Future Branches Austin 2024
December 04 - 06, 2024
Marriott Austin Downtown, TX
Day One: Plotting and Designing an Efficient and Cost Effective Network
Figuring out how many branches you should have, where they should be and how they should be designed to best fit your customer's needs are your first steps in transformation. Join us on day one of Future Branches to hear about how to right size your network, transform your space and do it all with the resources at your disposal
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Registration & Breakfast In The Innovation Hub
Join fellow attendees in our innovation hub for an energizing first breakfast while you get ready for your day
8:30 am - 8:40 am
Welcome Remarks & Opening Ice Breaker
Elizabeth Robillard -
Event Director,
Future Branches
Join program director Elizabeth Robillard as she kicks off the program with opening remarks and leads the audience in an icebreaker
8:40 am - 8:55 am
Chairperson's Opening Remarks
Arthur Gilmore -
President & CEO,
Gilmore Group
Join our chair for the day as the set the stage for our morning's content
8:55 am - 9:20 am
Keynote: Moving Towards a Digital Ecosystem to Evolve with the Needs of Today’s Banking Consumer
Chris Mowry -
Director, UX Strategy & Engineering - Enterprise Mobile Engineering & Development,
Capital One
Chris Mowry and his team at Capital One has been working on upgrading their internal ecosystem to be more digital and connected to match that of the digital experience their customer has. This creates a more holistic experience across the channels for both customers and employees and helps to empower the customer and live up to their expectations. Join us as Chris:
- Highlights the journey in the enterprise, moving from disconnected tech to a more connected digital experience
- Discusses how modern device management was extended to our consumer side
- Discusses what has been implemented and how it changed banking to more consumer connected experiences
- Highlights the continued evolution of consumer bank tech and consumer empowerment
Chris Mowry
Director, UX Strategy & Engineering - Enterprise Mobile Engineering & DevelopmentCapital One
9:20 am - 10:00 am
Tonight Show Panel: The Future of Branch Design From the Perspective of Different Sized Institutions
Andres Cueto -
SVP, Portfolio Director,
BBVA
Derrick Harris -
VP of Branch Operations and Items Processing,
PenFed
Joe Salesky -
CEO,
CRMNext
Margaret Tillman -
VP, Marketing,
City National Bank
During this brand new format panel, panelists will be brought onstage one at a time to talk through how they are approaching the design of their branches. They will each discuss design initiatives they have undergone, what their future design plans are and how the size of their institution has affected what they’ve been able to accomplish. This continues until all panelists have had their turn to speak, at which point, the group will take Q&A from the audience
•What have you changed about the design of your branches?
•Have you rolled this change out to multiple branches or your whole network?
•What do you envision for the design of your future network?
10:00 am - 10:25 am
Fireside Chat: Testing a Hub and Spoke Model: Is it the Answer to Your Network Woes in Today's Digital Era?
Dawn Fabian -
Retail Transformation Manager,
PNC
In today's digital era, is it completely necessary to have full scale branches at all of your locations? Or can you save resources and create a hub and spoke model to help create efficiencies for your technology and staff. Join this keynote with Dawn Fabian from PNC, as she walks us through how their team is approaching Hub and Spoke and what features they are adding to their different formats.
o Have you thought about restructuring your branch network to be a hub and spoke?
o Do you know which areas would be the hubs and which would be spokes?
o Have you thought about what this would do for efficiency and for your staffing model?
o Would you be able to test something like this out in one particular market and see how it goes before rolling it across your whole network?
10:25 am - 11:05 am
'Donut Worry' Morning Break in the Innovation Hub Courtesy of Cummins Allison
Join your fellow attendees for the first networking break in our innovation hub. Chat about the morning sessions and enjoy some ice coffee and a tasty donut from our donut wall! What’s a donut wall, you ask?? You’ll have to join us in the innovation hub to check it out!
