Future Branches Boston 2025
June 23 - 24, 2025
The Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA
Day One: June 27th 2023
7:00 am - 8:00 am
Registration & Continental Breakfast In The Innovation Hub
8:00 am - 8:10 am
Welcome Remarks & Opening Ice Breaker
Elizabeth Robillard -
Portfolio Director,
Worldwide Business Research
8:10 am - 8:25 am
Chairperson’s Opening Address
Mark Ryan -
Chief Analytics Officer,
Finanalytics
8:25 am - 8:50 am
Keynote: Navigating a Merger at the Branch Level: Informing Customers & Rebranding Branches
Terri Hoffman -
SVP, Manager of Branch Operations Support,
First Citizens Bank
If you are acquiring or merging with another bank (as many have done in just the past year) don’t get lost in the wave of panic. While it can seem overwhelming to merge employees and technology and branch networks, there are many things you can do to overcome the confusing nature of these teams. Join us for this keynote with Terri Hoffman of First Citizens, no stranger to M&A activity, to hear how her bank has recently merged a multitude of branches while entering new markets and acquiring new customers. Expect to hear about:
· How do you make sure that your new branches fit into your brand?
· What is the process of merging frontline employees?
· What happens when you bring new products under your brand umbrella that your acquired company had that you didn’t?
· How do you best learn about new markets that you might be entering into?
- · What is best practice when it comes to informing customers that you’ve acquired their bank?
8:50 am - 9:10 am
Keynote Chat: How American Airlines Credit Union Is Using their Branch Network to Help New Pilots Get Their Careers Off the Ground
Lori Hall -
SVP, Member Experience,
American Airlines Credit Union
As the talent crisis continues to bite, the airline industry is scrambling to find new ways to streamline the pilot training process and make acquiring the necessary qualifications more affordable for a wider range of people. In this fireside chat with Lori Hall, we delve into the airline pilot talent crisis and discover how American Airlines Credit Union and American Airlines Cadet Academy are expanding financing options for trainee aviators. Expect to hear about:
· AACU’s pilot program is helping promote financial literacy & inclusion
· How it is growing their membership and spreading the word about their services to the community
· The importance of the branch in this continually expanding program
- Understanding your branch’s role as THE thing that sets you apart from fintechs or digital banks
- Reviewing the tech that can help connect your branches to your digital presence, so the experience is seamless
- Evaluating the success and failures of some successful COVID era banking methods like curbside & drive through
- Incorporating digitally enabled technologies to make branches more convenient and frictionless
- Increasing your emphasis on atmosphere and exclusive, unique experiences to bring customers to your branch
9:10 am - 9:40 am
Chief Retail Officer Panel Discussion: Leadership Playbook: Strategies To Succeed In A Changed Banking Market
Vito Giannola -
EVP & Chief Retail Banking Officer,
Provident Bank
Rick Kapur -
Chief Retail Officer,,
Chevron Federal Credit Union
Monique Robertson-Gunter -
Chief Retail Officer, Head of Delivery Channels, Investments and Membership Development,
Wellby Financial
The biggest challenge for most financial institutions in the past several years has not been legacy technology, but legacy leadership. The biggest need going forward will be leadership, vision and culture that embraces change, is willing to take risks, and is ready to transform their organizations into something entirely different than they have been since their formation. Today’s branch customer will not only be looking for an institution that is human focused, advice centered and operationally efficient but with something as sensitive as money & financial data, customers are truly looking for an institution they feel will do the right thing for them. And that kind of shift in culture starts at the top. Join this c-level panel of executives as they talk through:
- Building teams and identifying key components and the right combination of expertise needed
- Creating an easy path of communication from the frontline to senior leadership
- Learning how organizations are evolving in terms of intersectional generational teams
- Empowering these teams to deliver upon your company’s expectations
- Identifying key metrics that are needed when working with cross-functional teams
- Driving passion and empowerment with your employees
- Emphasizing the importance of being human and embracing the human connection
- Fostering a fail fast mentality and a culture of innovation
Monique Robertson-Gunter
Chief Retail Officer, Head of Delivery Channels, Investments and Membership DevelopmentWellby Financial
9:40 am - 10:20 am
Smooth Start Morning Networking Break In The Innovation Hub
Join fellow attendees for coffee, snacks and networking in the innovation hub
10:20 am - 10:50 am
Checklist Panel: Empowering Your Customer to Make Informed Financial Decisions
Michelle Kile -
VP of Branch Services,
DCU
Kyle Sanders -
VP, Branch Experience,
Launch Credit Union
Ginna Holleman -
Chief Experience Officer,
Fortera Credit Union
Cory Miller -
Head of Sales,
Finotta
