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The AI in Financial Services is for non-technical financial services leaders looking to find AI opportunities, build an AI strategy, and deliver ROI.
Each week, Emerj AI Research team (and CEO Daniel Faggella) interview leaders from global financial services firms and unicorn AI startups to get to the heart of AI ROI - uncovering what's working and what's not working for FinServ leaders.
Visit our advertising page to learn more about reaching our executive audience of AI adopters in the world's largest banking and insurance firms: https://emerj.com/advertise
Each week, Emerj AI Research team (and CEO Daniel Faggella) interview leaders from global financial services firms and unicorn AI startups to get to the heart of AI ROI - uncovering what's working and what's not working for FinServ leaders.
Visit our advertising page to learn more about reaching our executive audience of AI adopters in the world's largest banking and insurance firms: https://emerj.com/advertise
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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!
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 brings a broad perspective on how AI adoption is unfolding in financial services and the wider global economy. She explains how generative AI has lowered adoption barriers, accelerating experimentation while raising new challenges around integration, risk, and reliability. While many businesses see immediate efficiency gains at the individual level, Charleyne notes that true productivity impact requires deeper organizational transformation—connecting AI to legacy IT systems, retraining staff, and ensuring secure and reliable outputs. 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 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!
1Today'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!
Today's guest is Itumeleng Masunyane, Senior Vice President of Internal Audit at Amicorp Group. Together, they examine the shifting landscape of compliance and internal audit as organizations adopt more advanced forms of AI, including agentic systems. The conversation begins by outlining why traditional, manual audit processes often struggle to keep pace with evolving regulations across multiple jurisdictions—leading to inconsistencies, burnout, and heightened risk. Itumeleng explains how AI-driven automation and predictive modeling can help teams reconcile regulatory requirements, detect anomalies in real-time, and generate more reliable audit trails. 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! This episode is sponsored by Automation Anywhere. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.
Today's guest is Sophia Qureshi, VP of Product Management for Fraud Solutions at Provenir. Provenir is a fintech company whose AI decisioning platform helps clients manage credit risk, prevent fraud, and stay compliant across the customer lifecycle. Sophia joins the podcast to discuss the evolving threat landscape and how AI is changing the balance of power. Later, she explains the ways fraud detection has traditionally relied on deterministic technologies like anomaly detection and how the rise of generative AI has enabled more sophisticated fraud tactics, from deepfake identity forgeries to large-scale phishing campaigns. 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!
What does it take to build truly intelligent customer experiences at enterprise scale? In this episode of the AI in Business podcast, Shardul Vikram, Chief Product Officer of SAP Application AI, returns to explore the critical role of generative AI in transforming CX across industries. From telecom to healthcare, Shardul breaks down how leading firms are aligning data strategy, automation, and personalization to drive measurable impact in both B2C and B2B environments. Shardul outlines SAP's vision for "intelligent CX" — where AI doesn't just automate tasks but bridges the gap between front-line support and back-office execution. Throughout the episode, he underscores how tools like SAP's CX AI Toolkit and GenAI copilot (Juul) are helping service agents anticipate customer needs, detect anomalies in real-time, and reduce wait times without sacrificing trust or 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! 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 Traci Mabrey, General Manager, Factiva at Dow Jones. In this episode, Traci joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss how AI is accelerating research, improving personalization, and reinforcing the role of human expertise in high-stakes decision-making. The conversation explores the growing demand for structured, trustworthy insights across finance, compliance, and global markets — highlighting where automation helps and where human judgment remains essential. For business and data leaders, the episode offers a grounded perspective on how to navigate the balance between speed, scale, and accuracy in today's information landscape. 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 Traci Mabrey, General Manager, Factiva at Dow Jones. Factiva is a business information and research tool owned by Dow Jones & Company. It aggregates content from both licensed and free sources, providing organizations with search, alerting, dissemination, and other information management capabilities. Traci joins us on today's show to discuss how Factiva is combining artificial intelligence with editorial oversight to deliver localized, relevant, and timely business intelligence. She explains how this human-plus-AI approach helps decision-makers navigate today's complex global markets with greater speed and precision. Traci also highlights the importance of ethical content licensing, transparency in AI outputs, and evolving regulatory considerations as more enterprises embed generative AI into their workflows. 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!
