SVP, Strategy and Content
American Banker Live Media
Holly Sraeel is Arizent’s Senior Vice President of Strategy and Content, Live Media, leading content creation and innovation for the events portfolio and introducing new multimedia and invitation-only experiences for senior executives that drive critical conversations and action around corporate strategy, innovation and financial performance. She is part of the company’s operational leadership team and is focused on developing cross-platform programming that creates higher levels of engagement for subscribers, community participants and partners across the company’s brands, including American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Accounting Today, National Mortgage News, Digital Insurance, Financial Planning and Employee Benefits News. Sraeel is an award-winning editorial director, media executive and content strategist with expertise in developing influential content, communities, and events for C-level executives in the banking and financial services, insurance, technology, and professional services industries. Prior to joining Arizent, she held several content leadership and strategist roles, including for B2B media consultancy New York Ventures, capital markets management consultancy Opimas, Oxford University-incubated startup Wise Responder, and as cofounder of Genesys Partners’ Agility First Forum. This new role marks a return to the company for Sraeel. In her previous 12-year run, she was a member of the executive team and was pivotal in driving new cross-platform editorial, events and business innovation as SVP of Brand Management; Group Editorial Director of Banking and Technology magazines; and Founder, President and Editorial Director of The Most Powerful Women in Banking,™ the company’s first-ever, community-based media platform, now part of Arizent’s flagship American Banker. Sraeel is an early honors graduate of Marist College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and a concentration in journalism.
Small businesses are turning away from financial institutions and seeking better, more affordable services from rival fintechs and neobanks. This session explores how banks can regain competitive advantage in the new battleground for the SMB relationship. At issue: how banks bring accounting, payroll, and e-commerce services to small business clients who are eager to manage cash flow more effectively. Industry leaders will debate where the embedded finance opportunity is greatest, where the threat of disintermediation is most acute, and what a winning app or platform strategy looks like for large and small banks and credit unions. The discussion will examine how banks are deciding whether to build or partner, and how to stay at the center of the small business banking relationship.