25 Best Keynote Speakers on AI in Financial Services (2026)
- Jonno White
- 5 days ago
- 34 min read
Finding the right keynote speaker on artificial intelligence for your next financial services conference, leadership summit, or corporate event is one of the most consequential decisions you will make as an event organiser in 2026. The AI keynote speaking market has expanded dramatically over the past two years, and with that growth has come a genuinely difficult problem: the speakers with the deepest technical AI credentials are not always the ones who will resonate with a financial services audience. And the speakers who understand banking, insurance, and wealth management are not always the ones who can make AI accessible, urgent, and actionable for a room full of financial executives.
The financial services industry is at a unique inflection point. According to McKinsey's 2025 State of AI survey, 72 percent of organisations globally have now adopted AI in at least one business function, up from 55 percent just twelve months earlier. In banking alone, AI is expected to contribute between $170 billion and $340 billion in additional profit by 2028. The EY Global Financial Services Regulatory Outlook 2026 confirms that boards are making AI oversight a standing agenda item, investing in explainability, auditability, and third-party risk controls across every jurisdiction. The pressure on financial services leaders has never been more intense.
Here is the insight most speaker lists miss entirely: the biggest barrier to AI adoption in financial services is not understanding the technology. It is leading the people through the change. Financial institutions that invest in generative AI capability while neglecting the culture, the communication, and the leadership dimensions of that transformation routinely underperform those that treat the human side of AI as the strategic priority it is. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2026, task-specific AI agents will be embedded in 40 percent of enterprise applications. The question for most financial services organisations is not whether to adopt AI, it is how to lead their people through adopting it without losing trust, performance, and talent in the process.
This guide ranks the 25 best keynote speakers on AI in financial services for 2026 across four specialist categories: generative AI and AI strategy specialists, financial services and fintech specialists, AI governance and responsible AI experts, and leadership and culture specialists for financial services AI transformation. Each entry is assessed on financial services expertise, AI credentials, methodology, delivery quality, service flexibility, and audience match.
To ensure your financial services leadership team has the practical frameworks to lead through AI transformation, consider engaging Jonno White, bestselling author of Step Up or Step Out and Certified Working Genius Facilitator, who delivers keynotes, workshops, and executive offsites that give financial services teams the people and culture tools they need for the Monday morning after the conference. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.
How We Ranked These Speakers
Six criteria shaped every entry in this guide. First, financial services expertise: has the speaker actually delivered for banking, insurance, wealth management, fintech, or capital markets audiences, not just for generic corporate events? Second, AI credentials: does the speaker have genuine authority on artificial intelligence, whether through building AI systems at major organisations, leading AI strategy at enterprise scale, or producing original research and frameworks the field relies on? Third, methodology and depth: does the speaker offer a clear, replicable framework, diagnostic tool, or implementation roadmap that audiences can apply after the event? Fourth, delivery quality: does the speaker consistently earn the highest audience ratings at financial services events? Fifth, service flexibility: can they deliver keynotes, workshops, executive roundtables, fireside chats, and virtual presentations to suit different event formats and budgets? Sixth, audience match: who are they genuinely best for, and does that match your specific audience's AI maturity level and strategic objectives?
No speaker on this list received a ranking based on fee size or bureau relationships. The rankings reflect honest assessment against these criteria.
Category One: Generative AI and AI Strategy Specialists
These speakers bring the deepest technical and strategic AI credentials. They are ideal for audiences that need to understand what AI is, where it is going, and how to build a strategy for deploying it at scale. They are strongest for CTO, CIO, innovation leadership, and AI strategy events.
1. Brett King
Thirty years into his career as a financial services futurist, Brett King remains the standard against which all other AI and banking speakers are measured. The Australian-born author, speaker, and founder of Moven, the world's first mobile downloadable bank, has spoken on the future of financial services in more than 50 countries, advised the Obama administration on fintech policy, and his book Augmented was cited by President Xi Jinping as required reading on artificial intelligence. He is the host of Breaking Banks, the number one fintech radio show and podcast with more than 6.5 million downloads across 180 countries.
King's keynotes draw on three decades of direct fintech building experience and an unmatched ability to translate the AI transformation of financial services into clear strategic language. His Bank 4.0 keynote challenges banking audiences to rethink everything they know about financial services as digital ecosystems, embedded finance, and real-time AI reshape customer expectations. His most recent keynote work addresses agentic AI, the next wave of autonomous AI systems that will reshape banking operations, risk assessment, and customer service more profoundly than generative AI has done so far. Testimonials from Kira Dubas, Head of Strategy, Wealth Management Technology at Morgan Stanley, and from major global banking conferences confirm he consistently earns the highest audience ratings of any speaker at events where he appears.
Key Credentials
Amazon bestselling author of Bank 4.0, Augmented, and Breaking Banks; founder of Moven; host of Breaking Banks podcast (6.5 million+ downloads, 180 countries); keynote experience at TED, CES, Web Summit, SIBOS, The Economist, IBM's World of Watson; Obama administration fintech adviser; inducted into the Fintech Hall of Fame in 2020.
Signature Topics
Bank 4.0: Banking Everywhere, Never at a Bank; AI and the Future of Financial Services; Agentic AI and the New Banking Landscape; How Science Fiction Predicts Financial Services' Future.
Best For
Banking and fintech conferences seeking a globally credentialled opener or closer who will challenge audiences to think fundamentally differently about where AI is taking financial services. Particularly strong for banking strategy, digital transformation, senior executive events, and international financial services conferences where the brief is to provoke institutional thinking about the future of money, credit, and banking.
Considerations
Brett King's keynotes are optimistic but provocative. Audiences comfortable with incremental change may find his disruption-focused framing challenging. His engagement style is well-suited to large conference formats rather than intimate executive offsites.
Bureau / Contact
Speakers Associates, A-Speakers, Leading Authorities. brettking.com.
