Future Branches Boston 2024

June 24 - 25, 2024

The Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA

Day One: July 23rd 2019 Reimagining The Purpose of Your Branch Network

7:40 am - 8:40 am Registration & Continental Breakfast In The Innovation Hub

8:40 am - 8:50 am Welcome Remarks & Opening Ice Breaker

Elizabeth Robillard - Event Director, Future Branches
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Elizabeth Robillard

Event Director
Future Branches

8:50 am - 9:00 am Chairperson’s Opening Address

If you are interested in presenting during this time, please contact Christine Johnson at christine.johnson@wbresearch.com

9:00 am - 9:20 am Keynote Fireside Chat: The Benefits of Bringing Retail and Operations Under One Leadership Team to Streamline Your Consumer Facing Business

Aleda Amistadi - Senior Vice President | Retail and Operations, PeoplesBank
•What was the driving force behind bringing these two parts of the business under one leader? 
•What were some of the first initiatives that you oversaw as SVP of retail and operations?
oHow did having a birds-eye view of both impact the way these initiatives were carried out?
•Were there any growing pains in the process of bringing both of these things under one leadership team? 
•What have been some of the benefits of this transition?
oWhat efficiencies has it created?
•How has this change effective the overall holistic customer experience?

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Aleda Amistadi

Senior Vice President | Retail and Operations
PeoplesBank

9:20 am - 9:25 am Keynote Q&A: Keynote Fireside Chat: The Benefits of Bringing Retail and Operations Under One Leadership Team to Streamline Your Consumer Facing Business

Aleda Amistadi - Senior Vice President | Retail and Operations, PeoplesBank
Our keynote will take five minutes of Q&A from the audience!
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Aleda Amistadi

Senior Vice President | Retail and Operations
PeoplesBank

9:25 am - 9:45 am Keynote: Making Customer Centric Branch Technology Investments

Shon Aguero - Executive Vice President of Retail, Landmark Bank
•What are your customer’s expectations for your branch network?
•How did those expectations inform your technology decisions? 
•What technology do you currently have in place in branch?
•What was the implementation process like? 
•Do you have KPI’s in place to measure the impact new technology investments have on the customer experience? 

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Shon Aguero

Executive Vice President of Retail
Landmark Bank

9:25 am - 9:30 am Keynote Q&A: Making Customer Centric Branch Technology Investments

Shon Aguero - Executive Vice President of Retail, Landmark Bank


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Shon Aguero

Executive Vice President of Retail
Landmark Bank

How can brands prepare for future opportunities with their branch networks?  How will the technology evolve along with tomorrow’s banking consumer? Get a holistic view of the future of the branch, as you hear from senior executives across banks and credit unions
•What questions still remain unanswered when it comes to your footprint?
•What will the branch’s role be in the future omnichannel customer journey? 
•Do you have a roadmap in place for the next year? Two years? Five years? Ten years?
•How have your senior leadership reacted to what’s already been accomplished? 
•What has the ROI of your branch transformation efforts been so far?

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Rick Case

Director of Facilities Management & Development
Apple Federal Credit Union

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Patrick Myron

SVP, Retail Network Strategy & Sales Analytics
Rockland Trust Bank

Stormy Johnson

VP, Branch Operations
First Financial Credit Union



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Rick Case

Director of Facilities Management & Development
Apple Federal Credit Union

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Patrick Myron

SVP, Retail Network Strategy & Sales Analytics
Rockland Trust Bank

Stormy Johnson

VP, Branch Operations
First Financial Credit Union

10:30 am - 11:15 am Morning Refreshment & Opening Networking Break In The Innovation Hub



11:15 am - 11:35 am Keynote: Get Network Smarter: Transitional to Transformational Change

