Venture Center Announces Speakers For First VenCent Fintech Summit | Arkansas Business News

Little Rock’s Venture Center announced Tuesday the speakers for its inaugural VenCent Fintech Summit set for April 11-13.

Ron Shevlin, chief research officer for Cornerstone Advisors and a senior Forbes contributor, will headline the event. He publishes commissioned research reports on banking and fintech trends and advises both established and startup financial  technology companies. 

Author of the “Fintech Snark Tank” column on Forbes.com and the book  “Smarter Bank,” Shevlin is ranked among the top global fintech influencers, the Venture Center said. In his keynote, he’ll talk about the current state of bank-fintech partnerships, explore banking-as-a-service opportunities and what’s in store for banks and fintechs.  

Wayne Miller, executive director of the Venture Center, said in a news release, “VenCent’s programming is curated for bankers, by bankers who have helped select the most relevant mission-ready financial technology solutions available to showcase. Ron’s expertise will launch invaluable dialogue as we learn about the future of fintech and how startups and banks should work together to create the  best in fintech solutions.”  

VenCent will also feature live product demonstrations from about 70 of host Venture Center’s most successful fintech accelerator alumni, offer courses from fintech and finance  subject matter experts, and “facilitate unlimited collaboration and innovation networking,” according to the release.

In addition, access to fintech companies from around the world will be offered at the event through “Startup Alley.” Cybersecurity, banking-as-a-service, cryptocurrency, lending automation, data analytics and financial wellness and more products and services will be featured. 

Other speakers slated for the event include:

● Kathy Strasser of IncredibleBank;

● Kim Kirk of Queensborough National Bank & Trust Co;

● Matt Nilles of Euronet;

● Jesse Honigberg of CrossRiver Bank;

● Patrick Sells of NYDIG; and

● Dave Warfield of Acxiom.

Fintech companies and others can register for the summit and view the full list of speakers here.