2. Jim Marous
Where most AI speakers bring technology expertise and translate it into financial services examples, Jim Marous is the reverse: a financial services expert with decades of banking practitioner experience who brings the most comprehensive proprietary research available on how AI is reshaping banking at every level. Co-publisher of The Financial Brand and owner and publisher of the Digital Banking Report, Marous has been consistently rated one of the top five most influential people in banking for more than a decade. His Banking Transformed podcast is a top 10 banking podcast globally, and his research informs the strategic decisions of bank and credit union executives around the world.
Marous's keynotes are built from actual banking data, real institutional case studies, and the specific decisions that retail bank CEOs, credit union leadership teams, and digital banking heads face every quarter. He has appeared on CNBC, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the New York Times, and the Financial Times, and has advised the White House on banking policy. Event organisers consistently report that his customised keynotes, rebuilt from scratch for every engagement, earn the highest ratings of any speaker at their events.
Key Credentials
Co-publisher, The Financial Brand; owner and publisher, Digital Banking Report (nine issues per year, 150+ archived research reports); host, Banking Transformed podcast (top 10 banking globally); consistently rated Top 5 Most Influential Person in Banking; White House banking policy adviser.
Signature Topics
The AI Imperative in Banking: Moving From Pilots to Performance; Embrace Change, Take Risks and Disrupt Yourself; The Power of Personalization in the Age of AI; Who Is the New Digital Consumer and What Do They Demand From Your Institution.
Best For
Retail banking conferences, credit union events, digital banking summits, community bank leadership meetings, and executive strategy sessions where the audience needs banking-specific AI content grounded in real institutional research. Particularly strong for audiences that include a mix of technical and non-technical banking leaders.
Considerations
Marous's keynotes are customised for every engagement, which produces excellent results but requires lead time for preparation. His content is banking-focused; for investment management or insurance audiences, his relevance is strong but slightly less direct than for retail banking events.
Bureau / Contact
MCP Talent, RMA Speaker's Bureau. jimmarous.com.
3. Zack Kass
No other speaker on this list has spent three years inside OpenAI commercialising the technology that is now reshaping financial services globally. Zack Kass was the former Head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI, where he built the teams responsible for sales, partnerships, and customer success, turning GPT technology into real-world enterprise solutions and personally advising executives across dozens of industries on deploying AI at scale. He has since delivered keynotes to more than 300,000 people across five continents, advises Fortune 1000 companies and governments including Morgan Stanley and Coca-Cola, and is the bestselling author of The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential, which debuted on the USA Today, LA Times, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists in January 2026.
Kass's central idea, Unmetered Intelligence, holds that as AI makes cognition abundant the source of competitive advantage shifts away from information processing toward distinctly human capabilities. For financial services audiences, this reframing is particularly powerful: it gives bankers, insurers, and wealth managers a language for understanding not just what AI will do to their industry but what role human judgment, relationship, and accountability will play in a world where analytical capacity is no longer scarce.
Key Credentials
Former Head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI (three years); advisory relationships with Morgan Stanley, Coca-Cola, and Amgen; bestselling author, The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential (USA Today, LA Times, Publishers Weekly bestseller, January 2026); delivered keynotes to 300,000+ people across five continents; Adjunct Professor at the University of Virginia; research collaborator at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Signature Topics
The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential; Unmetered Intelligence: What Happens When Thinking Becomes Cheap; Building AI-Ready Organisations; Leading High-Performing Teams in an AI-Driven World.
Best For
Financial services leadership events, investment conferences, fintech summits, and executive gatherings where the audience needs to understand the strategic and competitive implications of generative AI from someone with direct insider experience at the company that built it. Particularly effective for senior leader audiences that include both AI enthusiasts and sceptics. Fees range from $50,000 to $100,000 for US live events.
Bureau / Contact
BigSpeak, Premiere Speakers Bureau, Washington Speakers Bureau. zackkass.com.
4. Cassie Kozyrkov
Cassie Kozyrkov founded the field of Decision Intelligence and served as Google's first Chief Decision Scientist from 2018 to 2023, where she spearheaded Google's transformation into an AI-first company and personally trained over 20,000 Googlers in data-driven decision-making, impacting more than 500 projects. She is now CEO of Kozyr, her AI advisory firm, and previously served on the Innovation Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Her clients include NASA, Gucci, Spotify, Meta, Salesforce, and GSK. A Forbes AI cover star, she has delivered keynotes in more than 40 countries on all seven continents, including at the United Nations, World Economic Forum, SXSW, and Web Summit.
Kozyrkov brings something financial services audiences consistently rank as their most pressing AI need: the ability to make better decisions under uncertainty using AI. Her Decision Intelligence framework translates directly and practically into financial services contexts, from credit risk assessment and investment decision-making to regulatory compliance and fraud detection. A CFO Leadership Council testimonial confirmed that her ability to distil complex AI concepts for financial audiences who do not live in the tech weeds is genuinely rare. She delivers with theatre-trained charisma, combining technical depth with genuine accessibility and humour.
Key Credentials
Founder of Decision Intelligence; Google's first Chief Decision Scientist (2018-2023); CEO of Kozyr; former member, Innovation Advisory Council, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Forbes AI cover star; LinkedIn Top Voice and Number 1 Writer in AI on Medium over multiple consecutive years; academic background in economics, mathematical statistics, psychology, and neuroscience from the University of Chicago, NCSU, and Duke University.
Signature Topics
Decision Intelligence: Turning Information into Better Financial Decisions; Why Businesses Fail at AI and How to Fix It; Leading Your Organisation Through the AI Revolution; The AI Trust Gap and How Financial Institutions Can Bridge It.
Best For
Financial services C-suite and board-level events, wealth management and investment conferences, risk and compliance leadership gatherings, and organisations where the primary need is helping leaders make better decisions using AI. Particularly effective for CFO, CRO, and Chief Risk Officer audiences.
Bureau / Contact
BigSpeak, Chartwell Speakers, PepTalk. kozyr.com.
5. Allie K. Miller
Named one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people in AI in 2025, Allie K. Miller is the founder and CEO of Open Machine and one of the most recognised AI business leaders in the world. With close to 2 million LinkedIn followers, she is the most-followed voice on AI business globally. Previously, she was the Global Head of Machine Learning for Startups and Venture Capital at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where she built a nearly 100-person, 10-figure organisation. Before AWS, she was the youngest-ever woman to launch an AI product at IBM. She has delivered more than 200 talks on AI for audiences including JP Morgan Chase, Citi, Nasdaq, Thomson Reuters, Google, and Anthropic.