Sean Keathley - President & CEO, Adrenaline Gina Bleedorn - President & CEO, Adrenaline
Branch network transformation is an undisputed must in today’s disrupted consumer landscape; the question is how much change is right for your organization—and when? In this session, you’ll learn how to define, design and implement an optimized spectrum of transitional to transformational change across your network. Using design as a tool, we’ll reveal strategies for creating purposeful, technology-enabled engagement in multiple branch format environments.
 •Transitional vs. transformational approaches to network optimization 
•How to maximize experience impact with minimized spend
•How to design new branch formats utilizing emerging technologies


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Sean Keathley

President & CEO
Adrenaline

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Gina Bleedorn

President & CEO
Adrenaline

11:35 am - 11:55 am Keynote: Designing Your Branches for Your Customer Not the ‘Future’: Approaching Branch Transformation from an International Perspective

Nitesh Patel - Head of Corporate Real Estate Services, Standard Bank Jorg Fischer - Executive Head: Group Shared Services & Group Real Estate Services Standard Bank Group, Standard Bank
Join Nitesh and Jorg of Standard Bank (South Africa) as they walk us through how they’ve approached their current network. They were sparked on a transformation journey in 2010 and will share where they currently are in their journey. This includes:
•Reducing their footprint by 80,000 square meters
•Optimizing their physical footprint for max efficiency
•Personalizingf the branch design based on location
•Understanding the role their branch has in their customers journey
•Finding the right balance between high tech and high touch
•Rolling out new technology like ‘Pepper’
•Creating ‘Community Meeting places’ throughout their network for clients
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Nitesh Patel

Head of Corporate Real Estate Services
Standard Bank

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Jorg Fischer

Executive Head: Group Shared Services & Group Real Estate Services Standard Bank Group
Standard Bank

11:55 am - 12:15 pm Keynote: From Transactions to Trusted Advisor: How Experience Design Drives Branch Transformation

Jeffrey Baker - President, Creative Director, Image4
We’ve moved from an Agrarian to an Industrial to a Digital economy. We’re now in the age of the Experience economy. More often, we make choices based on our desire or need to experience.

Yet in retail and in banking particularly, our buildings are designed for Transactions rather than Experiences. It’s no wonder, according to research published in Financial Brand, that over 40% of bank customers state they will leave their bank for another institution that delivers a superior experience.

Let’s take a look at the idea of Experience Design, and how we’re using Experience Mapping to reposition your bankers as trusted financial partners, who deliver a valuable customer/member experience within a completely redesigned space. 

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Jeffrey Baker

President, Creative Director
Image4

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 this panel to hear how top banks and credit unions are using automation to help them grow and be more efficient!
oHave you found the ideal balance between self service, assisted self service or full teller service? 
oDoes it vary by location based on the customers that visit each? 
oAre you thinking customer first when thinking about this blend, given the preferences of different age groups? 
oHow does your branch channel weave in with the rest of your channels? Have you given your customers enough ways to interact with you in person and online? 
oGiven the renewed focus on personalization in banking and the desire for creating deeper personal connections with customers, have you changed your strategy at all? 
oAre your staff members equipped with the right skills and technology to have these important conversations? 

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Rafael Olazagasti

Assistant Vice President, Sales and Service Market Leader
SECU

Justin Kurth

Head of Branch Transformation
Investors Bank

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Joe Salesky

CEO
CRMNext

12:45 pm - 1:45 pm Luncheon For All Attendees

Track A: Small Network (ideally 1-25 Branches)

1:40 pm - 1:50 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

If you are interested in presenting during this time, please contact Christine Johnson at christine.johnson@wbresearch.com

1:50 pm - 2:10 pm Case Study REMIX Part One: Marketing on a Shoestring Budget: the Proof That Banking Doesn't Have to be Boring

Danny DeLaRosa - Market President, Vibrant Credit Union
Have you ever heard of a Financial Institution with an ice cream truck? Well now you have! Here at Vibrant Credit Union we don't do things the "traditional" way. We're all about marketing that creates an experience. While other comparable credit unions spend millions on marketing each and every year, our yearly marketing budget has been about $300,000 for the past few years. During this time we've seen new household growth reach over 30%, six times the industry average. 
 
