Ron Shevlin is an analyst, consultant, and author on banking and fintech. As Managing Director of Research at Cornerstone Advisors, he leads the firm’s research efforts looking at how technology is changing consumers’ financial behaviors and relationships, and the impact of fintech on the banking industry. As a thought leader in the industry, Ron’s recent research has covered topics including consumers’ shadow financial lives, embedded finance, customer reacquisition, and the challenger bank insurgency.

Prior to joining Cornerstone Advisors, Ron was a senior analyst at Aite Group, where he specialized in retail banking issues, and before that Director of Financial Services at Forrester Research, where he headed up Forrester’s research efforts on customer loyalty, profitability and consumer channel use in the financial services industry.

Ron is also a Senior Contributor at Forbes where he publishes the Fintech Snark Tank blog. He is also the author of the Amazon best-seller, Smarter Bank: Why Money Management is More Important than Money Movement. Ranked #2 on Bank Innovation’s list of 30 Innovators to Watch, Ron is consistently ranked among the top fintech influencers globally, and is a frequent keynote speaker at banking and fintech industry events.

Ron received a master’s degree in finance and statistics from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in economics from SUNY Binghamton.

David G.W Birch is an author, advisor and commentator on digital financial services. He leads 15Mb Ltd (his advisory practice), is Global Ambassador for Consult Hyperion (the secure electronic transactions consultancy that he helped to found), Non-Executive Chairman of Digiseq Ltd, Ambassador for Jersey for Fintech, a member of the Governing Council of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (the London-based think tank) and holds number of board-level advistory roles.

He is an Honorary President of EEMA, the European e-ID Association and a Digital Fellow at the University of Exeter Business School’s DIGIT Lab.

Before helping to found Consult Hyperion in 1986, he spent several years working as a consultant in Europe, the Far East and North America.

Dave was named one of the global top 15 favorite sources of business information (Wired magazine) and one of the top ten most influential voices in banking (Financial Brand); created one of the top 25 “must read’ financial IT blogs; was found to be one of the top ten Twitter accounts followed by innovators, along with Bill Gates and Richard Branson (PR Daily); was ranked in the top three most influential people in London’s FinTech community (City A.M.), was voted one of the European “Top 40” people in digital financial services (Financial News), was listed of the world’s top 100 fintech influencers (FinTech Weekly), rated Europe’s most influential commentator on emerging payments (Total Payments) and was awarded Contributor of the Year 2018 by the Emerging Payments Association.

Described at the Oxford Internet Institute as “one of Britain’s most acute observers of the internet and social networks”, in The Telegraph as “one of the world’s leading experts on digital money”, in The Independent as a “grade-A geek” and by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation as “one of the most user-friendly of the UK’s uber-techies”, he is a contributor at Forbes, a columnist for Financial World magazine and has written for publications ranging from the Parliamentary IT Review to The Financial Times. He also wrote a column in The Guardian for many years. A media commentator on electronic business issues, he has appeared on BBC television and radio, Sky and other channels around the world.

His latest book “The Currency Cold War” was published in May 2020. The book looks at the significant economic and political ramifications of the move towards digital money and examines both private (eg, Libra) and public (eg, China) approache to conclude that business and government strategies for digital currency should be a priority.

His previous book “Before Babylon, Beyond Bitcoin: From money we understand to money that understands us” was published in 2017 with a foreword by Andrew Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England. In the London School of Economics (LSE) Review of Books it was described as a timely and illuminating contribution which should be widely read by graduate students of finance, financial law and related topics, as well as policymakers involved in financial regulation.

The London Review of Books called his book “Identity is the New Money” (2014) fresh, original, wide-ranging and the best book on general issues around new forms of money.

David graduated from the University of Southampton with a B.Sc (Hons.) in Physics.

Partner with an energetic and compelling presenter who earns the highest ratings at industry events. Reward your audiences with one of the world’s most recognized financial services experts.

Jim Marous is consistently rated as one of the top 5 most influential people in banking and one of the most sought after keynote speakers for industry and corporate events. Known for his understanding of the disruption in the banking industry, Marous is the co-publisher of The Financial Brand, and owner and publisher of the Digital Banking Report. Jim speaks on innovation, digital transformation, customer experience, marketing strategies, channel distribution, payments and change management.

Jim has been featured on CNBC, CNN, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Financial Times, The Economist, The American Banker, Fintech Finance and Accenture and has spoken to audiences worldwide.

Marous has also advised the White House on banking policy and is a contributor for Forbes and the Breaking Banks radio show.

Co-Publisher Financial Brand

The Financial Brand is an online publication focused on marketing and strategy issues affecting retail banks and credit unions. With over 1.6 millions readers in 200 countries around the world, it is the singular resource for C-level banking executives looking for that latest ideas, insights and information about how financial institutions build and grow their brands. Jeffrey Pilcher is the CEO and founder of The Financial Brand.

Owner and Host Banking Transformed Podcast

Are you prepared to embrace change, take risks and disrupt yourself in response to the digital disruption in banking? Hosted by top 5 banking and fintech influencer, Jim Marous, the Banking Transformed podcast highlights the major leadership and cultural challenges facing the banking industry today. Featuring interviews with some of the best minds in business worldwide, this Top 10 Podcast in Banking explores the impact of digital disruption on the industry’s future.

Owner and Publisher Digital Banking Report

Digital Banking Report is published 9 times a year, delivering in-depth and unbiased guidance for bank and credit union product managers, marketers, and C-level executives hoping to improve their digital, online and mobile offerings. Subscribers get current insights and have access to more than 150 previously published reports available in the online library.

