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Speakers 2022

 

Chris Moya

 

MODERATOR

Chris Moya, President & CEO
Independent Community Bankers Association of New Mexico Farmington, NM

Christopher “Chris” Moya is the President and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers Association of New Mexico ICBA/NM. Chris became President and CEO of ICBANM in January of 2022 after serving as the Executive Vice President of the Association for one year. Prior to his time at the ICBA/NM, Chris was on the regulatory side of the fence His most recent regulatory role was as the Director of the New Mexico Financial Institutions Division (FID) where he was appointed Director of the New Mexico FID in April of 2019, after having served as the Acting Director for 2 years. He joined FID in June of 2011 and held various roles as an Examiner, Mortgage Industry Manager, and as Deputy Director. Prior to entering the regulatory sector, Chris was in the mortgage industry in southern California. After several successful years in the private sector, he relocated back to New Mexico to raise his family.

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from California State University San Marcos, An MBA from Eastern New Mexico University and is a graduate of the Western States School of Banking.

 

Dimitri N. Delis, Ph.D.

 

2023 Inflation and Interest Rate Outlook: From Pandemic to Recession?

Dimitri N. Delis, Ph.D, Managing Director, Chief Portfolio Strategist
Piper Sandler, Chicago, IL

Dimitri Delis is a Managing Director in the Piper Jaffray Financial Strategies in the Fixed Income Department. He is responsible for evaluating economic trends, analyzing current economic issues, and identifying relative value opportunities within the US fixed income markets.

Prior to joining the group in 2005, Delis served as the cross-sector strategist for JP Morgan. Dimitri Delis holds a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from the University of Chicago. He completed his Master of Business Administration degree at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 2006.

 

Anne Benigsen, CISSP

 

FINTECH PANEL MODERATOR

Anne Benigsen, CISSP
President, CivITas Bank Solutions
SVP & CI(S)O, Bankers' Bank of the West, Denver, CO

Anne has 30 years of experience in technology, securing technology and securing people from technology.

After a variety of positions in public and private industry, she now hangs her hat as the CI(S)O of Bankers' Bank of the West and President of their affiliate, CivITas Bank Solutions. Anne holds a range of certifications from the CISSP to information systems management, ethical hacking and offensive security as well as managing data privacy.

She is passionate about helping community banks navigate through the trifecta that is cybersecurity, technology, and compliance by listening and understanding each banks' business strategy, objectives, and goals. Anne believes that sharing information and being open and transparent about the realities of technology and security is the only way to stay zen in this rapidly changing world.

 

Copper France

 

FINTECH PANELIST

Copper France, President & CEO
Bank of Commerce, Rawlins, Wyoming

Copper is a fourth-generation banker and has been involved in the banking industry since 2000. Aside President & CEO duties, he serves as the Information Technology Officer of Bank of Commerce and is heavily involved his bank’s IT Steering Committee.

Copper has served on the Federal Reserve Bank’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council, and served on the Wyoming State Banking Board from 2015-2021 which involved approving numerous charters for Special Purpose Depository Institutions (primarily digital asset custody institutions). He currently serves on the Board of Director’s for Banker’s Bank of the West in Denver, Colorado.

Copper holds a Bachelors Degree in Architectural Engineering and Structural Design, and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking Colorado.

 

Albert Forkner

 

FINTECH PANELIST

Albert Forkner, CEO
Fortress Trust

Albert Forkner is the CEO and co-founder of Fortress TC, a fintech startup focused on supporting NFT creator and innovator strategies with secure custody solutions.

Prior to Fortress, Mr. Forkner served nearly 25 years as a banking regulator with the Wyoming Division of Banking. As the Banking Commissioner, Mr. Forkner was responsible for the supervision of all state-chartered banks, trust companies, non-depository financial entities in Wyoming, as well as the novel Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter.

Mr. Forkner served as the Chairman of the Board for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and Chairman of the Board of the State Regulatory Registry, operator of the NMLS. Mr. Forkner received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Wyoming.

 

Sultan Meghji

FINTECH PANELIST 

Sultan Meghji, Scholar, Professor and former Chief Innovation Officer at FDIC

Sultan Meghji most recently served as the inaugural Chief Innovation Officer at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation of the United States Government. His remit included emerging technology, regulatory, interagency and intergovernmental policy. A noted expert in AI, Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing & Web3, he also serves as a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a fellow at the George Mason National Security Institute and is a distinguished member of the Bretton Woods Committee. Mr. Meghji also serves as a professor in the graduate programs at Washington University’s Olin Business School with a focus on AI, startups and quantitative risk. Mr. Meghji has a 30 year career in technology, including launching, scaling and selling a number of startups in technology, biotech and fintech.

Mr. Meghji lives in Washington DC, having previously lived in France, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has served in an advisory capacity to the US government: Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Department of the Treasury. Internationally he has served as an advisor to the German Bundesbank, European Central Bank, G7, G20, International Monetary Fund, United Nations and the governments of Singapore and the United Kingdom.