According to a consumer survey conducted by Bankrate in 2019, roughly 40 percent of adults said that if faced with a $1000 unexpected expense, they would either not be able to pay it or would have to cover it with a form of credit. For that reason, and MANY others, today’s consumer is…. overwhelmed. Considering your institution was designed to help consumers deal with their money and make smarter financial decisions, don’t you think you’d be wise to step in and help educate and inform? While many banks and credit unions have established financial literacy and education programs, is there anything more your institution can be doing? Keeping in mind that helping customers make financial decisions that better their position can establish trust and deepen long term customer relationships. Join this keynote to hear about:
- The technology you can implement to be sharing this information
- Knowing your customer well enough to know the kind of education they need
- Getting your team members trained to have conversations surrounding a customer’s financial health
10:50 am - 11:10 am
Keynote: Retail Resurgence: Designing a Rightsized and Resilient Branch Network
Gina Bleedorn -
President & CEO,
Adrenaline
As financial institutions of all sizes continue meeting the demand for better banking experiences, many of their branch networks may not be prepared for what comes next. While it’s true that cuts to the branch network pre-Covid helped banks find efficiencies, those cuts ended up coming at a cost – branch networks that weren’t ready for when customers came back… And come back they did, with six of ten people today already planning their next branch visit. The reality is that we’re in the midst of a branch renaissance, according to Accenture’s 2023 forecasting, and financial institutions must plan for and deliver on a branch network that has the right scale and scope of retail servicing to maintain market presence and facilitate future growth.
In this engaging keynote session, we will explore ways to maximize branch banking experiences and the holistic retail delivery strategy that builds on the powerful foundation of people and places. You will learn:
- How to plan for and design an efficient, thin network that meets the demands of the market
- How to leverage the retail banking network to deliver multiple lines of business for your bank
- How to develop an experience design plan that is informed by and infused with meaningful data analytics
- How to implement strategies for network longevity and explore how branch delivery will continue to evolve over the next three to five years
- How to build future retail delivery concepts into a smart implementation roadmap that’s responsive to external forces of change
- How to develop a more strategic, longer looking approach that makes the most of opportunities to save and grow
11:10 am - 11:40 am
Keynote Panel: Mapping Out Your Footprint: Deciding the Size and Shape of Your Physical Network
Zeke Hellenbrand -
Sr. Director, Retail Branch Operations,
BCU
Steve Turley -
SVP, Head of Consumer Distribution Strategy, Planning, and Innovation,
TD Bank
Patrick Myron -
SVP, Retail Network Strategy & Sales Analytics,
Rockland Trust Company
- Acknowledging that the pandemic has changed customer foot traffic in many areas
- Taking a look at the different kinds of data and market intelligence enable you to decide where having branches makes sense based on the demographics
- Figuring out if your current branches have significant overlap and how each is performing
- Deciding where to close, how to select sites for openings and where to remodel
- Establishing what the success of your future network looks like so you know how to measure along the way
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
Keynote Chat: Becoming an Impactful Leader While Empowering Women in the Workplace
Anne P. Tangen -
President & CEO,
BankFive
- Anne’s strategies for becoming an impactful leader.
- How to stand out as a leader by empowering others
- Discuss issues facing women in the workplace and systems to manage them.
- How to Bank on yourself!
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Branches Technology Roundtable Discussions & Know Your Network Roundtables
Brianne Meszaros -
VP Member Experience,
Hiway Credit Union
Ken Bowman -
Director, Branch Transformation,
Meridian Credit Union
Catrina Tate -
Vice President of Retail,
Teachers Credit Union
Michelle Kile -
VP of Branch Services,
DCU
Keri Wise -
Head of Retail Sales,
United Community Bank
Don Beck -
Executive Vice President of Insights and Strategic Solutions,
The MSR Group
Alisha Crafton -
Chief Growth Officer,
Kasasa
Rahn Rampton -
Product Manager, Financial Services,
Epson
Branches Technology Roundtable Discussions:
Be sure to join these interactive roundtable sessions led by our vendors and take a deep dive into the specific areas you came to discuss. Opportunities to sit and learn from executives like these do not exist elsewhere. Take control of your own event experience. If you are interested in moderating one of these roundtables, please reach out to Charles McNiff
1. Using AI to improve branch employee training and service
Don Beck, CEO, MSR Group
2. Thriving in the epic funding crisis
Alisha Crafton, Chief Growth Officer, Kasasa
3.Mitigating Fraud at the Teller Window
Rahn Rampton, Financial Products Manager, Epson
4 Who Says The Branch Is Dead And Why It’s Not
Hosted by La Macchia Group
Know Your Network Roundtables: Meant to facilitate networking amongst peers coming from similarly sized institutions, these moderated roundtables will feature topics that are top of mind for each network group.