Miller's particular strength for financial services audiences is her ability to translate AI capability into business strategy without requiring technical knowledge from the audience. Her direct client history with JP Morgan Chase, Citi, and Nasdaq provides specific financial services credibility that general AI speakers cannot replicate. Her AI-First Business Transformation workshop extends into a half-day or full-day engagement that is increasingly popular with financial services leadership teams moving from AI awareness to implementation.
Key Credentials
TIME Magazine 100 Most Influential People in AI (2025); former Global Head of Machine Learning for Startups and VC at AWS; youngest-ever woman to build an AI product at IBM; 200+ AI keynotes globally for JP Morgan Chase, Citi, and Nasdaq; CEO, Open Machine; founder, The AI Pipeline.
Best For
Financial services organisations in mid-to-late AI adoption stages needing practical implementation guidance. Particularly strong for fintech, investment management, and financial technology companies whose leadership teams are ready for specific deployment frameworks and want a speaker with direct financial services implementation experience.
Bureau / Contact
Creative Artists Agency (CAA). alliekmiller.com.
Category Two: Financial Services and Fintech Specialists
These speakers combine deep financial services industry knowledge with AI and technology expertise. They are ideal for audiences that need the AI conversation anchored firmly in the realities of banking, insurance, fintech, or wealth management, not general business strategy.
6. Clara Durodié
The intersection of AI governance, geopolitics, and financial services is a specialist brief that few speakers can genuinely cover. Clara Durodié has spent more than 25 years at precisely that intersection. As CEO of Cognitive Finance Group, she advises major banks, fintech firms, and startups on AI strategy, regulatory compliance, and ethical AI deployment. In 2020, she authored Decoding AI in Financial Services, the first guidebook designed specifically for board members and executives to understand AI's governance implications, cementing her as the leading authority on AI governance for financial services boards. She served as a FinTech Resident Expert at Oxford's Said Business School and as Chair of the UK's Non-Executive Directors Board special committee on AI adoption.
Key Credentials
CEO, Cognitive Finance Group; author, Decoding AI in Financial Services (2020); FinTech Resident Expert, Oxford Said Business School; Chair, UK Non-Executive Directors Board special committee on AI adoption; consistently named among the top women in fintech globally.
Best For
Governance conferences, risk and compliance summits, board-level events, and regulatory engagement sessions in financial services. Particularly relevant for UK and European financial institutions navigating the EU AI Act, FCA guidance, and PRA expectations around responsible AI.
Bureau / Contact
AI Speakers Agency. cognitivefinancegroup.com.
7. Jason Bates
Few speakers in the financial services AI space can claim to have built, from scratch, two of the world's most successful digital banks. Jason Bates co-founded both Starling Bank and Monzo, and as Monzo's co-founder and former Chief Customer Officer, he played a pivotal role in transforming everyday banking. Monzo broke crowdfunding records by raising one million pounds in 96 seconds. He has been named one of Europe's Top 50 technology entrepreneurs by the Financial Times and appeared on the Digital Banking Club's Power 50 list. His keynotes bring a founder's perspective on AI in banking that no consultant, academic, or technology executive can replicate.
Best For
Banking innovation conferences, fintech events, and leadership gatherings at traditional financial institutions exploring digital transformation. Particularly powerful for audiences in retail banking who need to understand the competitive threat from AI-native challengers from someone who built them.
Bureau / Contact
AI Speakers Agency.
8. Paul Dongha
Paul Dongha is the Head of Responsible AI and AI Strategy at NatWest Group and one of the most prominent enterprise responsible AI practitioners in the UK financial sector. He brings first-hand experience building responsible AI programmes within one of the UK's largest and most complex financial institutions, which gives his keynotes a practitioner credibility that purely academic or consulting speakers cannot match. His work addresses how a major bank actually implements responsible AI governance, not how it should be done in theory.
Best For
Risk and compliance events, responsible AI summits, and internal leadership sessions at banks, building societies, and insurance companies implementing AI governance frameworks. Particularly strong for UK and European audiences and for organisations in the early stages of building enterprise AI governance.
Bureau / Contact
AI Speakers Agency.
9. Chris Skinner
Chris Skinner is one of the most prolific and influential commentators on the future of banking and financial services in the world. Author of multiple bestselling books including Digital Bank, Digital Human, and Digital for Good, he has spent decades tracking how technology, AI, and digital transformation are reshaping financial services from the inside. His keynotes combine deep historical knowledge of banking transformation with forward-looking AI strategy, giving financial services audiences a contextual understanding of why the AI transition is different from previous technology shifts, not just in scale but in kind. His accessible style, built on decades of writing for banking practitioners, means his content lands across the full spectrum of financial services leadership.
Best For
Banking conferences, insurance leadership events, and financial services strategy gatherings where the audience includes a broad range of digital literacy levels. Particularly effective for organisations seeking to build shared understanding of AI transformation across technical and non-technical leadership teams.
Bureau / Contact
Aurum Speakers Bureau. thefinanser.com.
10. Shawn DuBravac
Shawn DuBravac is a New York Times bestselling author, economist, and futurist who helps financial services leaders understand how AI reshapes consumer behaviour, business models, and competitive dynamics. He has guided financial services leadership teams across banking, insurance, reinsurance, and wealth management with industry-specific AI roadmaps grounded in economic data rather than technology hype. His ability to frame AI as a strategy problem rather than a tools problem is particularly valued by financial services CFOs and board members who need to understand AI's economic implications without wading through technical detail.
Best For
Insurance conferences, reinsurance summits, banking executive retreats, and financial services strategy events where the audience needs a clear economic framework for AI investment decisions. Particularly strong for CFO and strategy leadership audiences.
Bureau / Contact
Shawn DuBravac Group. shawndubravac.com.
