SAVE THE DATE
2024 Synergent Connect Conference
August 26 & 27, 2024
The Westin Portland Harborview | Portland, Maine

Mark your calendars for Synergent Connect 2024! Join us for this two-day event that will be packed with valuable credit union focused information presented by industry renowned speakers and subject matter experts. Don’t miss your opportunity to learn about the latest products and strategies, network with credit union colleagues from across the country, and be inspired, all while gathering on the beautiful coast of Maine.

Registration and room block details will be released soon.

Speakers

Theresa Payton

An inventor and visionary in the digital world, a U.S. patent holder, and the first female White House CIO, a two-time company founder and CEO, Theresa Payton, was named one of the “Top 50 Women in Tech” by Award Magazine in 2021. She captivates audiences by drawing on her unmatched knowledge and expertise to help business, association and government audiences safely navigate a rapidly changing digital future.

In presentations that masterfully blend stories from the trenches with cutting-edge insights (and all the flair she was known for as co-star on the CBS hit series Hunted), Theresa helps audiences understand the current impact and future applications of AI, Quantum Computing, Blockchain, Web 3.0/the Metaverse, the Internet of Things, and Big Data for their business. A trusted advisor to companies and governments, Theresa helps organizations of every size balance the risks and the enormous promise of emerging technologies for business transformation and growth.

Before serving as White House CIO, Payton was a technology leader in the banking and finance sector. She went on to co-found Dark3, a company later acquired by Celerium. Today she is the founder and CEO at Fortalice Solutions, a world-class consulting firm recently named to the lists of “The Global Hot 150 Cybersecurity Companies,” by Cybersecurity Ventures, and “The Top 5 Most Innovative Cybersecurity Companies” in the Washington, D.C. area. Her work in the field of fighting crime earned her the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award. Theresa is a member of the Cyber Defenders Council, a group of 50 preeminent leaders from the public and private sectors who promote cross-sector collaboration and proactive cyber deterrence, and she sits on several advisory boards for innovative global technology firms.

Ron Shevlin

Ron Shevlin has been a management consultant for more than 25 years, working with leading financial services, consumer products, retail, and manufacturing firms all over the world. As Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors, Ron calls on his analytical acumen to author a variety of corporate and commissioned research reports.

Considered one of the financial industry’s most notable experts, Ron’s opinions are regularly sought for inclusion in major banking publications. He writes weekly for Forbes and has published hundreds of articles for his Snarketing blog. A seasoned professional speaker, Ron’s insights and quirky sense of humor are in high demand for trade events and podcasts.

Before joining Cornerstone Advisors, Ron was a senior analyst at Aite Group, where he specialized in retail banking issues. Before Aite, he led Epsilon’s financial services consulting practice. Before Epsilon, he headed up Forrester’s research efforts on customer loyalty, profitability, and consumer channel use in the financial services industry.

Ron is the author of Smarter Bank: Why Money Management is More Important than Money Movement. He was ranked #2 on Bank Innovation’s list of 30 Innovators to Watch. His Snarketing 2.0 blog was named to Radius’ 25 Best Marketing Blogs.

David Allison

After decades of helping big brands engage people, David Allison recognized that demographics weren’t working like before. Gender roles were blurred, age has nothing to do with how we behave, and our income doesn’t change what’s in our hearts. Instead, our values drive our behavior and our shared values that engage people and influence outcomes. So he launched the Valuegraphics Project to turn human values into data and create a revolutionary new approach to inspiring action – with the enormous power of shared human values.

Today, after nearly a million surveys in 152 languages, David is the world’s foremost human values expert, with two best-selling books and an international speaking career. Innovative organizations like PayPal, Lululemon, and the United Nations Foundation use David’s data to connect with people in new, more profound ways – by honoring what they value. He coined the term valuegraphics to describe his unique approach to understanding people, which now appears next to demographics in textbooks used on campuses worldwide. Valuegraphics have been featured in Forbes, INC Magazine, and the Harvard Business Review, and his latest book, The Death of Demographics, was hailed by critics as “Convincing, insightful, and…revolutionary.”

He’s developed an entirely new and powerful way to address any issue, and seize any opportunity by leaning deep into a fundamental human truth: we are what we value. His highly engaging and passionate keynote delivery, combined with game-changing insights, make his keynote presentations entirely unique can’t-miss events.

Ben Metz

Ben Metz

Ben Metz is Chief Technology Officer and Chief Digital Officer of Monett, Missouri-based Jack Henry & Associates® (NASDAQ: JKHY). He leads technology, strategy and direction for new platforms as well as digital for the organization and has more than 20+ years of experience in building technology, large scale systems and best in class digital experiences.

Ben is a frequently sought after speaker and presenter to financial technology groups on several high demand topics, including current state of technology in financial services, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, open banking with a focus on how community financial institutions can succeed with new digital experiences for their account holders.

Additional speakers will be announced soon. Stay tuned for the complete agenda!

How to Get Here

If traveling by car, The Westin Portland Harborview is approximately 45 minutes north of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and two hours south of Bangor, Maine. If arriving by plane, the Portland International Jetport (PWM) is minutes from downtown Portland.