 

Christian Otteson

 

CO-PRESENTER

Successfully Serving a Community: Capital Planning to Build a Stronger Community Bank

Christian Otteson, Director
Otteson Shapiro LLP
Denver, CO

Christian Otteson is the Director of Otteson Shapiro LLP’s financial services practice. Mr. Otteson assists financial institutions with mergers, acquisitions, public and private securities offerings, securities reporting and governance issues. He also serves as outside general counsel for many banks, and in that capacity assists boards and management with strategic and risk management planning, and execution of resulting strategies. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Otteson practiced for many years in the Financial Services Group of an international law firm. Mr. Otteson also worked in various positions as corporate counsel for a public regional bank, including as General Counsel.

 

Adam Fiedor

 

CO-PRESENTER

Successfully Serving a Community: Capital Planning to Build a Stronger Community Bank

Adam Fiedor, Managing Director
GLC Advisors & Co., LLC
Denver, CO

Adam Fiedor is a Managing Director with GLC Advisors. With over twenty years of investment banking experience, Adam focuses on mergers and acquisitions, financings, and strategic advisory assignments for financial institutions and other middle market companies. Previously, Adam was a partner at St. Charles Capital and a Director with KPMG Corporate Finance.

Adam is a former faculty member at the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado and is regularly ranked among the nation's most active M&A bankers in financial services by SNL Financial LC. He earned a BSBA from the University of Denver and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Adam is an advisory board member of the Cottonwood Institute, a non-profit organization focused on inspiring students to change the world through adventure, wilderness survival, and environmental service. Furthermore, he is an advisory board member of the Reiman School of Finance at the University of Denver.

 

Marcia Malzahn

 

Strategies for Succession Planning and Talent Management

Marcia Malzahn, President & Founder
Malzahn Strategic, Maple Grove, MN

Marcia (“Marci”) Malzahn is the president and founder of Malzahn Strategic, a community financial institution management consultancy focused on strategic planning, enterprise risk management, treasury management, and talent management.

Marci has 30 years of banking experience, ten of those years as the EVP/CFO and COO of a community bank she co-founded where she oversaw all areas of operations. In her last year as EVP/COO/CRO, Marci created and focused on the bank’s enterprise risk management program.

Marci is the recipient of several professional awards, is a published author of five books, and an international bilingual keynote speaker, speaking frequently at banking conferences and associations as well as leadership and women’s conferences.

As a Certified Virtual Presenter, Marcia also provides online and onsite training for financial institutions. Marci is a certified life coach and a Certified Community Bank Director. She holds a B.A. in business management from Bethel University and is a graduate and faculty of the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wisconsin.
Malzahn Strategic

 

Kirsten Sutton

 

Industry Update from Washington

Kirsten Sutton, EVP, Congressional Relations and Legislative Affairs
American Bankers Association, Washington, DC

Kirsten Sutton is Executive Vice President of Congressional Relations and Legislative Affairs at the American Bankers Association (ABA), the voice of the nation’s $23.7 trillion banking industry and its more than two million employees. In this role, Sutton oversees the association’s bipartisan team responsible for engaging lawmakers and their staff on policy and legislative issues affecting America’s banks and the communities they serve.

Sutton joined ABA in 2020 as Senior Vice President and Executive Director of ABA’s Card Policy Council (CPC), where she developed policy priorities and advocacy strategy in collaboration with the nation’s largest card-issuing banks and payment networks.

Before joining ABA, Sutton served as Chief of Staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from 2018 to 2020. In addition to advising the CFPB Director on policy and personnel matters, Sutton managed the agency’s public affairs, communications, stakeholder engagement, and legislative affairs office.

Prior to her tenure at the CFPB, Sutton was staff director of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) where she served as primary staff liaison to the Administration and House and Senate leadership, developed the Committee’s legislative priorities, and was responsible for ensuring those priorities had the support needed to pass out of the Committee and on the House floor. Her career on Capitol Hill spans more than a decade, including the financial crisis and the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.

 

Todd Mackey

 

Digital Update: A Fed Perspective on CBDC, Cryptocurrency, and Stable Coins

Todd Mackey, Group Vice President
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO

Todd Mackey is Group Vice President in the Financial Services Division, with responsibility for the Payments Research function and coordination among the Bank's payments-related activities including operations, research, and policy work. He also serves the Financial Services Policy Committee (FSPC) Support Office which has oversight for the Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) Enterprise organization.Mr. Mackey started at the Bank in the Payments System Support in 1997. He has held various positions in Retail Payments, the Customer Relations and Support Office (CRSO), Banking Studies and Structure Department, and Payments Systems Research.

Mr. Mackey holds a Bachelors degree from Georgetown University and a Masters degree from George Washington University. He is also a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

 

John Register

CLOSING KEYNOTE
Hurdling Adversity
John Register
Paralympic silver medalist, U.S. Army Combat Veteran, Certified Professional Keynote Speaker

John Register failed to clear a hurdle as he trained for the Olympic Games—a move that led to a tragic accident and altered his life forever. He shifted his focus and embraced a “new normal mindset.” The decorated Persian Gulf War combat U.S. Army veteran world champion became a two-time Paralympic Games Silver Medalist, professional speaker, and global influencer.
Register “amputated his fears” and founded the U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympic Military Sports Program. He authored 10 Stories to Impact Any Leader: Journal Your Way to Leadership Success in Spring 2020 and works with business leaders to hurdle adversity, amputate fear, and embrace a new normal mindset to win life's medals. The artificial leg he used to win the silver medal is displayed in the Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. John Register

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