Category Three: AI Governance, Responsible AI, and Ethics
These speakers address the regulatory, ethical, and governance dimensions of AI in financial services. They are essential for audiences where compliance, risk management, board accountability, and responsible AI are primary concerns.
11. Amy Webb
Amy Webb is the Founder and CEO of the Future Today Strategy Group, a quantitative futurist who advises Fortune 100 companies, three-star military generals, and the senior leadership of central banks and intergovernmental organisations. She pioneered a data-driven, technology-led foresight methodology that is now used by hundreds of organisations globally. She is the author of The Big Nine and The Signals Are Talking. Named one of Forbes' Five Women Changing the World, she is an Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, a visiting fellow at Oxford's Said Business School, and a Thinkers50 honouree. Her financial services advisory experience, including her work with central banks and investment firms, gives her AI foresight content a specificity that general futurists cannot match.
Best For
Strategic planning offsites, annual bank board retreats, long-range investment strategy conferences, and events where financial services leadership teams need a rigorous, data-driven picture of where AI is taking their industry over the next ten to twenty years, not just the next two.
Bureau / Contact
Leading Authorities, Chartwell Speakers, Aurum Speakers Bureau. ftsg.com.
12. Beena Ammanath
Beena Ammanath leads the Global Deloitte AI Institute and is one of the most recognised authorities on trustworthy AI deployment in enterprise settings. Her keynotes focus on practical governance frameworks for large organisations navigating AI adoption at scale, with particular strength in financial services and regulated industries. As the leader of Deloitte's global AI research and advisory function, she brings the credibility of working daily with the world's largest financial institutions on AI governance, strategy, and implementation. Her work is particularly relevant to financial services organisations moving from AI pilots to enterprise-wide deployment, the most common and most challenging phase of financial services AI transformation.
Best For
Banking governance events, financial services risk and compliance conferences, and internal leadership sessions at large financial institutions moving from AI experimentation to enterprise deployment.
13. Seth Dobrin
Seth Dobrin is the CEO of Qantm AI and former Global Chief AI Officer at IBM, where he led one of the largest enterprise AI deployment programmes in history. His keynotes address enterprise AI governance, practical risk management, and building the organisational capability for responsible AI deployment at scale. His IBM background gives him deep credibility with financial services organisations that have long-standing IBM infrastructure relationships, and his current CEO role at Qantm AI keeps his content current and forward-looking. His particular value for financial services audiences is his ability to address AI governance not as a compliance box to be ticked but as a genuine business capability that drives competitive advantage.
Best For
Financial services governance conferences, CIO and technology leadership events, and strategy sessions at banks and insurance companies that need to accelerate responsible AI deployment without regulatory exposure.
Bureau / Contact
Available through major speaker bureaus. qantmai.com.
14. Danilo McGarry
Danilo McGarry is a global AI and automation leader and former Head of AI at Citi, one of the world's largest financial institutions. His first-hand experience building and scaling AI programmes within a systemically important financial institution gives his keynotes a practitioner credibility that is rare in the AI speaking market. He addresses the specific challenges of AI deployment in large, complex, globally regulated financial organisations: the governance structures, the model risk management frameworks, the regulatory dialogue, and the cultural change required. His experience at Citi means he has navigated every major challenge financial services AI leaders face, including multiple regulatory jurisdictions, model risk management governance, and data residency requirements.
Best For
Large bank leadership events, financial services CIO conferences, and governance sessions at systemically important financial institutions where the audience needs someone who has actually done what they are trying to do.
Bureau / Contact
AI Speakers Agency.
15. Shivvy Jervis
Shivvy Jervis is one of Europe's most trusted AI keynote speakers and a champion for responsible innovation and technology-for-good. Named a Champion of Change and one of Britain's Women of the Year, she has delivered more than 600 keynotes across global stages. She is a sought-after AI ethics speaker who advocates for responsible innovation and prioritises human needs in AI deployment. Her background in journalism means she investigates emerging trends with the rigour of a reporter rather than the enthusiasm of a technology evangelist, and her work on AI ethics and the societal implications of AI in financial services is increasingly relevant as regulatory scrutiny of consumer-facing AI applications intensifies.
Best For
Financial services consumer banking events, insurance leadership conferences, and fintech events where the audience includes consumer-facing teams, marketing leadership, and customer experience executives who need an AI ethics perspective grounded in consumer reality.
Bureau / Contact
Kruger Cowne, AI Speakers Agency. shivvyjervis.com.
Category Four: Leadership, Culture, and the Human Side of AI Transformation
These speakers address what the other categories leave out: how financial services leaders manage their people through AI transformation. They are essential for events where the primary need is not understanding AI but leading people through the cultural and organisational change AI requires.
16. Jonno White
When financial services organisations deploy AI, the technology rarely fails. The people do. Teams resist change. Leaders avoid the difficult conversations that restructuring requires. Communication breaks down between the AI strategy function and the frontline. Culture fragments between the digitally native hires and the institutional veterans. Jonno White is the speaker for that moment.
Brisbane-based and globally delivered, Jonno is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, the bestselling author of Step Up or Step Out, which has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and the host of The Leadership Conversations Podcast with 230 episodes reaching listeners in 150 countries. He achieved a 93.75 percent satisfaction rating at the ASBA 2025 National Conference and works with financial services leadership teams, corporates, and nonprofits across Australia, UK, USA, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, India, and Europe.
Jonno fills a genuine gap in the AI keynote market for financial services. Most AI speakers tell financial services leaders what AI can do. Jonno helps them figure out how to lead their people through the doing of it. His keynote Unity in Motion: Leading Through Rapid Change and Growth gives financial services leadership teams a practical framework for navigating AI-driven transformation without losing the trust, engagement, and performance of their people. His Working Genius framework helps leadership teams understand why some people energise and others drain during major organisational change, which is particularly relevant in financial institutions managing significant workforce transition as AI automates roles. His Step Up or Step Out framework directly addresses the difficult performance conversations that financial services leaders need to have as AI redefines what excellent performance looks like.