11:05 am - 11:25 am
Keynote: The Achille’s Heel of Digital Transformation
Tim Tang -
Director, Enterprise Solutions,
Hughes
After decades of escalating customer expectations and numerous generations of digital transformation initiatives, what have we learned? What principles are guiding today’s efforts? Most importantly, where are we going? With so many unknowns, how should we proceed? Technology can be a powerful tool when it is effectively leveraged to meet human needs. It can also be a terrible waste of resources.
In this session, Tim Tang will share insights to inform current and future branch transformation efforts.
11:25 am - 12:05 pm
PANEL REMIX: Your Branch’s Role in Jumpstarting Growth Regardless of Network Size & Resources
Laurie Stewart -
CEO,
Sound Community Bank
Ray K. Ragan -
PMP, AVP, Project Management,
Vantage West Credit Union
Xan Gentile -
Head of Account Management,
Blend
Shon Aguero -
Executive Vice President of Retail,
Landmark Bank
The rampant shuttering of branches has slowed down in the past two or three years and now, banks are even starting to open some branches. Why? Because branches still remain the best way for a bank to enter a new market and they are the biggest sources of revenue for a bank. But, for those that don’t have the luxury of adding new locations to grow, how do you start bringing new money in from existing and new clients? In many cases, that involves adding in new technology that will both move easy transactions to self service and put the needs of the customer right in the hands of your teller. With less menial transactions to take care of and more info on the customers walking in the door, your tellers can start to grow relationships with their customers and become advisors- long term relationships like these are the best way to get your customers to trust you enough to buy more of your products. Join our panel to hear how top banks and credit unions are approaching the growth opportunities that their branches present.
12:05 pm - 12:25 pm
Keynote: Get Network Smarter: Network Optimization for Maximum ROI
Gina Bleedorn -
Chief Experience Officer,
Adrenaline
Sean Keathley -
President & CEO,
Adrenaline
Despite declining traffic, retail bank branches are still the #1 driver of market share. Yet many are making costly branch investment decisions without sufficient intelligence to inform spend. As branches remain the most influential touchpoint affecting customer acquisition and advocacy, it’s never been a more critical time to get network smarter. In this session, you’ll discover how to align market opportunity with branch formats to create a branch tiering and investment roadmap that optimizes potential for your institution.
Key Learnings:
•How to right-size branch formats for optimal perceived presence
•How to rate branches based on market opportunity
•How to align investment tiers with opportunity for maximum ROI
12:25 pm - 1:35 pm
Luncheon for all Attendees
Afternoon Tracks
Track A: Using Your Space
1:40 pm - 1:50 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks Bill Budde - Vice President of Product Marketing, HyosungIf you are interested in chairing this track, please reach out to Harvey.golub@wbresearch.com
Track A: Using Your Space
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm Case Study REMIX: The Ponce Bank Test Lab – Co-Creating Cultural Change: A Design-Led Approach to Branch Transformation Steve Hamilton - Designer in Residence, Ponce BankIn this session, Steve Hamilton, Designer-in-Residence at Ponce Bank in The Bronx, NY, shares a case study exploring how the creation of a fully operational “test lab” branch broke down operational silos throughout the back-office, engendered buy-in from branch team-members while proposing a radical transformation of their service practices, forged deep bonds with the surrounding community, and planted the seeds of an innovation mindset bank-wide.
Track A: Using Your Space
2:20 pm - 2:30 pm What's your communication strategy for the mobile era? Lisa Kaplan - VP of Relationship Development, Moxtra
Track A: Using Your Space
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Lets Get Real Panel: Choreographing Your Customer’s In Branch Dance Josephine Moran - EVP, Head of Retail Banking, Provident Bank Jennifer Smith - Vice President, Director of Branch & ATM Distribution, Flagstar Bank•What are the different formats that financial institutions are exploring?
•How are you best using the space you have to reflect your updated branch goals?
•Are you thinking about your customer’s in branch journey when making these updates?
