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This week, frequent guest and friend of The Futurists, Ross Dawson, takes over the hosting chair to speak with Joanna Lepore about Foresight and Vision(s) of the Future.

Ross, founder of AHT Group (Advanced Human Technologies Group) and the futures think tank Future Exploration Network, introduces us to Joanna Lepore. In 2024, Joanna founded and now co-leads Foresight Inside Group (FIG), an invite-only network for corporate futurists. Previously, she established and led Foresight at McDonald’s global HQ and Mars Wrigley, helping to push the strategies of some of the world’s best-known brands into the future. Motivated by the power of diverse perspectives, she also created and hosts Looking Outside, a podcast to share those perspectives.

This episode is packed with powerful and practical insights into the future, offering inspiration on how to seize today’s opportunities and drive change in a transforming world. 

In a rare and inspiring crossover episode, Breaking Banks teams up with Barefoot Innovation to bring you a special dispatch from Necker Island, BVI. Hosted by Brett King and Jo Ann Barefoot, this episode captures the energy and insight of a one-of-a-kind fintech gathering organized by Virgin Unite: an event bringing together innovators from around the world, from a cross section of industry, exploring what the future of finance could (and should) look like.

Podcasts hosts and speakers Brett and Jo Ann share their talks and insights from this carbon neutral event, connecting with Dr. Nick Hughes, OBE, father of M-Pesa, co-founder of M-Kopa and now Managing Director 4rdigital.com, the fourth revolution is digital, to cover all things fintech. Listen as these leaders discuss applications of fintech in other markets and all that is possible if we come out of our silos and collaborate — the combination of problem solving perspectives, resources, networks and more can make an impact on some of the world’s toughest challenges. We have the tech to do what we need to do, the potential is enormous! If you’re looking for inspiration and forward-thinking ideas this episode delivers!

Building and growing winning teams – thoughts from a seasoned fintech leader on managing high-performing engineering teams.

Detailed Summary:

In this episode Naga Rishyender, Manager of Software Engineering at Discover Financial Services, shares his thoughts on building and managing high-performing engineering teams in the fast-evolving fintech space. He begins by discussing his career journey—from his education at UNCC to roles at Wells Fargo, Oracle, Amazon, and now Discover—highlighting the impact of his leadership on major projects like Amazon’s “Pay with Affirm” feature. At Discover, he currently leads a team of engineers working on critical payment authorization systems, fraud prevention, and infrastructure modernization, with a strong focus on innovation and cloud technology.

Naga goes on to detail his philosophy for assembling effective engineering teams. He emphasizes diversity—not just in background, but in experience levels—as a key to fostering collaboration, mentorship, and innovation. Psychological safety, clear roadmaps, and continuous learning opportunities are all pillars of his leadership approach to ensure team alignment and growth.

The conversation also explores the evolving relationship between academia and the fintech industry. Naga praises the rise of fintech-specific courses in universities and highlights Discover’s Student Rotational Program as a successful model for bridging the gap between education and real-world experience. He advocates for more industry-academic collaboration through mentorship, hackathons, internships, and curriculum development. These partnerships, he argues, prepare students more effectively for careers in fintech by offering practical experience, exposure to regulations, and insight into company cultures before graduation.

More info:

Discover FS: https://www.discover.com/

Naga Rishyendar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naga-rishyendar-p/

Greg Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbpalmer/

Finovate: https://www.finovate.com ; https://www.linkedin.com/company/finovate-conference-series/

#fintech #leadership #engineering #financialservices #innovation #mentorship #finovate

In this week’s show Brett and Rob discuss why the Administration were happy to bring the world’s markets to the brink of global recession and why it’s happening now? Is this a massive, economy scale Pump and Dump or is it an existential threat of China surpassing the U.S. as the world’s largest economy? Will these tariffs put any dent in China’s meteoric rise? Let’s find out.