So how do we successfully market on a shoestring budget? A surprisingly interactive culture and memorable experiences that prove banking doesn't have to be boring. 


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Danny DeLaRosa

Market President
Vibrant Credit Union

Track B: Medium Network (ideally 25-200 Branches)

1:40 pm - 1:50 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

If you are interested in presenting during this time, please contact Christine Johnson at christine.johnson@wbresearch.com

1:50 pm - 2:10 pm Case Study REMIX PART ONE: Driving Traffic to Your Branches

Deborah Lumpkin - Senior Partner, Centier Bank
Because fewer and fewer people are visiting the banking centers, Deborah Lumpkin has created a lot of “traffic builders” in her career to create prospect opportunities for the retail banking centers. These traffic builders do not focus on product, but were created to meet new prospects. Join Deborah to hear about some of these traffic builders. 

•For example, at grand openings, she  partnered with local businesses near the banking center and created “bouncebacks” and “retail tie ins” where the local business promotes us and offers discounts for stopping by our banking centers. 
•She has also organized and hosted art shows with local high schools to showcase young artists. The school promote the event and invites people to stop by the banking center to “vote” on their favorite artist. Parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles would stop by to cast their vote. The only cost was the scholarship to the student for the People’s Choice award. 
•In these examples, Marketing created the “at bat,” but then it was up to her sales team to “close the sale”. Another example of how the two teams can work together!

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Deborah Lumpkin

Senior Partner
Centier Bank

Track C: Large or International Network (ideally 200 Branches or Above)

1:40 pm - 1:50 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

Arthur Gilmore - President & CEO, Gilmore Group
If you are interested in presenting during this time, please contact Christine Johnson at christine.johnson@wbresearch.com
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Arthur Gilmore

President & CEO
Gilmore Group

2:40 pm - 3:15 pm Case Study REMIX: Your Branches Place in Today’s Omnichannel World

Yury Nabakov - Omnichannel Experience Manager and Marketing Strategist, Machias Savings Bank
•If you are truly thinking about the customer, then the challenge becomes being where they need you to be, not building out your own plan and having them acquiesce to it
•If they want to talk about taking out a loan while out at a pizza restaurant, they should have the ability to video chat with someone who can talk them through the options and then have that conversation saved in your core system and be able to walk into a branch in that instant and finish their discussion with someone in branch
•To be able to connect with the customer this way, you need to constantly be thinking how you yourself do your own banking. The goal is for the whole process to feel natural, not forced. 
•The branch is a key factor in how the whole buying process typically ends-so it needs to be perfectly customer centric and connected to everything else

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Yury Nabakov

Omnichannel Experience Manager and Marketing Strategist
Machias Savings Bank

2:10 pm - 2:20 pm Case Study REMIX PART TWO:

After hearing from our case study leaders, the audience will discuss in small groups for five minutes what their quick wins have been in their networks. Then a few audience members will be asked to share their quick wins with the rest of the group for five minutes

2:20 pm - 2:40 pm The Ponce Bank Test Lab – Co-Creating Cultural Change: A Design-Led Approach to Branch Transformation

Steve Hamilton - Branch Transformation Lead, Ponce Bank
In 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.
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Steve Hamilton

Branch Transformation Lead
Ponce Bank

2:10 pm - 2:20 pm Case Study REMIX PART TWO:

After hearing from our case study leaders, the audience will discuss in small groups for five minutes what their quick wins have been in their networks. Then a few audience members will be asked to share their quick wins with the rest of the group for five minutes

