More than 1,000 attendees recently gathered in Orlando, Florida with access to 120 speakers at 75 sessions over the course of three days to learn about the future of the retail banking industry. Of course, it would be impossible to catch all of the speakers in that amount of time, but that’s part of the beauty of BAI—attendees have the ability to customize their experience by choosing topics and sessions that most interest them and/or most impact their business, whether AI or digital transformation or compliance, everything in-between. In an industry characterized by constant change, one question seemed to underlie all of this year’s discussions—what’s next for banking?

William Mills Agency had a large presence at the conference to support clients, engage with media, network, and, of course, learn from the best. President Scott Mills was in attendance and said “I’m happy to see a shift in thinking on transformation—instead of leading with technology, several speakers and sessions highlighted organizational dynamics, prioritizing resources and willingness to invest in partnerships. It is not just about sharing data.”

This year’s featured speakers included Kat Cole, COO and president of FOCUS Brands, North America; Andreas Weigend, founder of the Social Data Lab and former Chief Scientist at Amazon; Titi Cole, executive vice president and head of operations at Wells Fargo; and Tom Wujec, world-renowned expert on innovation and business visualization and author of The Future of Making.

Another highlight of the event was Diebold Nixdorf’s Big Rig Experience Truck (BRET), which made an appearance as part of its North American tour to show attendees first-hand the value of connected commerce and reshaping the ways people bank and shop.

Attendees also had the pleasure of hearing from Global Innovation Awards finalists and winners from around the world, including USAA and Live Oak Bank. BAI also gave an exclusive, first look into the BAI Banking Outlook: 2019 Outlook, a quarterly research study where BAI conducts separate surveys to consumers and leaders at financial services organizations to find out the top trends in the industry. Additionally, BAI teamed up with Digital Banking Report on a new research study, Humanizing the Digital Experience in Banking, and provided event-goers with a free copy of the report.

Overall, everyone agreed the event was a great success. The agency already looks forward to sending team members and seeing clients next year as the event continues to evolve and grow. 

For a comprehensive list of industry events, check out our 2018 Trade Show Directory.