Key Credentials
Certified Working Genius Facilitator (Working Genius completed by over 1.3 million people globally, created by Patrick Lencioni); bestselling author, Step Up or Step Out (10,000+ copies globally, amazon.com.au/Step-Up-Out-Difficult-Conflict/dp/B097X7B5LD); host, The Leadership Conversations Podcast (230+ episodes, 150+ countries); 93.75 percent satisfaction rating, ASBA 2025 National Conference; Founder, The 7 Questions Movement (6,000+ leaders); global delivery across Australia, UK, USA, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, India, Europe, and more.
Signature Topics
Unity in Motion: Leading Through Rapid Change and Growth; Replace Yourself: Transform Your Organisation Without Overwhelming Your Staff; Building a High-Performing Team in the Age of AI; Step Up or Step Out: Having the Difficult Conversations AI Transformation Demands; Fuel or Drain? Finding the Energy Drivers That Propel You and Your Team.
Best For
Financial services organisations navigating AI-driven workforce transformation who need their leadership teams equipped to manage change, communicate clearly, and build a high-performing culture, not just understand AI technology. Particularly effective for leadership retreats, executive team offsites, banking and insurance annual conferences where leadership capability is the brief, and management development programmes for middle leaders in financial institutions.
Many organisations find that flying Jonno in from Brisbane costs far less than engaging high-profile local providers, and international travel is often more affordable than clients expect. To book Jonno White for your next financial services event, email jonno@consultclarity.org.
17. Smiley Poswolsky
Smiley Poswolsky is an expert in workplace culture, high-performing teamwork, trust, collaboration, human connection, and belonging who specialises in financial services, banking, insurance, and fintech clients. His research cites that high levels of employee belonging create a 56 percent increase in job performance and a 50 percent reduction in turnover risk, findings directly relevant to financial services organisations managing the talent and culture challenges of AI transformation. His keynotes address how to build the trust, belonging, and human connection that AI-driven workplaces risk eroding, with a practical toolkit approach that means audiences leave with specific actions rather than general inspiration.
Best For
Financial services HR and people leadership events, banking and insurance culture transformation conferences, and annual meetings where the audience includes team leaders, people managers, and frontline financial services professionals navigating AI-driven change.
Bureau / Contact
18. Alden Mills
Alden Mills is a former Navy SEAL commanding officer, three-time entrepreneur, and author of Unstoppable Teams and Be Unstoppable. He has delivered customised keynotes and workshops for State Farm, Transamerica, USAA, and National Life Insurance, translating his Unstoppable Teams and Unstoppable Culture frameworks into strategies that resonate with financial executives, lending teams, asset managers, and advisory professionals. His combination of elite performance experience and deep financial services client history makes him one of the most credible voices in the leadership category for this sector.
Best For
Banking leadership conferences, insurance executive events, wealth management team retreats, and financial services organisations in the early stages of AI-driven restructuring who need their leadership teams equipped to maintain performance under sustained change pressure.
Bureau / Contact
19. Bill Benjamin
Bill Benjamin is a performance and culture expert who has worked with groups including the US Marines, NASA engineers, Fidelity Investments, Amazon, and the Mayo Clinic to improve performance and company culture. His Fidelity Investments client history gives him specific financial services credibility, and his work with high-pressure, high-stakes organisations reflects the performance demands that financial services leadership teams face. His keynotes address how leaders build the emotional and relational intelligence to maintain team performance during AI-driven transformation.
Best For
Financial services leadership events, banking and insurance management development conferences, and executive events where the audience needs practical frameworks for improving team performance and leadership culture during technological transformation.
Bureau / Contact
BigSpeak. billbenjamin.com.
20. Jim Harris
Jim Harris is one of North America's top keynote speakers on AI, generative AI, disruptive innovation, and strategic leadership. He works with financial services organisations across banking, insurance, and investment management, helping leadership teams understand the competitive and strategic implications of AI disruption and build the leadership capability to respond effectively. His accessible communication style and deep financial services client history make him a practical choice for organisations seeking strong AI disruption content without premium global speaker fees.
Best For
Financial services annual conferences, credit union leadership events, community bank strategy sessions, and insurance leadership gatherings where the audience needs a strong AI disruption framework without the premium fee tier of globally recognised speakers.
Bureau / Contact
National Speakers Bureau. jimharris.com.
21. Noelle Russell
Noelle Russell is a multi-award-winning AI leader and entrepreneur who has built AI practices at major technology companies including Amazon, Microsoft, and National Public Radio. She has been recognised by multiple awards from Microsoft and Amazon for her work on responsible AI adoption and is a globally recognised voice on ethical AI implementation and workforce readiness. Her keynotes help organisations understand how to adopt AI responsibly while building the workforce capability to work effectively alongside AI systems, equipping frontline leaders and middle managers to identify AI use cases in their own roles and build confidence with AI tools.
Best For
Financial services all-staff events, banking frontline leadership conferences, insurance agent and adviser communities, and financial services organisations rolling out AI tools to non-technical workforces who need to understand and trust the AI systems they will be working alongside.
22. Carolyn Stern
Carolyn Stern is an Emotional Intelligence expert who has trained more than 60,000 business leaders in practical EI frameworks. As AI takes over the analytical and transactional tasks that financial professionals have historically excelled at, emotional intelligence becomes the primary source of human value in financial services roles. Stern's keynotes give financial services leaders concrete tools for developing the EI capabilities that AI cannot replicate: nuanced client relationship management, adaptive communication under pressure, and the ability to lead teams through ambiguity without losing their confidence or engagement.
Best For
Wealth management conferences, private banking leadership events, insurance adviser summits, and financial services management development programmes where the audience needs to understand how to build the distinctly human capabilities that will differentiate their performance in an AI-augmented financial services world.
Bureau / Contact
National Speakers Bureau Canada. carolynstern.com.
23. Crystal Washington
Crystal Washington is a technology strategist and futurist who specialises in helping organisations navigate AI adoption with a focus on practical implementation and workforce readiness. She is known for her engaging delivery and particular ability to connect AI concepts to everyday business applications, making her one of the most effective speakers for financial services organisations whose audience includes both technology enthusiasts and technology sceptics. For financial services organisations rolling out AI tools across diverse workforces, her focus on practical, accessible AI adoption is particularly valuable.