2:20 pm - 2:30 pm Experiential Design: Transcending Beyond the Transaction

Nancy Everhart - Partner and Studio Principal, Little
Technology cannot replace authentic human-to-human interaction, but it can certainly enhance the conversation. By implementing strategic, signature touchpoints throughout the customer journey, we set the perfect stage for associates to better connect with customers, resulting in positive brand reinforcement and increased customer loyalty.  This session will explore a case study that demonstrates how design changes to the built environment can help branch banks transcend beyond the transactional business model and yield never-before-seen results. 
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Nancy Everhart

Partner and Studio Principal
Little


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Don Beck

Executive Vice President of Insights and Strategic Solutions
The MSR Group

2:10 pm - 2:20 pm Case Study REMIX PART TWO:

After hearing from our case study leaders, the audience will discuss in small groups for five minutes what their quick wins have been in their networks. Then a few audience members will be asked to share their quick wins with the rest of the group for five minutes

2:20 pm - 2:40 pm Design Inspiration to Deliver the Branch Experience Your Customers Really Want

Sue Dowd - SVP Retail Strategy, Miller Zell Tom Ertler - SVP, Creative Director, Miller Zell
We asked and customers answered: What do you really want from your branch experience? Using input from ~2,000 respondents, we will explore how your customers are actually utilizing your branches, what they want more of and how you can design an environment that drives high-value transactions. Borrowing from successful trends from retail, public spaces and top attractions, we’ll share design inspiration to move your branches OK to Oh Yay!
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Sue Dowd

SVP Retail Strategy
Miller Zell

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Tom Ertler

SVP, Creative Director
Miller Zell

oEstablishing a plan to make sure your customer is aware of what has changed.
oMaking all of their regular transactions run flawlessly so they don’t think your new systems/structure are a burden
oHaving a staff member in your lobby around to explain new processes to people and having remaining tellers explain to customers wanting to deposit checks or take out cash in line that its much easier to do these at an ATM and show them how
oJust generally making things more customer friendly: extending hours, including lots digital signage around the branch that explains new procedures and perhaps overstaffing at first with people around to help with this education

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Stephanie McClendon

EVP, Director of Retail Banking
First Federal Bank

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Erynne Hallock

Vice President of Retail Delivery
WECU

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Trish Wethman

Director of Member Experience
Citadel Federal Credit Union

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Adrienne Allgire

Vice President, Operations
SECU

3:10 pm - 3:30 pm Audience Interactive Session: Share Your Successes!

During this highly interactive session, the audience will spend ten minutes in small groups. During those ten minutes, each audience member will be asked to share a recent branch transformation success they’ve had with their group (successes big and small welcome!) After ten minutes is up, each group will be asked to pick a group representative to share whatever their particular success was in a brief minute long report back in front of the entire audience! We encourage you to think about your successes ahead of time, so you can be ready to share them with the group.  We know we have a lot of talented branch professionals in the room and want you all to be able to learn from each other, not just from our speakers!

2:40 pm - 3:15 pm Panel: Keeping New Customers Happy After a Merger or Acquisition

Andrea Pruna - Chief Retail Officer, NECU
•If you’ve just acquired or merged with a different institution, what steps need to be taken with new customers? that are coming over from the original institution? 
•What sort of messaging should be used to communicate the changes? 
•How can your staff be ready in branch to accept these new customers? 
•Is there an official onboarding or handover process for each customer? 
•How do you avoid losing customers in the transition

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Andrea Pruna

Chief Retail Officer
NECU

1:10 pm - 1:30 pm Audience Interactive Session: Share Your Successes!

During this highly interactive session, the audience will spend ten minutes in small groups. During those ten minutes, each audience member will be asked to share a recent branch transformation success they’ve had with their group (successes big and small welcome!) After ten minutes is up, each group will be asked to pick a group representative to share whatever their particular success was in a brief minute long report back in front of the entire audience! We encourage you to think about your successes ahead of time, so you can be ready to share them with the group.  We know we have a lot of talented branch professionals in the room and want you all to be able to learn from each other, not just from our speakers!

2:40 pm - 3:10 pm Audience Interactive Session: Share Your Successes!