5. Large Network- (80+ branches)
Keri Wise, Head of Retail Sales, United Community Bank
6. Medium Network- (20-80 branches)
Catrina Tate, Vice President of Retail, Teachers Credit Union
Michelle Kile, Vice President, Branch Services, DCU
7. Small Network (Under 20 Branches)- The In’s and Outs of ITMs
Brianne Meszaros, VP, Member Experience, Hiway Credit Union
8. Canadian Networks-
Ken Bowman, Director of Branch Transformation, Meridian CU
Brianne Meszaros
VP Member ExperienceHiway Credit Union
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Luncheon For All Attendees
Track A: Physical Footprint & Design
2:00 pm - 2:10 pm Chair’s Opening RemarksIf you are interested in chairing at this time, please contact Vince Esposito at vince.esposito@wbresearch.com
Track A: Physical Footprint & Design
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm Take THree Tours: A Virtual Site Visit of Some of the Best in BranchesLooking to be inspired by beautiful and well planned branches? Join us for this session with three different bank and credit union executives who will virtually walk us through the branches they are the most proud of. Expect to hear about the design, the employee strategy and what technology was implemented.
Branches showcased will include:
North Haven Branch: American Eagle Financial Credit Union
Hernando Branch: Trustmark Bank
South Cedar Branch: Consumers Credit Union
Track A: Physical Footprint & Design
2:40 pm - 3:00 pm Case Study: 5 Questions to ask When Developing Your In-Branch Experience Elizabeth Hummel - Vice President of Operations and Head of Studio, Image 4
Track A: Physical Footprint & Design
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Case Study: The Ponce Bank Astoria Branch Refresh Steve Hamilton - Senior Vice President, Designer in Residence, Ponce Bank
Track A: Physical Footprint & Design
3:30 pm - 3:50 pm Case Study: Who Says The Branch Is Dead And Why It’s Not David Welsh - VP of Business Development, La Macchia Group Vito Giannola - EVP & Chief Retail Banking Officer, Provident Bank
Track A: Physical Footprint & Design
3:50 pm - 4:10 pm Case Study: Setting up a Virtual Branch for Real Time Face to Face Digital Interactions Amy White - CCUFC, VP, Retail Branch Operations, Heartland Credit Union· Understanding the benefits of a virtual branch in today’s hybrid world
· Finding a partner to help set up your virtual branch or deciding to build in house
· Staffing your virtual branch with branch employees or call center reps
· Educating customers on how to use this channel when they hit a friction point online
Track B: Hiring, Training & Developing Branch Staff
2:00 pm - 2:10 pm Chair’s Opening RemarksTrack B: Hiring, Training & Developing Branch Staff
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm Case Study REMIX: A New Set of KPI’s: How is Employee Performance Measured and What Incentives Should be Offered? Breana Wolfert - AVP, Branch Operations Project Management, American Heritage Credit Union- Understanding how the role of the branch employee (especially the personal/relationship banker) has changed
- Deciding what success means to you now that this role has changed
- Improving retention with metrics that validate relationship building as opposed to JUST sales
- Reevaluating these metrics as time goes on in order to keep up customer AND employee expectations
Track B: Hiring, Training & Developing Branch Staff
2:40 pm - 3:00 pm Case Study: How Rockland Trust Is Modernizing Branch Operations Peter Daugherty - Solutions Consultant, Financial Services, Zebra Technologies Jennifer Banks-Goulart - VP, Branch & Security Operations, Rockland Trust Amy Mullen - AVP, Branch Operations, Rockland Trust
Track B: Hiring, Training & Developing Branch Staff
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Panel: Balancing the Needs of Your Customer, Your Employee and Your Business Marcus Weeks - President, MVSB Angelito Cristobal - VP, Sales & Service, Pacific Service Credit Union Catrina Tate - Vice President of Retail, Teachers Credit UnionYour institution has many competing priority as well as many conflicting business interests. But in order to succeed in today’s customer AND employee first environment, you have to base what you do around those two categories, while also keeping your business needs in mind. Join this panel to hear more about:
· Considering what your current business goals are and what is needed to achieve them