•How do you keep the identity of your brand present within your updated space while implementing new designs and technology?
Track B: Plotting Your Model
1:40 pm - 1:50 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks Elizabeth Robillard - Event Director, Future BranchesIf you are interested in chairing this track, please reach out to Harvey.golub@wbresearch.com
Track B: Plotting Your Model
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm Case Study Remix: Best Practices for Entering a New and Unfamiliar Market Urjit Patel - EVP – Head of Retail Banking., AxiomBank•Putting a branch in a new market is great way to get in front of new customers
•But, you need to know about the local area, their demographics and their needs before making that jump
•How can you learn these things and try to enter this market in an impactful way without causing a harmful stir?
•How can you think up front about the value you could bring to a community this way
Track B: Plotting Your Model
1:20 pm - 1:30 pm Digital Security to Ensure Customer Experience Bill Stutzman - Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Ventus Global Networks SolutionsEmbracing digital banking technology, ensuring a secure customer experience becomes more important than ever. Rapid deployment of digital banking is presenting unforeseen opportunities for jackpotting and man-in-middle attacks allowing malicious actors to steal data and disrupt the flow of business. Your data and your brand integrity are valuable ensure your customers experience is your highest priority. Digital security measures can help FIs keep stay ahead of cybercriminals and provide business continuity?
Track B: Plotting Your Model
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Let’s Get Real Panel: Establishing Your Mix Using Analytics and Market Intelligence Tom Johnson - Director of Corporate Real Estate, Keesler Federal Credit Union Anneliese Elrod - Chief Operations Officer, U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union•Acknowledging the place your branch has in your customer’s journey
•Gathering customer data based on the markets you operate in
•Standardizing a framework that makes this data digestible and actionable
•Deciding if you want to open branches, consolidate or move ones to new places based on the data
•Making decisions on where these branches should be and what they should look like
Tom Johnson
Director of Corporate Real EstateKeesler Federal Credit Union
Track C: Branch and Brand
1:40 pm - 1:50 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks Joe Salesky - CEO, CRMNextIf you are interested in chairing this track, please reach out to Harvey.golub@wbresearch.com
Track C: Branch and Brand
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm Case Study REMIX: Strategy to Execution: How Vantage West CU Put into Action Their Phoenix Expansion Plan Ray K. Ragan - PMP, AVP, Project Management, Vantage West Credit UnionAfter the market crash of 2008, financial institutions everywhere felt the need to start closing branches to save money. It would reduce rent prices and staffing prices and would account for the rapid move to digital banking that was starting to make some of those branches irrelevant. The rampant shuttering of branches has slowed down in the past two or three years and now, banks are even starting to open some branches. Why? Because branches still remain the best way for a bank to enter a new market and they are the biggest sources of revenue for a bank. Join this session to hear about the strategy behind adding new branches to your footprint and what best practices are:
•The reasoning behind adding branches to your footprint
•Understanding the strategy behind where new branches should be located
•Knowing how many you can add given the current trend of closures
Track C: Branch and Brand
2:20 pm - 2:30 pm Innovation is Nothing without Adoption. Are you Ready for the Digital Customer? Steve Frook - VP Sales, HoriznGiven the rapid pace of innovation and the mission critical need to transform the customer digital experience, leading financial institutions have recognized that it is critical to equip both employees and customers with the knowledge they need to improve the customer experience and drive digital adoption.
In this session Horizn will share best practices and demonstrate how to empower your entire workforce to enable digital transformation. The demonstration will also illustrate how customer digital awareness, fluency, and ultimate adoption can be swiftly achieved with next-generation technologies.