Best For
Financial services management conferences, banking branch leadership events, insurance operations leadership gatherings, and financial services HR and people development events where the audience includes technology-sceptical professionals who need a clear, confidence-building introduction to working with AI.
Bureau / Contact
24. Heather McGowan
Heather McGowan is a future of work strategist and one of the most cited voices globally on how AI is reshaping the relationship between work, learning, and human potential. Her keynotes address the fundamental rethinking of workforce strategy that AI requires, moving from a hire-and-deploy model to a continuous learning and adaptation model. Her research on the future of work in financial services is directly relevant to banks, insurers, and wealth management firms that are managing significant workforce transformation as AI automates tasks across their organisations. For financial services HR, talent, and organisational effectiveness leaders, her keynotes provide the most strategically rigorous framework for future workforce planning in the sector.
Best For
Financial services HR leadership conferences, banking and insurance workforce strategy sessions, and executive team retreats focused on long-range talent and organisational capability planning in the context of AI transformation.
Bureau / Contact
25. Ian Khan
Ian Khan is a Global Top 25 Futurist, Thinkers50 Distinguished honouree, USA Today bestselling author, and creator of the AI Readiness Score (AIRS) framework used by financial services organisations to assess their AI readiness across seven critical dimensions: AI Strategy and Alignment, Innovation and Use Cases, Data Readiness, AI Governance, Execution and Integration, Operations and Resilience, and Security and Risk. He has delivered finance AI strategy keynotes across 60 countries for sovereign wealth funds, global banking institutions, insurance companies, and fintech organisations.
Khan's live AIRS diagnostic deployed during keynotes is a genuinely differentiated offering. Rather than delivering a presentation, he gives financial services leadership teams a shared, benchmarked picture of where their organisation stands on AI readiness before they leave the room. His television presence on Amazon Prime Video's The Futurist and his features on CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, and Forbes provide immediate credibility with demanding executive audiences.
Best For
Banking, insurance, and wealth management organisations in early-to-mid AI adoption seeking a structured framework for measuring and accelerating their readiness. Particularly strong for governance-focused events, board presentations, and strategy offsites.
Bureau / Contact
Comparison Table
Speaker | Specialty | Primary Audience | Best Format | Location |
Brett King | AI and banking futures | Banking strategy executives | Large conference keynote | Global |
Jim Marous | Banking transformation research | Retail banking leaders | Conference and workshop | Global |
Zack Kass | Generative AI strategy | C-suite and board level | Executive keynote | USA / Global |
Cassie Kozyrkov | Decision Intelligence | CFO and CRO audiences | Executive keynote | Global |
Allie K. Miller | AI business architecture | Fintech and investment management | Keynote and workshop | USA / Global |
Clara Durodié | AI governance and geopolitics | Board, risk, and compliance | Governance events | UK / Europe |
Jason Bates | Digital banking and fintech | Retail banking innovation teams | Conference keynote | UK / Global |
Paul Dongha | Responsible AI at NatWest | Enterprise governance audiences | Risk and compliance events | UK |
Chris Skinner | Digital banking strategy | Broad financial services leadership | Banking conferences | UK / Global |
Shawn DuBravac | AI economics and industry strategy | CFO and strategy leadership | Executive offsite | USA / Global |
Amy Webb | Strategic AI foresight | Board and long-range strategy leaders | Strategic planning events | USA / Global |
Beena Ammanath | Trustworthy AI deployment | Large institution governance teams | Governance conferences | USA / Global |
Seth Dobrin | Enterprise AI governance | CIO and AI governance leaders | Technology leadership events | USA / Global |
Danilo McGarry | AI in banking operations | Large bank leadership teams | CIO and tech conferences | Global |
Shivvy Jervis | Responsible AI and ethics | Consumer banking and fintech teams | Financial services conferences | UK / Europe |
Jonno White | Leadership through AI change | All financial services leadership levels | Keynote, workshop, offsite | Brisbane / Global |
Smiley Poswolsky | Culture and belonging | People leaders and HR teams | Culture and people events | USA / Global |
Alden Mills | High-performance teams | Insurance and banking executives | Leadership conferences | USA / Global |
Bill Benjamin | Performance and culture | Financial services leadership teams | Executive leadership events | USA / Global |
Jim Harris | AI disruption strategy | Credit unions and community banks | Annual conferences | Canada / North America |
Noelle Russell | Responsible AI adoption | Frontline workforce leaders | All-staff and operations events | USA / Global |
Carolyn Stern | Emotional Intelligence for finance | Wealth management and advisory | Management development | Canada / Global |
Crystal Washington | AI workforce readiness | Technology-sceptical audiences | Management conferences | USA / Global |
Heather McGowan | Future of work strategy | HR, talent, and OD leaders | Workforce strategy events | USA / Global |
Ian Khan | AI readiness diagnostics | Banking and insurance boards | Strategy and governance events | Global |
How to Choose the Right AI Keynote Speaker for Your Financial Services Event
The most common mistake financial services event organisers make when booking AI keynote speakers is optimising for the speaker's AI credentials rather than for their audience's actual need. Before you contact a bureau, answer four questions.
What is your audience's current AI maturity level? An executive leadership team that has been deploying AI for two years needs a fundamentally different keynote from a branch management conference encountering AI for the first time. Brett King and Jim Marous work best for strategy-mature audiences. Crystal Washington and Noelle Russell are designed for audiences new to AI.
What is your event's primary objective? If the objective is building shared strategic vision for AI, Zack Kass or Amy Webb are ideal. If the objective is practical governance and compliance readiness, Clara Durodié or Beena Ammanath are the right choice. If the objective is equipping leaders to manage their people through AI-driven change, Jonno White, Smiley Poswolsky, or Heather McGowan are the clearest fit.
What sector of financial services is your audience from? Jim Marous is unrivalled for retail banking and credit union audiences. Cassie Kozyrkov and Seth Dobrin are strongest for investment management and enterprise governance. Jason Bates is the clearest choice for fintech and digital banking. Paul Dongha and Clara Durodié are most relevant for UK and European regulated banking. Shawn DuBravac covers insurance and reinsurance with particular depth.