During this highly interactive session, the audience will spend ten minutes in small groups. During those ten minutes, each audience member will be asked to share a recent branch transformation success they’ve had with their group (successes big and small welcome!) After ten minutes is up, each group will be asked to pick a group representative to share whatever their particular success was in a brief minute long report back in front of the entire audience! We encourage you to think about your successes ahead of time, so you can be ready to share them with the group.  We know we have a lot of talented branch professionals in the room and want you all to be able to learn from each other, not just from our speakers!

3:35 pm - 4:15 pm Afternoon Refreshment and Networking Break In The Innovation Hub

General Session

4:15 pm - 4:35 pm Fireside Chat: Rolling Out ITM’s: Is it Worth it for Your Footprint

Eileen Phelps - Chief Operating Officer, Credit Union of America
Automation is the future. While ATM’s are one facet of that, given they automate easier transactions, there are other more advanced forms of automation that many financial companies are starting to use, like ITM technology and self-service kiosks that don’t have any employees at them at all. How do you decide what mode of automation your customer needs/wants? 
•What metrics can you use to figure out if ITM’s will work for you? 
• Have you tested ITM’s to make sure they would work for your customer? 
•Do you really need the capabilities that they offer?
•Have you thought about how they fit in with the rest of your business model?
•Do you have the right staffing model/call center for this to work?

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Eileen Phelps

Chief Operating Officer
Credit Union of America

The locations of new branches need to be established, the branches that should be closed have to be chosen and the branches that simply need a refresh have to be identified. All of this can be done by looking at market intelligence and demographic data to establish where the most transactions are located. Join this panel to hear how top credit unions and banks are establishing the mix that works best for them.
•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

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Vito Giannola

Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Banking Officer
SB One Bank

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Rick Case

Director of Facilities Management & Development
Apple Federal Credit Union

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Jim Petkewich

Senior Vice President , Retail Services
St. Mary’s Credit Union

Disruptor 101 Sessions

4:15 pm - 4:45 pm Cryptocurrency and It’s Future Impact on Your Business

Justin Frankel - CEO, Bayside Corporation
Join this 30 minute long intro to cryptocurrency- ask the questions you have and bring answers back to your business. Our speaker will be talking not just about the inner workings of crypto but also how it will impact the future of your business
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Justin Frankel

CEO
Bayside Corporation

4:45 pm - 5:15 pm Financial Services and Artificial Intelligence: A Look at What’s Next

Erica Mayshar - Senior Solutions Consultant, Bold360 by LogMeIn
Join this 30 minute long intro to AI to hear how to find smart places to use emerging AI technologies, and deploy them with an eye to the future. Attendees will come away from this 101 session with an understanding of features they can implement now to create smarter, frictionless experiences, as well as the critical steps needed to be AI first in this rapidly changing digital world.
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Erica Mayshar

Senior Solutions Consultant
Bold360 by LogMeIn

5:10 pm - 5:40 pm Guest Speaker: #YouMatter - Driving A New Productive Culture

Angela Maiers - Founder, Choose2Matter
As hopelessness reaches pandemic proportions, every human on the planet is being affected and the world needs transformation. Choose2Matter has touched millions of lives, reshaping how each human being feels about their contribution and unleashing their individual genius. Kids are innovating in ways that impact communities, educators are shifting from reactive to proactive,   employees are driving a new corporate culture and delivering big wins to their organizations. Join us to find out how your organization can benefit from this simple, yet powerful movement which empowers the employees that provide your experiences, and be ready to participate in a live interactive workshop to unleash your genius.
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Angela Maiers

Founder
Choose2Matter

5:40 pm - 6:40 pm Anchors Aweigh Cocktail Reception in the Innovation Hub

Join new friends and colleagues in our innovation hub for an evening of maritime theme cocktails and nautical flare. Chat about what you’ve learned over lobster rolls and Sea Breeze’s.

6:40 pm - 6:40 pm End Of Main Day One