Track C: Branch and Brand
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Let’s Get Real Panel: Turning Financial Literacy into A Powerful Marketing Tool Kari Solomonson - Vice President, Retail Team Leader, Peoples State Bank Michael Lee - President/CEO, KCT Credit Union Beckey Boyd - Retail Delivery Consultant, First Tennessee Bank•Content surrounding financial education can be great for getting you new leads
•The key to providing this content is knowing what people need and how your information can help them
•If you can provide digestible bits of information on topics that are super top of mind or anxiety inducing for potential customers, you can start to nurture a relationship
•Your branches can be a great place to start this by providing workshops, or making financial literacy signage and making sure your employees are equipped to provide good advice
Track D: Large Network Boardroom (For Financial Institutions with 150+ branches only)
1:40 pm - 3:10 pm Network Boardroom (For Financial Institutions with 150+ branches only) Andres Cueto - SVP, Portfolio Director, BBVAJoin your fellow executives from institutions with large networks to talk through the big picture ideas that mean that most to businesses of your scale. Several large scale bank moderator will lead this session to talk through topics like:
-Delivering a holistic customer experience
-AI Basics
-Choosing & Adopting New Tech
-Utilizing New Technology at Scale
-Gaining C-Level Buy-In for New Initiatives
Track E Disruptor 101s
2:20 pm - 3:10 pm Topic 2: The Future of Payments Robyn Burkinshaw - CEO, Blytzpay
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
'Inside Scoop' Afternoon Networking and Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
After a packed afternoon of content, join us in the innovation hub for your chance to continue conversations with new friends and make your own ice cream sandwich!
3:45 pm - 4:05 pm
Keynote: Transformation Never Sleeps…expanding the “edge” of your network touchpoints…
Brian Porter -
Vice President of Professional Services and Product Management,
Glory
Whether it is AI, CRM, Big Data, Cash Recyclers, ITMs or the like, the promise of new technology is at the heart of most branch transformation strategies. However, the wall of glittering new technology can often obscure the view of the ‘heartbeat’ of your organization - your employees. Come and hear Brian Porter from GLORY discuss why new technology is only the first step in transforming your branches, and why technology alone will fail.
4:05 pm - 4:35 pm
Keynote: The Journey To Member Experience Excellence
Randy Bresee -
Vice President of Member Experience,
Rivermark Community Credit Union
Thinking strategically about your network and where branches should be located based on customer need can be an overwhelming experience. But Randy Bresee of Rivermark Community Credit Union has been there and done that and wants to show you how his credit union thought through this process and came up with the concept for a Member Resource Center. A large part of this session will highlight the use and locations of the ITM’s within the Member Resource Centers for max impact and reallocating the teller transactions to Interactive Solution Specialists located off site. This not only allows for a deeper consultation with members by onsite Member Solution Specialists to identify and recommend high value financial solutions but also enables after hours service with the ITM team.
4:35 pm - 5:05 pm
Keynote: The Power of Positive Thinking in Making Better Business Decisions
Leslie J. Spence -
AVP of Member Experience,
Partner Colorado Credit Union
Join Leslie Spence as she talks us through her approach to making effective business decisions. It is always with the most positive of thoughts that she goes into the boardroom and she is ready to share with us how she is able to keep this positive outlook even in the midst of turbulent times like when being faced with hard economic realities or M&A.
4:05 pm - 4:35 pm
Retail Bank Speed Networking
Bring your business cards—you’ll need them! During this session, you’ll have two minutes to meet and exchange business cards with almost everyone in the room. This is your chance to connect with the people that are operating at the same scale as you are! This session is only for executives that work at retail banks!
4:35 pm - 5:05 pm
Credit Union Speed Networking
Bring your business cards—you’ll need them! During this session, you’ll have two minutes to meet and exchange business cards with almost everyone in the room. This is your chance to connect with the people that are operating at the same scale as you are! This session is only for executives that work at credit unions!
5:05 pm - 6:05 pm
Southern Charm Garden Party Reception in the Innovation Hub
Sip on mint juleps while chatting with new friends and breaking the ice on what you’ve accomplished
in branch. This is your chance to meet fellow attendees and network with our fantastic sponsors.