A specialist in AI-powered transformation, Mike’s work and research was recently profiled by the Rotman School of Management. His talent is being able to bridge the two worlds of disruptive technology and business leadership, translating deep tech into pragmatic recommendations for leaders to seize new opportunities, transform their organizations, and change their own thinking.

Mike is a prolific researcher who interviews innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs and corporate revolutionaries every year. Many of these conversations feature in his popular podcast, Between Worlds. A skilled facilitator, he excels at fireside chats with CEOs, customers and other thought leaders. He brings this consultative approach to personalizing insights and recommendations for his audiences, specializing in identifying ‘mind grenades’ or provocative questions that will challenge your team and stretch their thinking.

A prolific writer and commentator, Mike’s views have appeared in a wide range of international publications including Inc. Magazine, BusinessWeek, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. Recently, LinkedIn invited Mike to publish his weekly newsletter Tomorrowist about next generation leadership. A regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, his articles explore a wide range of cutting-edge leadership topics including data-driven decision making, agile organizations, algorithmic management and AI ethics.

Mike’s latest book, The Algorithmic Leader, offers a hopeful and practical guide for reinventing leadership and organizations. The book has been a global hit and is now available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Polish and Russian. In 2019, The Algorithmic Leader was selected to be given to the world leaders and executive attendees of the Ambrosetti Global Forum at Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, Italy.

Futuretainment, Mike’s first book, was published by Phaidon and was the winner of the design award by the Art Director’s Club in New York. Released in 2009, it predicted how the smartphone would reshape the media and marketing industry, and the imminent rise of social media, digital influencers and streaming entertainment. In The Dictionary of Dangerous Ideas, Mike anticipated breakthroughs in micro satellite networks, cryptocurrencies, remote work, digital protest movements, self-driving cars, drones and digital biology. A dynamic and engaging keynote speaker, Mike has given more than 1,000 talks over the last decade, from strategic briefings for the boards of companies like Verizon and Raytheon, to an employee summit for a healthcare corporation that filled a sports stadium with an audience of over 25,000 people. In addition to both in-person and virtual presentations, Mike also works with enterprise learning and development leaders to create compelling programs to up-skill teams for a world of AI-powered competition.

Corporate Experience
Mike has been a pioneer in the digital space since the 1990s, running both successful start-up ventures as well as holding senior leadership positions in established media organizations. With a background in corporate law and management consulting, he began his career at XT3, a spin-out from McKinsey and one of the first digital consulting firms created to help major companies embrace the embryonic Web. During the first dotcom boom, Mike launched the technology publishing group internet.com in Australia, which went on to become the leading local technology news and events platform in the country.

He also founded and ran Jupiter Research in the Asia Pacific, one of the first research agencies to track the early adoption of e-commerce and digital business models by online consumers. During this period, he was recognized as one of Australia’s “Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30.”

After his experiences in the Webspace, Mike spent five years in senior strategy roles at News Corporation where he helped shape the digital strategy for both their Australian newspaper and Asian TV divisions. Directly engaged by the CEO of Star TV to provide the company with a digital roadmap for their operations, he began his in-depth research into the fast growth markets of Asia.

While in Hong Kong and inspired by the dramatic changes taking place in China and India, Mike founded his latest venture, Tomorrow – an innovation research lab focused on emerging technology and disruptive consumer behavior. Always in demand for his fresh insights and practical future-focused strategies, Mike has advised the CEOs and senior management teams at multinational companies including the BBC, Fujifilm, Richemont, MSN, Star TV, Televisa, Philips, and HSBC.

In addition to his corporate profile, Mike is a published photographer and supporter of the Arts. His photographic images from his travels around the world helped his book, FUTURETAINMENT, win an Art Director’s Club award in NYC. He has also served on the Director’s Circle at the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art.

As a global nomad and consumer trend scout, Mike does live research, in the trenches, with big corporations and entrepreneurs all over the world bringing a truly global perspective to every event.

Born on Christmas Day, 1964, Devon Harris was raised in the violent ghetto environment of Olympic Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica. The greatest gift he ever received was the belief that a positive attitude and a never say die philosophy would carry him farther than a sense of injustice and a heart filled with anger. Devon Harris graduated from the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England and received a Queen’s Commission in December 1985 and served in the officer corps of the Jamaica Defence Force until December 1992 when he retired as a Captain.

Warren Macdonald’s Story

Warren Macdonald’s inspirational survival story began in April 1997 with his accident on North Queensland’s (Australia) Hinchinbrook Island. Climbing to the Island’s tallest peak, he became trapped beneath a one-ton boulder in a freak rock fall. Two days later he was rescued, only to undergo the amputation of both legs at mid-thigh.

Just ten months later, he climbed Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain using a modified wheelchair and the seat of his pants.

In 2003, he became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro (19,222ft). Later that same year, in a spectacular effort requiring more than 2,800 pull-ups over 4 days, he climbed America’s tallest cliff face, El Capitan. Warren is also the only above knee amputee to make an ascent of Canada’s landmark frozen waterfall, the 600 ft “Weeping Wall” in Alberta.

Warren’s bestselling first book, A Test of Will is the subject of the “Trapped under a Boulder” episode of the Discovery Channel series “I Shouldn’t Be Alive”.

His film documenting the epic four-week journey to Federation Peak, Australia most challenging mountain summit, “The Second Step”, has been acclaimed worldwide, screening on National Geographic Television and winning eight international awards including Grand Prize at the prestigious “Banff Mountain Film Festival”.

Warren has appeared on numerous news and current affairs programs, including “Larry King Live”, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, and “The Hour” with George Stroumboulopoulos.

Warren works with businesses and associations looking to develop their resilience and to help foster a mindset shift towards “out of the box” thinking through his work as a Keynote Speaker.