AI in Financial Services Podcast

Today's guest is Kyle Hathorn, Director of Customer Experience and Strategy at the First National Bank of Omaha. FNBO is a regional bank founded in 1857 that provides retail and commercial banking services across eight states. Kyle brings extensive experience in designing customer journeys and integrating technology to meet evolving expectations. Kyle joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss how financial services leaders can leverage data and AI to create seamless, personalized, and human-centered customer experiences. He also shares practical strategies for measuring engagement, optimizing workflows, and scaling AI-driven personalization while maintaining trust and compliance. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship 'AI in Business' podcast! Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.

Today's guest is Karan Gandhi, Senior Director for Verification and Fraud at Best Egg. Best Egg is a consumer lending platform focused on responsible, data-driven credit access. Karan joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to explore how deepfakes, synthetic identities, bot attacks, and agentic systems are reshaping the fraud landscape and what these shifts mean for data and AI strategy in financial services. Karan also breaks down the practical steps enterprises can take to strengthen verification workflows, leverage metadata and OCR analysis more effectively, and frame fraud-prevention ROI in a way that secures executive buy-in for modernizing their technology stack. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship' AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

The introduction of DeepSeek's R1 large language model has sparked global discussion about what happens when open-source innovation meets geopolitical constraints. What does this mean for financial markets, AI development, and the future of global competition? In this episode of the 'AI in Financial Services' podcast, host Matthew DeMello speaks with Sudeep Kesh, Chief Innovation Officer at S&P Global Ratings, and Martin Whitworth, Lead Cyber Expert at S&P Global Ratings, about how DeepSeek's model reveals the evolving relationship between resource constraints, innovation, and risk management in AI. The conversation explores the technological breakthroughs behind DeepSeek's design, why open-source transparency changes the game for enterprise leaders, and how regulatory intentions often create new innovation cycles. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship' AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

As financial services accelerate their digital transformations, AI is reshaping how institutions identify, assess, and manage risk. But with that transformation comes an equally complex web of systemic risks, regulatory challenges, and questions about accountability. In this episode of the AI in Business podcast, host Matthew DeMello, Head of Content at Emerj, speaks with Miriam Fernandez, Director in the Analytical Innovation Team specializing in AI research at S&P Global Ratings, and Sudeep Kesh, Chief Innovation Officer at S&P Global Ratings. Together, they unpack how generative AI, agentic systems, and regulatory oversight are evolving within one of the most interconnected sectors of the global economy. The conversation explores how AI is amplifying both efficiency and exposure across financial ecosystems — from the promise of multimodal data integration in risk management to the growing challenge of concentration and contagion risks in increasingly digital markets. Miriam and Sudeep discuss how regulators are responding through risk-based frameworks such as the EU AI Act and DORA, and how the private sector is taking a larger role in ensuring transparency, compliance, and trust. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship 'AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Today's guest is Andy Byrne, Founder and CEO of Clari, returns to share early findings from Clari's upcoming report on AI in revenue operations. The headline: 2024 was tough — only 33% of revenue leaders hit plan — yet 91% expect to hit 2025 targets, largely due to AI. Andy breaks down how leaders are using predictive AI to surface risk and momentum and generative AI to create, convert, and close across deals, reps, products, and regions. He details why internal conversational data often outperforms external signals, what "agentic strategies" look like in practice, and why non-adopters risk leadership churn. We close with a tactical playbook for forming a CRO–CIO steering committee, mapping human workflows, and running focused conversion experiments that ladder to measurable revenue lift. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship' AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Today's guest is Andy Byrne, Founder and CEO of Clari. Clari is an AI-driven platform that transforms how financial institutions manage revenue operations and forecasting, turning complex data into clear, actionable insights for confident decision-making. Their platform delivers forecasts and enterprise-wide insights, giving financial institutions the predictability and confidence they need to drive growth at scale. Andy joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello on the AI in Business podcast to discuss how predictive and generative AI are transforming revenue operations, particularly in financial services. Andy explains how revenue leaders are using predictive AI to increase forecast accuracy, identify risks, and improve shareholder value, while generative and agentic AI are beginning to automate sales workflows and reduce the burden of manual tracking. Together, they explore the hype cycle around agentic AI, where the failures are likely to emerge, and how financial institutions like Capital One and Charles Schwab are deploying these technologies today. Byrne also highlights the critical role of "revenue context" — understanding who did what, when, and with what outcome — as a foundation for scaling AI-driven revenue platforms. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship' AI in Business' podcast! Join enterprise leaders at Emerj's Vision to Value AI Infra Summit to explore strategies for building, securing, and scaling AI infrastructure. Reserve your free spot today: emerj.com/infrasummit4. If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Today's guest on the 'AI in Financial Services' podcast is Charleyne Biondi, Associate Vice President of Moody's Ratings in the Digital Economy Team. Charleyne Biondi, Associate Vice President of Moody's Ratings in the Digital Economy Team. Charleyne returns to the program to share her perspective on the rapidly evolving landscape of AI regulation, comparing the EU AI Act, the US sector-specific approach, and emerging international frameworks. She outlines how regulatory divergence is shaping adoption, trust, and compliance costs for companies operating globally. Charleyne also emphasizes the risks of regulatory fragmentation in the US, where state-level laws often impose requirements as stringent as Europe's. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship' AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Charleyne Biondi is the Associate Vice President of Moody’s Ratings, specializing in the Digital Economy. She discusses the impact of generative AI on financial services, highlighting how it lowers barriers to adoption and accelerates experimentation. Charleyne emphasizes that achieving true productivity requires connecting AI with legacy systems and retraining staff. She also examines the transformative potential of autonomous AI, focusing on its ability to enhance data analysis and tackle regulatory challenges, inspiring businesses to rethink their AI strategies.

Today's guest is Gautam Samanta, President and Executive Director, Head of Global Banking and Financial Services at Coforge. Coforge is a global IT services firm specializing in digital solutions for industries such as banking, insurance, travel, and manufacturing, with a focus on domain-driven consulting and emerging technologies like AI and cloud. Gautam joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to unpack how banking and financial services leaders can align digital transformation with business goals, move generative AI and blockchain initiatives beyond the hype, and build resilience through cybersecurity, modernization, and global delivery strategies. Their conversation also explores how mid-market banks are scaling offshore capabilities, and why strong data governance and a clear cultural vision are critical to navigating the next wave of change in financial services. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship' AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Today's guest is Kyle Hathorn, Director of Customer Experience and Strategy at First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO). FNBO is a privately held, family-led financial institution with over $32 billion in assets and approximately 4,500 employees, offering personal, business, commercial, and wealth banking across eight Midwestern states, alongside a national reach through its credit‑card programs. Kyle joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to explore how banks can meet rising customer expectations while navigating economic uncertainty and digital transformation. Together, they unpack the unique challenges of delivering seamless, personalized experiences in a heavily regulated, multi-platform environment. From the impacts of inflation on customer loyalty to the cautious integration of AI, Kyle emphasizes the importance of trust, transparency, and alignment across product and data teams. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship' AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!