Jim Palmer, Chief AI Officer at Dialpad, returns to the 'AI in Financial Services' podcast to discuss the next evolution in enterprise AI: agentic systems. These autonomous tools promise dramatic changes to how work is done, but only if grounded in real-world applications and use cases. Throughout the episode, Jim outlines how domain-specific data, rigorous back-office testing, and a layered trust framework help organizations move beyond hype cycles. Rather than focusing on full automation, he emphasizes augmentation, enabling human agents with AI-driven coaching, automated assistance, and context-aware insights. Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship 'AI in Business' podcast!
Today's guest is Jim Palmer, Chief AI Officer at Dialpad. Dialpad is an AI-powered communication platform offering unified calling, messaging, video conferencing, and customer support. It helps businesses improve team collaboration and productivity through scalable, efficient communication solutions. In this episode, Jim Palmer joins Emerj Managing Editor Matthew DeMello on the show today to discuss the evolution of AI in customer experience. With over 10 years of experience in AI solutions, Jim shares valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities businesses face in implementing human-centric AI. From overcoming disparate systems to measuring AI's ROI, they dive deep into the practical aspects of AI integration and its impact on customer satisfaction. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.
Today's guest is Jessica Saperstein, Former CXO and CMO, Strategic Advisor, and Corporate Board Member at Church Mutual. Church Mutual is a leading provider of specialized insurance solutions for religious organizations, educational institutions, senior living communities, and nonprofit organizations. Jessica joins us on today's program to explore the intersection of CX, digital transformation, and data-driven decision-making. With a career spanning financial services, pharmaceuticals, and travel, she brings a cross-industry perspective on customer-centric innovation. 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 Arpit Sarin, Vice President of Digital at Regions Bank. Arpit joins us to share insights into the evolving role of AI and data in financial services. Our discussion covers the challenges banks face in adopting AI-driven solutions and scaling them across diverse customer bases and how AI is transforming personalization, customer engagement, and financial advisory services. Arpit provides a deep dive into the intersection of AI, security, and customer-centric innovation, offering practical advice for financial leaders navigating digital transformation. 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 Sophia Qureshi, VP of Product Management for Fraud Solutions at Provenir. Provenir is a fintech company whose AI decisioning platform helps clients manage credit risk, prevent fraud, and stay compliant across the customer lifecycle. Sophia joins the podcast to discuss the evolving threat landscape and how AI is changing the balance of power. Later, she explains how fraud detection has traditionally relied on deterministic technologies like anomaly detection and how the rise of generative AI has enabled more sophisticated fraud tactics, from deepfake identity forgeries to large-scale phishing campaigns. 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 Matt Marolda, Chief Innovation Officer at Acrisure. Acrisure is a global insurance broker and fintech financial services provider. Matt returns to the program this week to explore the impact of AI on industry practices, from streamlining workflows to automating customer interactions and enhancing decision-making with predictive analytics. Our discussion examines how AI can process data more efficiently, identifying patterns in customer behavior and refining risk assessments. 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 Matt Marolda, Chief Innovation Officer at Acrisure. Acrisure is a global insurance broker and fintech financial services provider. Matt joins us on today's program to explore how AI is revolutionizing personal insurance and home refinancing. In the process, Matt shares insights into the current trends and challenges facing insurance leaders, the role of AI in enhancing customer experience, and how data-driven strategies are helping small and mid-sized businesses streamline operations. 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 Edward Maslaveckas, CEO and Co-founder of Bud Financial. Bud provides transactional lending analysis and advanced AI solutions for power affordability and credit lifecycle management. Edward returns to the program to talk about use cases across financial services that are going to transform the personal banking space, from back-office services to customer-facing applications. Throughout the episode, Edward talks about what will come easiest to born-digital fintech startups before they will eventually need to gain the trust and proximity to retail banking customers that legacy organizations have. 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!
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