Killing It is back! Jason Henrichs’ series on banking and fintech entrepreneurs returns with Cokie Hasiotis

In this episode of Breaking Banks, Jason Henrichs connects with Cokie, serial entrepreneur and exited founder of Twali and drippi. Cokie candidly shares her entrepreneurial journey, providing insights into the emotional challenges and tolls inherent in entrepreneurship, and the stress of pivoting business. She also reflects on how these experiences have shaped her, underscoring the significance of community, the importance of self-awareness and filtering advice from others. Tune in to hear more about identity as a founder, navigating loss, soft landings, and transitioning to new opportunities.

Former pro athlete and founder of the Male Mogul Initiative Walter Mendenhall on the recent acquisition of Help With My Loan, and the importance of fair access to credit.

Detailed Summary:

In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer talks with Walter Mendenhall, founder of the Male Mogul Initiative, a Chicago-based nonprofit aimed at empowering young men through leadership, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. Walter shares his unique path from the NFL to teaching, and eventually to founding his organization in response to systemic issues he witnessed in his community. What began with a handful of students in 2018 has grown into a large-scale movement impacting over 3,000 young people, producing 200+ jobs, and launching Chicago’s first youth business incubator, CoLab. Walter highlights the critical issues his organization tackles—such as lack of access to capital and high rates of unemployment and gun violence among young black men in Chicago.

Walter then explains how his personal experience being denied a loan, despite strong financials, sparked a deeper dive into the challenges under-resourced communities face in accessing capital. This led to his obsession with financial education and systemic barriers, eventually informing his academic work and business ventures. He emphasizes how a lack of basic financial knowledge—like understanding loan underwriting criteria—keeps many people from succeeding. His goal is to demystify these processes and educate individuals who are often left behind by traditional financial systems.

The conversation turns to the recent acquisition of Help With My Loan, a Finovate alum that uses AI to speed up and streamline the commercial loan process. Walter, along with his partners, brought the company from California to Chicago to expand its reach and use it as a tool to train youth as business loan brokers. With a 95% match rate and 80% faster processing times, the platform aligns perfectly with Male Mogul’s mission to increase access to capital. Looking ahead, Walter envisions expanding their lender network, integrating blockchain for community investment, and ultimately creating scalable solutions to close the capital gap nationwide. His closing advice to fintech innovators: focus on solving real problems with passion—opportunities and support will follow.

More info:

Male Mogul Initiative: https://malemogulinitiative.org/

Help With My Loan: https://helpwithmyloan.com/

Walter Mendenhall IV: https://waltermendenhall.com/ , https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-mendenhall-iv-55200787/

Greg Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbpalmer/

Finovate: https://www.finovate.com ; https://www.linkedin.com/company/finovate-conference-series/

#fintech #lending #credit #FinancialInclusion #finovate

There is no lack of hype around artificial intelligence. We have only begun to scratch the surface of what this powerful technology can do. While tech and financial services become more intertwined, cutting through the noise has become more difficult but also more crucial.

In this episode, Paolo Sironi sits down with Theodora Lau, the author of the “Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence” to discuss how AI is poised to advancing innovation, to creating efficiencies, and enhancing productivity while capturing opportunities by both incumbent financial institutions as well as fintechs. But AI also comes with risks and potential for biases and disinformation, that can deepen inequalities and erode trust in our society. Responsible innovation must become part of our DNA and not as an afterthought.

Thodora’s book will help spark dialogue and collaboration as we journey into the future.

GUEST SOCIAL MEDIA

Linkedin Elisa – https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/

Instagram – @psb_dc

X – @psb_dc

This week on Breaking Banks, it’s a powerhouse podcast mashup you won’t want to miss.

What happens when two leading voices in fintech join forces? You get a fast-paced, insight-packed conversation on the future of finance, banking innovation, and emerging technologies—recorded live in Finland.

