Program | Workforce Excellence Summit

12:30 PM – 1:50 PM

Welcome and Opening Keynote

Excellence in: Building a future-ready workforce

Join us for an insightful conversation with ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols and Kenneth Kelly, ABA Board Chair as we dive into ABA’s Workforce Excellence initiative — designed to help banks of all sizes build strong, competitive teams that meet the evolving needs of customers and communities. Together, we’ll explore what workforce excellence truly means, why it matters now more than ever and how it empowers banks and bankers to thrive in today’s rapidly changing landscape. If your bank is looking to build a competitive, forward-thinking workforce that helps drive success today and into the future, you won’t want to miss this.

• Rob Nichols, President and CEO, American Bankers Association
• Kenneth Kelly, ABA Board Chair, Chairman and CEO, First Independence Bank

Excellence in: Unlocking the power of people

Humans all experience stages with different fears, motivations and goals. By constructively exploring these states, we transform our understanding of ourselves and each other. Discuss the overlooked science of human potential to help us Build People Power inside our organizations. You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of how to predict and drive certain behaviors, no matter which stage someone is in.

• Arel Moodie, Adult Development Theory expert, tech founder, Disney+ expert host

12:50 PM – 2:35 PM

Concurrent Sessions

Excellence in: Guiding teams with vision and purpose

Managers are the foundation of workforce success. In this session, managers will gain practical tools to lead with clarity, coach effectively, build stronger teams and foster accountability. Participants will explore how to navigate complexity and change with insight and purpose. Whether you lead a branch, department or an entire institution, this session will help you step back from the day-to-day, see the bigger picture and guide your team with vision and purpose.

Excellence in: Leading across generations

Employees in today’s multigenerational workforce can have great differences in workplace expectations, communication and motivation. This session will provide insights on how these generational differences can influence the workplace, and practical strategies on how to strengthen collaboration and productivity by tailoring management approaches to individuals rather than stereotypes. Participants will also learn how to use adaptive leadership techniques to effectively engage and support employees of all generations and practical tools to help build engagement and trust across generations.

Excellence in: Building skills for the future

As banking evolves, so must its workforce. This session highlights trends and changes that are influencing banking workforce needs in today’s climate and insights into how banks can build agile, future-ready teams through forward-looking development strategies, such as upskilling and reskilling. Participants will explore learning pathways, development tools and strategies for embedding continuous learning into the workplace.

2:35 PM – 2:45 PM

Break

Concurrent Sessions

Excellence in: Performance culture

Performance is more than metrics — it’s about mindset, motivation and meaning. This session will provide actionable strategies and equip participants with mindsets that foster a high-performing culture of belonging, driving improvements in employee engagement, retention, innovation and overall profitability. Participants will learn how to create environments where employees feel empowered to excel and accountable for outcomes.

2:45 PM – 3:30 PM

Excellence in: Innovating with AI

In banking, workforce excellence has always depended on human intelligence — judgment, trust and customer insight. But as the pace of digital transformation accelerates, banks that thrive will be those that combine human intelligence with artificial intelligence to create something even greater: organizational intelligence. In this engaging and practical session, learn about the return on intelligence framework — revealing how top-performing organizations are using AI to develop talent faster, improve leadership pipelines and strengthen culture.

Excellence in: Employee resource groups

Employees are continually seeking opportunities to connect with their peers and bank leaders. Employee resource groups provide an excellent way for banks to engage employees and provide them with new pathways for development. This session features a panel of bankers who will share insights about how ERGs impact workplace culture and how to use ERGs as a tool for employee engagement. They will also share insights and best practices on starting or structuring your ERGs and creating connection points to help drive engagement and bank success.

3:40 PM – 4:45 PM

Closing Session

3:40 PM – 4:45 PM Closing SessionExcellence in: Shaping the future of bank leadershipThe future of bank leadership is being shaped right now. This session offers a forward-looking view on what bank leaders see as emerging competencies, workforce trends and needs and leadership imperatives. Participants will hear from next-gen bank leaders who are driving innovation, navigating disruption and redefining what it means to lead in financial services.