net new financial products. Embrace this new wave.