Breaking Banks host Brett King teams up with Pål Krogdahl and Ville Sointu, hosts of the Nordics’ #1 fintech podcast Fintech Daydreaming, for a high-level exploration of where the industry is headed next.

In this episode, they dive into some of the most important developments shaping the future of financial services, including:

     *The rise of mobile money and how it’s reshaping economies

     *The role of digital identity in secure, seamless transactions

     *The concept of Q-Day and its long-term implications for cybersecurity in banking

     *Smart contracts and business process in an autonomous algorithmic marketplace

     *Agentic AI, KYM (Know Your Machine) and AI in Financial Transactions, and

     *A sneak peek at Brett’s upcoming book, Branch Tomorrow

This wide-ranging conversation serves as both a primer and a deep dive into the innovations transforming fintech right now. Whether you’re tracking the next big trend or trying to stay ahead of digital disruption, this episode delivers high-value insights from three thought leaders at the forefront of change.

Listen now and get future-ready!

Innovate without needing to update your legacy tech stack. FinovateEurope Best of Show winner Tweezr explains how.

Detailed episode description:

In this episode, Greg sits down with FinovateEurope Best of Show winner Tweezr to learn more about their innovative approach to maintaining and modifying complex legacy systems. Co-founders Ohad Kotler and Lior Vernia created Tweezr to help financial institutions modernize without replacing their core systems. By enabling developers to make precise code changes without breaking critical functionality, Tweezr saves time and makes legacy systems more maintainable. The co-founders share their experiences working with banks and the significant challenges posed by outdated technology, emphasizing that the inability to swiftly update core systems hinders digital transformation efforts.

The discussion also highlights the severe bottlenecks legacy systems create for banks, making even simple modifications a lengthy and costly process. Tweezr acts as a guiding tool (rather than an automated coding system), helping developers navigate millions of lines of code efficiently. It identifies necessary modifications, warns of potential breakages, and significantly reduces the time required to implement changes. By doing so, Tweezr empowers financial institutions to innovate without being bogged down by their outdated infrastructure.

Tweezr’s AI-driven approach focuses on bridging the maintainability gap, allowing banks to continue using their legacy systems without full-scale modernization. Instead of replacing core banking software—a process that can take years—banks can use Tweezrr to optimize and maintain their existing technology stack. The AI functions as a senior engineer, analyzing dependencies and guiding developers to implement safe, effective changes. This ability to enhance legacy systems without a full overhaul is what resonated strongly with FinovateEurope’s audience.

More info:

Tweezr’s Demo: https://finovate.com/videos/finovateeurope-2025-tweezr/

FinovateEurope: https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/

Tweezr: www.tweezr.io, https://www.linkedin.com/company/tweezr/

Ohad Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ohad-kotler-949b4941

Lior Vernia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liorvernia

Greg Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbpalmer/

Finovate: https://www.finovate.com ; https://www.linkedin.com/company/finovate-conference-series/

#fintech #digitaltransformation #modernization #AI #legacytech #corebanking #finovate #finovateeurope

In this episode, host Don Ginsel discusses the latest trends in fintech with Nik Milanović, the Founder & Fintech Enthusiast-in-Chief of “This Week in Fintech.” They explore the shifting landscape of fintech, particularly the role of traditional banks and the rising interest in stablecoins. Milanović explains how banks are cautiously adopting crypto-related strategies but remain uncertain due to market volatility and global economic concerns. They discuss the challenges faced by banks with fintech competition, especially from companies like Wise and Revolut, and the necessity for banks to integrate fintech products under their brand rather than launching separate apps. The conversation also touches on the state of fintech M&A, the rise of fraud in financial services, and the impact of AI. Milanović emphasizes the need for patience in evaluating AI’s role in fintech, given its hype cycle. Finally, they preview the upcoming Stablecon.com conference in New York!

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Follow Nik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikm/
Founder & Fintech Enthusiast-in-Chief, This Week in Fintech