Technology

Wednesday, September 27

The Technology Track is structured to give Arkansas bankers an understanding of the products available today, and how to use them to both benefit customers and safeguard data.

Who Attends: IT Officers, Technology Managers, Chief Information Officers, and IT Committee Members

7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.	Registration & Breakfast
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.	Trendspotting – What to Deliver Today for Success Tomorrow Jeff Rendel, Rising Above Enterprises Significant trends in financial services, technology, and consumer behaviors influence the products, services, and experiences you provide to your customers. Within these trends, strategies surface that deliver advantages to your revenue base, help scale your operations, and provide value to your customers. Combine these insights and contemporary bank cases into your existing business model to provide your customers with the relevance they require while increasing the enterprise value of your bank.
9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.	Back to the Basics of Incident Response Planning Sarah Duncan, HORNE This session will cover key steps to get started with an Incident Response Plan and best practices to improve an organization's existing plan if applicable. We will cover categories of a comprehensive plan, critical considerations often overlooked, and guidance to persuade acceptance of the plans with executive leadership. The conversation will be beneficial for both non-technical and technical professionals with the intent for open discussion. The goal of this hour is for attendees to leave with more confidence to take the first steps of developing a plan and the motivation to prioritize incident response planning within their organization.
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.	The Impact of AI and ChatGPT Meredith Lowry, Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP Everyone is talking about AI, but what exactly is it and what does that mean for business and banking? This session will discuss the buzz words of AI and address the potential risks of AI bias, ethical implications, and regulatory considerations associated with implementation of AI for banks.
11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.	Lunch Envisioning your Next Core Banking Solution Trent Fleming, Trent Fleming Consulting There is a lot of discussion these days about next generation core software. This session will look at the key components of the "core of the future" and discuss how your bank can get there. These components include seamless integration of all applications, enhanced methods of leveraging data to better support customers, and an infrastructure that will support both remote customers and remote employees well. Perhaps surprisingly, your next core will likely involve your current vendor!
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.	Caution: Technology Ahead! Ted Clouser, PCA Technology Solutions AI, Business in the Cloud, and Third-Party Vendors all have extreme benefits with extreme threats. Join us during this information-packed session as we dig into how these three issues can build your bank.
2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.	Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? David Edwards, SBS CyberSecurity Artificial Intelligence is changing the way businesses operate but one thing is clear, AI is here to stay. With the potential to drive your business forward and level the playing field, companies are finding ways to leverage the power of AI to re-make their strategy. Whether you are an early adopter or not, every organization will be impacted by Artificial Intelligence and must be prepared to deal with the risk. Your customers, vendors and competitors are all using AI, so it’s naïve to think your company won’t be affected. We will discuss use cases for AI and what your organization should do to close the gap and reduce your cyber risk.

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Ted Clouser Image

Ted Clouser
PCA Technology Solutions

Ted began in the technology industry at the age of 16, starting his first computer company. In 1996, he joined what is now known as PCA Technology Solutions. He and his wife Stephanie bought the company in 2018. Ted oversees PCA’s three locations and is passionate about both people and technology. His firm focuses on helping small and medium businesses to have world class I.T. Whether that is in Cyber, Consulting, Managed IT, large IT projects or Data Communications, his team is equipped in “all things technology.” Ted recently found that he loves to educate the public as an I.T. expert in the complex topics that we all need to understand and know. He can be found giving his input on national and local radio, TV. and editorials. He also is active on LinkedIn where he enjoys writing original content, engaging in the I.T. community and helping to encourage others to “Go Win the Day.”

Ted married Stephanie in 1998 and have two children. Their daughter Alexis is a senior at the University of Alabama, and their son Ethan is a high school senior at Scotland Campus in Pennsylvania. Ted’s faith, family, and hobbies keep him busy when he is not working.

Sarah Duncan Image

Sarah Duncan
HORNE

Sarah Duncan has over 15 years of experience working with a broad range of technology and cybersecurity solutions. She specializes in assisting and educating organizations on proactive cyber services that help secure their organizations, minimize risk, and fulfill compliance responsibilities. Her range of knowledge stems from working across various industries providing IT services and implementing solutions for enterprise data centers. Additionally, Sarah is passionate about facilitating collaboration across industries to equip leaders with the knowledge to protect the community at-large. In the past year, she has presented on Cybersecurity and IR planning at HIMSS23, Howard Technology's Winter Symposium, and multiple K-12 Education Consortiums' Annual Meetings. Sarah has also served on panels discussing career development within the cybersecurity industry and has presented workshops around DEIAB initiatives.

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David Edwards
SBS CyberSecurity

David Edwards is a Regional Director at SBS CyberSecurity, Over the past 5 years, David has helped hundreds of organizations identify and understand cybersecurity risk to make better and more informed business decisions. David is passionate about leadership, cybersecurity, employee development and education, which led him to be a driving force in strategic initiatives with numerous organizations.

David maintains his Certified Banking Security Manager (CBSM) and Certified Banking Incident Handler (CBIH) certifications. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics from the University of Iowa and a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship from DePaul University.

David has over 30 years business leadership experience including 20 years in the financial services industry and enjoys sharing his experience speaking about leadership, technology, and cybersecurity. Outside SBS, David serves as a Board Member providing oversight and governance for one of the largest member-owned Rural Electric Cooperatives in Missouri.

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Meredith Lowry
Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP

Meredith Lowry is a patent attorney and certified privacy professional for Wright Lindsey Jennings who’s practice principally involves various aspects of privacy and intellectual property matters for the retail sector including intellectual property acquisition, data and privacy, manufacturing, marketing and distribution. She has assisted a variety of companies in their efforts to obtain patent, trademark and copyright protection and has also worked with clients to protect those assets through online and in store infringement. Since 2019, Meredith has spearheaded WLJ’s initiative Woman-Run, a group dedicated to creating a network for women running businesses.

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Jeff Rendel
Rising Above Enterprises

Jeff Rendel, Certified Speaking Professional, knows the financial services marketplace. With experience as a federal banking regulator, financial services executive, and Congressional lobbyist, he understands the balancing act of safety, soundness, sales, and strategy.

As President of Rising Above Enterprises, Jeff works with financial services providers that want entrepreneurial results in sales, service, and strategy. Each year, he addresses, advises, and facilitates for nearly 100 financial institutions and their business partners.

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