What format does your event require? Some speakers on this list deliver 45-minute keynotes and nothing else. Others extend into half-day workshops, executive roundtables, and follow-on team sessions. If your brief requires a post-keynote workshop or an executive offsite component, confirm service flexibility before booking. Jonno White, Allie K. Miller, and Jim Marous all offer extended engagement options that turn a conference keynote into a deeper programme.
Jonno White can be reached at jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss keynote plus workshop or executive offsite packages for financial services organisations.
Five questions to ask every speaker before booking: What financial services organisations have you delivered for specifically, and can you provide references? How will you customise your content for our industry, audience, and AI maturity level? What does your audience typically leave with that they can use on Monday morning? What is your process for understanding our organisation before the event? Can you deliver a post-event workshop or team session to deepen the impact?
Red flags to watch for: speakers who cannot provide specific financial services client references, speakers whose entire AI credential is having read about AI rather than working with it, speakers who offer identical content regardless of audience, and speakers whose fee is dramatically higher than their level of financial services-specific expertise would justify.
What to Expect: Speaker Fee Investment Guide
AI keynote speaker fees in financial services vary significantly based on profile, experience, demand, and event format. The following ranges reflect current market data as of 2026 and are provided as a general guide. All fees are approximate and should be confirmed directly with the speaker's bureau or representative.
Premier tier, globally recognised speakers with major platform credentials including former executives at OpenAI, Google, and major financial institutions, typically charge $50,000 to $100,000 or more for US live events. This tier includes Zack Kass, Cassie Kozyrkov, Brett King, and Amy Webb.
Senior tier, highly credentialled speakers with strong financial services track records and active speaking careers, typically charge $20,000 to $50,000. This tier includes Allie K. Miller, Jim Marous, Ian Khan, Clara Durodié, and Alden Mills.
Specialist tier, speakers with deep financial services expertise or strong niche credentials, typically charge $10,000 to $25,000. This tier includes Shawn DuBravac, Jason Bates, Paul Dongha, Smiley Poswolsky, Bill Benjamin, and others.
Leadership and culture specialist tier, speakers focused on the human side of AI transformation for financial services, typically charge $5,000 to $20,000 for keynotes. Extended workshops and executive offsite facilitation are often more accessible in cost than event organisers expect.
Jonno White works globally across this tier. Contact jonno@consultclarity.org for current availability and fees. International travel is often far more affordable than clients expect, and many financial services organisations find that flying Jonno in from Brisbane is genuinely cost-competitive with engaging high-profile local providers.
For virtual events, fees are typically 30 to 50 percent of live event rates. Most speakers offer workshop and extended engagement options at different pricing structures. For complex multi-day programmes or executive offsite facilitation, always request a custom quote.
Notable Voices We Almost Included
Several speakers were seriously considered for this list and narrowly missed the final 25. Kai-Fu Lee, former President of Google China and author of AI Superpowers, brings unique authority on how AI is reshaping global financial services, particularly between US and Chinese markets, and his global speaking schedule is among the most demanding of any AI speaker, which affects availability. Amy Edmondson, the Harvard Business School professor and author of The Fearless Organisation, brings powerful research on psychological safety that is highly relevant to AI transformation in financial services, but her primary expertise is team dynamics rather than AI specifically. David Birch, author and adviser on digital identity and digital money, is a leading voice on AI in payments specifically but his primary focus is more niche than this guide's scope. Philippa Malmgren, economist and former White House adviser, brings a compelling geopolitical lens on AI and financial markets that is increasingly in demand but her speaking calendar is booked significantly in advance.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Booking an AI Keynote Speaker for Financial Services
The most expensive mistake financial services event organisers make is booking an AI speaker based on their LinkedIn following rather than their financial services delivery track record. A speaker with 2 million followers who has never delivered for a banking audience is likely to produce an inspiring but generic presentation that leaves financial services professionals feeling they heard about AI for another industry. Always ask for financial services-specific references before booking.
The second most common mistake is booking a technical AI speaker for an audience that is not technically ready. When the gap between the speaker's assumed knowledge and the audience's actual knowledge is too large, even excellent content fails to land. Match the speaker's entry point to your audience's AI maturity level, not to your own comfort level with the topic.
A third mistake is underinvesting in the post-keynote activation plan. The best AI keynote speaker in the world produces minimal lasting change if the organisation has no plan for what happens after the event. Before booking any speaker, agree internally on what specific actions your leadership team will take in the month following the keynote. If those actions require cultural change, communication improvement, or leadership capability development, build a follow-on workshop or executive offsite into the programme from the outset.
Jonno White offers post-keynote workshop and executive offsite packages specifically designed for financial services leadership teams. Email jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss.
A fourth mistake is prioritising the speaker's fee tier over their audience match. The highest-fee speaker is not always the best speaker for your specific audience. A $100,000 global AI celebrity may produce a standing ovation at your annual conference but leave your middle managers with no practical tools. A $15,000 specialist with deep financial services experience may produce the clearest, most actionable content your leadership team has ever received.
A fifth mistake is booking the speaker and then failing to brief them properly. The best AI keynote speakers customise their content significantly for each engagement, but they can only customise what they are told about. Share your audience composition, your organisation's current AI maturity, your specific strategic challenges, and the specific outcomes you want participants to leave with. The more specifically you brief the speaker, the more specifically they can serve your audience.
Implementation Guide: Getting the Most Value from Your AI Keynote Investment
Six to twelve months before your event, define the primary objective for your AI keynote. Is it building shared strategic vision, equipping leaders for cultural change, addressing compliance and governance readiness, or inspiring a specific business transformation? Your objective determines your speaker category.
Four to six months before the event, begin your speaker search and shortlist three to five candidates from the relevant category in this guide. Contact their bureaus or representatives for fees, availability, and references from financial services clients specifically. Conduct reference calls, not just testimonial reviews.
Two to three months before the event, brief your chosen speaker thoroughly. Provide your organisation's AI strategy, your audience's AI maturity level, the specific challenges your leadership team is facing, and the specific outcomes you want participants to leave with. The briefing is not an administrative step; it is the most important investment you make in the speaker's success.
