Program | Conference for Community Bankers

8:00 AM – 10:15 AM

General Session

Embedding a culture of innovation and creativity into everyone’s DNA

To compete in the job market with the rise of AI, businesses must focus on human traits like creativity, intuition, curiosity and imagination. But until now, no one has made innovation like this tangible. Many companies build an “innovation department,” only to find that they have not truly driven cultural change. Discover the solution: the Design Thinking Innovation Toolkit — which makes creativity tangible, innovation easy and the process enjoyable.

• Duncan Wardle, former head of innovation and creativity, Walt Disney Company

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM

Coffee Break in the Hub

10:30 AM – 11:45 AM

Guest Breakfast

Seize your life: Unlocking your path to personal excellence

Witnessing the success of others can often lead to reflection on our own paths and potential. This dynamic program will empower you to take charge of your destiny by investing in yourself. Explore the journey toward embracing a life fueled by personal ambitions and dreams. Learn to identify and dismantle the barriers preventing you from reaching your full potential.

• Jasmine Brett Stringer, TV Lifestyle Expert, Consultant, Best- Selling Author

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM

Education and Peer Exchange Sessions

Topic: CRE Lending
CRE economic overview: The landscape of commercial markets

Understanding the developing CRE trends in your market is essential for the top commercial lenders active in CRE markets. Get a current overview of the changing landscape and current data critical for every bank’s CRE loan portfolio management, credit offering, analysis and future deals.

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Power Lunches (RSVP Recommended)

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM

Dessert in the Hub

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Education and Peer Exchange Sessions

Topic: Board Governance
Measuring and improving board effectiveness

Strong board performance is essential to the strategic direction, regulatory compliance and long-term success of community banks. Learn how to identify relevant performance metrics, compare your board’s practices against industry standards and use data-driven insights to foster continuous improvement. Whether you're looking to strengthen governance, improve board engagement or prepare for succession, get practical frameworks tailored to the unique needs of your bank.

Topic: Human Capital
Harnessing AI: From anxiety to advantage

As AI reshapes community banking, HR and executive leaders may feel AI anxiety — uncertain about its effect on their people, culture and operations. Learn how to move beyond that anxiety and use AI as “Augmented Intelligence,” a strategic partner that amplifies leadership capacity, strengthens retention and builds a more resilient organizational culture. Harness AI to strengthen manager-employee relationships and improve overall performance within 90 days.

Topic: Operations
Turning data into defense

Every day, fraud threats are becoming more sophisticated — and more costly. For community banks, the stakes are especially high, as limited resources and close customer relationships demand both vigilance and precision. Explore how C-suite leaders can harness the power of data analytics to proactively detect, prevent and respond to fraud. Learn how to integrate analytics into your risk management framework and leave feeling prepared to make well-informed decisions.

Topic: CRE Lending
Building bench strength in commercial lending

Community banks are challenged with attracting and retaining talent in all areas of commercial lending. PPP money is gone and CRE lending is growing again, making it essential to refocus on the basics with a strong team in place. This session will approach the tactics you need in order to recruit, train and promote in today’s competitive environment.

3:15 PM – 4:15 PM

Education and Peer Exchange Sessions

Topic: Board Governance
Director compensation and compensation committee best practices

Determining board compensation is often the responsibility of the compensation committee. Get a breakdown of director compensation packages, including cash and equity, retainers, per-meeting fees, committee fees and chair fees. Focus on relevant compensation regulations and the responsibilities of the compensation committee. Review the infrastructure of a compensation committee and the best practices surrounding such items as the committee charter, calendar, composition, expertise meeting agendas and more.

Topic: Technology
Future of work in community banking: From insight to implementation

Community banks are navigating big shifts in labor supply, skills demand, customer expectations, compliance pressure, AI and more. Through an opportunity mapping exercise, prioritize what matters most for your bank’s reality and leave with a clear starting point for action. We’ll translate relevant micro and macro talent trends into branch-ready actions so you can see what’s coming, and what to do about it

Topic: Profitability and Finance
Accelerating ag lending for speed, efficiency and decision-making

Digital transformation is making access to capital faster and more efficient than ever, and it’s essential that lenders embrace it. Learn the benefits of digital platforms, and analyze how you can use advanced data analytics to more effectively assess credit risk, enhance loan performance and provide tailored lending products to your clients. Discover best practices for using digital transformation to scale your services and reach a broader market.

Topic: Technology

In an era of rapid digital transformation, community banks face both unprecedented challenges and exciting opportunities. Explore emerging technologies and business models poised to reshape the financial services landscape — like APIs and open banking, digital assets and super apps. We’ll demystify these innovations, highlight real-world applications and provide strategic insights into how they can enhance customer experience, operational efficiency and competitive positioning.

4:30 PM – 5:15 PM

Partner Game Changers

5:15 PM – 6:15 PM

Reception in the Hub

7:15 AM – 8:00 AM

Power Breakfasts (Note: Session starts at 7:30 AM)

8:00 AM – 10:15 AM

General Session

The economic forecast

Get insights on how GDP will perform, what interest rates will do and how the labor market is expected to behave. Learn how much firms will spend, how the residential housing sector and real estate in general will perform and how a host of other economic variables will affect the economy this year. Leave with projections devoid of sugar coating so you’re better able to focus on the data that counts.

• Elliott Eisenberg, Ph.D., Chief Economist, GraphsandLaughs

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM

Coffee Break in the Hub

11:15 AM – 12:45 PM

Education and Master Class Sessions

Topic: Technology
The core of the future

As the pace of innovation accelerates, the question isn’t if your bank will evolve — it’s how. Join a forward-looking conversation between CEOs on what tomorrow’s banking landscape demands from today’s bank technology providers. Discover how providers are adapting to support agility, innovation and scale, and explore the shifting dynamics of core platforms in a digital world. Get a strategic roadmap for how to lead, not just follow.

Topic: CRE Lending
Maximize your commercial valuation review process

A new focus of prudential regulators is the quality of appraisals. This session will focus on how to approach the review process for commercial appraisals. Learn how to structure your appraisal engagement letter to capture the proper content, what steps are necessary to validate the appraisal via a comprehensive review to determine acceptance of the valuation for the loan file.

Master Classes

Topic: Technology
Everyday generative AI for bankers

Ready to turn generative AI into a real advantage in your day-to-day? Designed specifically for the banking industry, this interactive class focuses on practical, everyday use cases that you can immediately employ to transform your productivity, creativity and communication. Get foundational insights for beginners, followed by real video examples you can apply right away. This isn’t just a demo — it’s a working session packed with time-saving prompts and frameworks, custom-built for banking professionals. Come prepared with your laptop or iPad and access to your generative AI tool of choice (ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, etc.). You’ll leave with ready-to-use skills that you can bring back to your bank.

Topic: Technology & Operations
Unlocking market-leading innovation with a futures mindset

Today, we are tempted to focus on the “push of the future,” forced into a perpetual state of reacting to trends and disruption. Awaiting us, however, is the “pull of the future,” providing a framework to intentionally act upon our preferred futures that are abundant with transformative market opportunities. New visions of the future require new mindsets and unique ways of measuring. Learn to unlock your “inner futures” mindset to differentiate yourself, your bank and your community for market-leading innovation. Develop your ability to identify and use emerging issues from outside the banking industry to inform your present-day strategies.

12:45 PM – 1:45 PM

Networking Lunch

1:45 PM – 2:30 PM

Spark!

2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

Education Sessions

4:15 PM – 5:45 PM

Closing General Session and Reception