· Taking time to talk to employees to understand what they need to do their jobs better
· Listening to customers to better understand what they are looking for you to provide and how
- · Combining these goals, needs and wants in order to answer all of your stakeholders
Track B: Hiring, Training & Developing Branch Staff
3:30 pm - 3:50 pm How Cornerstone is Driving Digital Fluency Throughout the Organization A.J. Pratt - Founder, LemonadeLXP Jessica Wisniewski - Learning and Development Program Manager, Cornerstone Bank Kara Wiersma - VP – Learning and Development Business Partner, Cornerstone BankUpskilling and enabling staff in the banking industry can be a challenge, especially when supporting a multitude of technologies, products, and digital channels. In this session, Cornerstone Bank will share insights on how it is overcoming this challenge. It will also share best practices for FIs that need to drive digital fluency and:
- Turn frontline staff into digital experts
- Provide a consistent approach to upskilling
- Support staff & bank initiatives
- Drive efficiencies and ROI
Track B: Hiring, Training & Developing Branch Staff
3:50 pm - 4:10 pm This track has ended!Please visit track A or C!
Track C: Branch Technology Strategy
2:00 pm - 2:10 pm Chair’s Opening RemarksTrack C: Branch Technology Strategy
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm Fireside Chat: The Promise of Video Banking: Digital, Personal & Cost Effective Tracy Matula - Virtual Financial Center Manager, SECU- Understanding video banking can be a great way to streamline CX without too much more cost
- Acknowledging the positive impact that video options had during the pandemic
- Figuring out the best ways to use video across the customer journey
- Picking out the right video technology that works for you going forward if you have yet to invest
Track C: Branch Technology Strategy
2:40 pm - 3:00 pm Case Study: Relationship banking in a digital-first world Soren Bested - COO, Agent IQ Margaret "Peg" McCarthy - Chief Retail Banking Officer, Rockland Trust Patrick Myron - SVP, Retail Network Strategy & Sales Analytics, Rockland Trust CompanyLearn how leading banks are expanding beyond their branches to leverage their greatest assets - their people and their customer relationships, to be available anytime, anywhere.
Track C: Branch Technology Strategy
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Panel: What's Next in Customer Self Service? Patrick Twohy - In-Store Banking Program and Senior Regional Manager, Hawaii State Federal Credit Union Heiwote Tadesse - EVP-Member Relations, Associated Credit Union
Track C: Branch Technology Strategy
3:30 pm - 3:50 pm Case Study: Enhance Customer Engagement with CRM StrategyWhile there are many technological components to CRM systems, thinking about CRM in primarily technical terms can be a mistake. Instead, CRM should be viewed as a strategic process to better understand and meet your customers’ needs. A successful CRM strategy depends on bringing together information about customers and market trends so you can translate your FI’s value into revenue and lifelong relationships.
An effective CRM strategy can increase revenues by:
• Offering a better, more integrated customer service experience
• Providing services and products your customers need/want
• Cross-selling products more effectively
• Helping staff close sales and service requests faster
• Retaining existing relationships and discovering new ones
Track C: Branch Technology Strategy
3:50 pm - 4:10 pm Fireside Chat: Flawless Integration: Breaking Down Siloes to Achieve Omnichannel CX Success William H Sullivan - VP, Sr. Client Experience Manager, Cambridge Trust- Pinpoint the departments you need to collaborate with in order to have an end to end picture of your customer
- Instill the importance of customer experience across the organization with trainings and CX advocates
- Create common objectives and organizational goals
- Make sure that your customer doesn’t see whatever seems might exist between the channels-
4:10 pm - 4:50 pm
Summer Carnival Afternoon Networking Break In The Innovation Hub
4:50 pm - 5:30 pm
Future Branches Boston Speed Networking
Bring your business cards—you’ll need them! During this session, you’ll have three minutes to meet and exchange business cards with up to 20 people 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 and credit unions!