One month before the event, align your leadership team on what happens after the keynote. If your speaker is addressing AI-driven workforce transformation, your HR and people team should have a follow-on programme ready. If your speaker is addressing AI governance, your risk and compliance team should have their next governance workshop scheduled.
One week after the event, conduct a debrief with your event planning team. What did the audience respond to most strongly? What questions came up repeatedly? What does that tell you about where your organisation needs to invest next in AI capability, culture, or leadership development? Use those insights to plan your next speaker engagement or leadership programme.
For organisations that want a single speaker who can deliver the full programme, from keynote to workshop to executive offsite facilitation, Jonno White offers an integrated leadership development engagement specifically designed for financial services organisations navigating AI transformation. Email jonno@consultclarity.org for more information. International travel is often more affordable than clients expect.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to hire an AI keynote speaker for a financial services event?
AI keynote speaker fees for financial services events in 2026 range from approximately $5,000 to $100,000 or more for live events, depending on the speaker's profile, experience, and demand. Premier tier speakers with major platform credentials typically charge $50,000 to $100,000. Senior tier specialists with strong financial services track records typically charge $20,000 to $50,000. Specialist and niche speakers typically charge $10,000 to $25,000. Virtual event fees are generally 30 to 50 percent of live event rates. Always request a custom quote that includes travel, preparation time, and any post-event workshop or follow-on engagement you require.
What should I look for when booking a keynote speaker on AI for a banking conference?
The three most important criteria are financial services-specific delivery experience, genuine AI credentials, and audience match. Ask every candidate for references from banking or financial services clients specifically. Verify that their AI authority comes from direct experience building, deploying, or governing AI systems rather than from reading about AI and repackaging it for speaking. Match the speaker's content entry point to your audience's actual AI maturity level, not to your aspirations for where you want them to be.
Who are the best AI speakers for a fintech conference?
For fintech-specific events, Brett King, Jason Bates, Allie K. Miller, and Shivvy Jervis are among the strongest options, combining genuine fintech building experience or deep fintech commentary experience with AI expertise. Jim Marous is an excellent choice for events where the fintech audience is primarily focused on how financial institutions are responding to fintech disruption rather than the fintech companies themselves.
What is the difference between an AI futurist speaker and an AI strategy speaker?
An AI futurist speaker focuses on where AI is taking an industry over the next five to twenty years, using quantitative or qualitative foresight methodologies to map the landscape of change. Amy Webb and Brett King exemplify this category. An AI strategy speaker focuses on what your organisation should do about AI in the next one to three years, providing frameworks, roadmaps, and implementation guidance. Zack Kass, Cassie Kozyrkov, and Ian Khan exemplify this category. For most financial services events, a strategy speaker produces more immediately actionable outcomes, while a futurist speaker is most valuable for board-level events focused on long-range planning.
How far in advance should I book an AI keynote speaker for a financial services event?
For premier and senior tier speakers, six to twelve months in advance is strongly recommended. Financial services conference season, particularly the first quarter and the period around major banking and fintech events, is heavily booked twelve to eighteen months ahead for the most in-demand speakers. For specialist and leadership category speakers, three to six months is typically sufficient, though earlier booking gives you more flexibility in briefing and preparation.
Can I hire a speaker who delivers both a keynote and a workshop for my financial services leadership team?
Yes, and this is strongly recommended for organisations seeking lasting behaviour change rather than single-event inspiration. Jim Marous, Allie K. Miller, and Jonno White all offer extended engagement options that combine a conference keynote with a post-event workshop or executive team session. Jonno White in particular offers an integrated programme covering keynote, follow-on workshop, and executive offsite facilitation designed specifically for financial services leadership teams. Email jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss.
Is there a speaker who specifically addresses the human side of AI transformation for financial services?
Yes. Jonno White is the clearest specialist in this category for financial services audiences. His keynotes address how leaders manage their people through AI-driven workforce transformation, including the difficult conversations, cultural change, and team dynamics challenges that AI deployment creates in financial institutions. His Working Genius, DISC, and Step Up or Step Out frameworks give financial services leadership teams practical tools they can use immediately. He is based in Brisbane, Australia, and works globally. International travel is often more affordable than clients expect. Email jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss your specific brief.
Final Recommendation
Choosing the right AI keynote speaker for your financial services event comes down to one question: what does your audience need to be able to do differently after the event?
If your audience needs to understand where AI is taking financial services globally, Brett King and Jim Marous are the strongest choices, combining decades of financial services expertise with a genuine ability to make AI's implications vivid and urgent for banking and fintech audiences.
If your C-suite needs a clear AI strategy framework grounded in the experience of building the technology at its source, Zack Kass is the most credible voice available. If your board and risk leadership team needs a decision-making framework for AI governance in financial services, Cassie Kozyrkov and Clara Durodié are unmatched.
If your financial services leadership team needs the leadership, culture, and communication capability to actually lead their people through AI transformation, not just understand it, Jonno White is the speaker to book. His integrated programme combining keynote, workshop, and executive offsite facilitation gives financial services organisations the human capability infrastructure that AI deployment requires but rarely receives.
To book Jonno White for your next financial services event, email jonno@consultclarity.org. Many organisations find that flying Jonno in from Brisbane is far more affordable than expected.
Wherever your organisation is in its AI journey, the right speaker matched to your audience's real need will deliver more lasting value than the most celebrated name matched poorly to the wrong brief.
About the Author
Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, bestselling author, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits across the UK, India, Australia, Canada, Mongolia, New Zealand, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, USA, Finland, Namibia, and more. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 230+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected.
To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.
While Jonno is included in this guide based on objective criteria, readers should note his authorship in the interest of full transparency.
Next Read
The question of what AI means for financial services leadership is one of the most urgent challenges facing the sector right now. The most honest answer requires engaging with research and frameworks designed specifically for leaders navigating this transformation. For more on how to lead your team through AI-driven change with clarity, courage, and practical tools, explore Jonno White's writing and keynotes at consultclarity.org/news-updates.
Keep reading: consultclarity.org/news-updates