American Banker announces finalists for the 2024 Innovators of the Year award

The 20 finalists will be celebrated during a dedicated recognition dinner at the DIGITAL BANKING conference this June, where one top winner will be named

NEW YORK (PRWEB) MAY 15, 2024

American Banker, Arizent's leading resource for senior executives in financial services, announces its annual list of finalists for the Innovators of the Year award. 

The program, now in its second year, honors people who are leading innovation across banking and financial technology, setting the course for the industry's future. This year's list of finalists includes 20 leaders from organizations that vary in size and business concentration.

"From embedded banking to artificial intelligence, these bank and fintech leaders aren't just identifying great ideas, they're executing them," says Penny Crosman, Executive Editor, Technology at American Banker. "The results of their innovative initiatives provide massive benefits to consumers and drive their businesses — and the industry at large — to new and interesting places."

The finalists are: 

  • Jon Briggs, Executive Vice President, Commercial Payments, KeyBank
  • Brad Calhoun, President and CEO, Teachers Federal Credit Union
  • Kathleen Craig, Founder and CEO, Plinqit
  • Mike de Vere, CEO, Zest AI
  • Dr. Angel Diaz, Vice President, Technology Capabilities and Innovation, Discover Financial Services
  • Sophia Goldberg, CEO and Founder, Ansa
  • Naftali Harris, Co-founder and CEO, SentiLink
  • Pat Jacobs, Chief Digital Officer, Midland States Bank
  • Nancy McDonnell, Head of Treasury Solutions, Texas Capital
  • David Mitchell, Founder and CEO, Owners Bank, a division of Liberty Bank
  • Sathish Muthukrishnan, Chief Information, Data and Digital Officer, Ally Financial
  • Siva Narendra, CEO, Tyfone
  • Christine (Chrissy) Oelke, Assistant Vice-President, Horicon Bank
  • Peter Poon, Head of Digital Product Management, Platforms and Innovation, BMO
  • Scott Ramon, Chief Technology Officer, nbkc bank
  • Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto, Visa
  • Nico Simko, Co-Founder and CEO, Clair
  • Einat Steklov, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Kashable
  • Art Weston, AI Transformation Lead, Fifth Third Bank
  • Scott Zoldi, Chief Analytics Officer, FICO

This initiative expands on the Digital Banker of the Year program that American Banker has run for the past decade. Among the 20 honorees, one top winner will be announced at an awards dinner at American Banker's DIGITAL BANKING conference, which takes place June 24-25, 2024 at The Boca Raton resort in Florida. 

Innovators of the Year is part of American Banker's continued coverage of innovation throughout the financial services industry while expanding on the publication's mission to support, empower and celebrate trailblazers in the banking community. 

Read more about the finalists and their contributions here: https://www.americanbanker.com/list/innovators-of-the-year-2024-digital-banking

About American Banker

American Banker empowers banking professionals with unique analysis and insight into the ideas transforming their business and industry. Across its journalism, events, research and benchmarking, it helps drive the way forward through the complexity of business innovation, retail and commercial disruption, technology, regulation, and reform. With a banking community 850K strong, American Banker's transformative content connects leaders online, in person and in print every day.

About Arizent

Arizent is a business information company that advances professional communities by providing insights and analysis and convening industry leaders. The company uses deep industry expertise and a data-driven platform to deliver its services, which include subscriptions, marketing services, live events and access to Leaders, an executive forum. Arizent also connects business communities through leading financial services brands like American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning and National Mortgage News, as well as professional services brands like Accounting Today, Employee Benefit News and Digital Insurance.