The next wave of artificial intelligence goes beyond better tools—it gives them autonomous agents. This session explores what agentic AI means for the future of relationship managers, and how institutions are deploying AI systems to proactively identify cross-sell opportunities, flag at-risk relationships, prepare call briefs, and automate follow-up at scale. Industry leaders will debate where autonomous AI delivers the greatest competitive advantage, where human judgment remains irreplaceable, and how banks are building the governance frameworks needed to deploy agentic systems responsibly. The discussion will examine what the institutions moving first are learning—and what everyone else risks by waiting.
Small business owners are entering a new era: they can start faster, operate leaner, and scale with AI-enabled tools that were once available only to larger companies. But abundant information does not eliminate the need for trusted guidance, and it raises the bar for banks.
In this keynote, Claudia will explore how owners’ needs are changing, why banks must move from transactions to expertise, and how the industry can build deeper relationships across the full client continuum from starting and operating to funding, protecting, and scaling a business.
Small business banking sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, technology, capital, and human expertise. The institutions that thrive in the years ahead will be those that use innovation to deepen relationships, not replace them, and help business owners navigate every stage of growth with confidence. As entrepreneurs redefine what’s possible, banks have an opportunity to redefine the value they deliver. The future of banking is being written through the small business experience, and there has never been a more exciting time to be part of that journey.
Nancy Schneier is the Chief Revenue Officer and Founder of Vikar Technologies, a Fintech company streamlining client and loan lifecycle management through digital automation. With over 35 years of experience in banking and financial technology, Nancy has built a career around delivering results and driving product innovation. Her path spans top firms like KPMG, Broadridge, Wolters Kluwer, SS&C, and Accenture—grounded by a degree in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Amruta Dongre has over 15 years of experience in product and software development. In her current position as CTO and Founder of Vikar Technologies, she leads the overall product strategy and oversees product development and engineering. Amruta designs and develops solutions in line with the overall vision for Vikar resulting in innovative solutions and technology to Vikar clients. In her previous roles, Amruta has led the design, implementation, and delivery to over 15 major financial institutions in digitizing and improving their account opening and lending processes. Amruta holds a Master’s Degree in Information Management from Syracuse University.
Heather Tuason brings more than 30 years of financial services experience spanning small business banking, investment banking, corporate treasury, and fintech. She founded Arena in 2019 to solve the financial management gap she saw across small businesses — offering fractional CFO and accounting services while partnering directly with bank and credit union bankers and underwriting teams. Heather identified early on that roughly 90% of small businesses don’t have a financial forecast, often because the competency to build one is missing internally, even though banks expect one for credit applications; Arena was built to be the bridge — the financial guidance small business owners expect their banker to provide, but that banks generally don’t.
Arena was named to the 2025 Inc. 5000 list at #409 fastest growing companies in the United States.
Before Arena, Heather spent nearly five years at Capital One as Senior Vice President and Head of National Small Business, where she built and led the National Small Business organization launched the Spark Business and Spark Pay platforms, and owned the P&L, product strategy, and operations for small business checking, savings, lending, credit cards, merchant services, and payments. Spark Business Unlimited Checking was named “Best Business Checking for an Established Business” by MONEY Magazine three years running (2013–2015). Earlier at Capital One, she led corporate development (bank M&A) and served as Head Business Risk Officer for Corporate Treasury, building the bank’s first counterparty credit risk team and ALCO governance during the 2008 financial crisis, and acting as the regulatory liaison for TARP and stress testing.
From 2017–2019, she was Chief Strategy, Product & Investment Officer at StreetShares, a fintech serving veteran-owned small businesses, where she built a turnkey small-business-lending SaaS platform for banks and credit unions and signed Navy Federal and USAA as first partners.
She holds a board seat at Lafayette Federal Credit Union (a $2B Mid-Atlantic institution), chairing its Credit Committee.
Education: Scaling Ventures MBA program, Harvard University; Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, Stanford University; Executive Banking Certification, Louisiana State University; BA in Criminology, Accounting and Economics, George Mason University.
Adam Pearl is a fintech and banking sales leader with deep experience scaling account switching and digital banking platforms for financial institutions. He played a pivotal role at ClickSWITCH—one of the first platforms to automate direct deposit and payment switching—where he led sales initiatives that drove broad bank adoption and helped position the company for its successful acquisition by Q2. Adam most recently held a senior leadership role at Q2, leading Strategic Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) Sales and working closely with banks and fintechs to bring differentiated embedded finance solutions to market. He has also served as Senior Vice President of Channel Partnerships and Growth at Urban FT, helping expand distribution and accelerate adoption of modern digital banking technologies. With a proven track record spanning scale, acquisition, and platform growth, Adam brings firsthand switching expertise to Onsetto. As Chief Sales Officer, he leads go-to-market strategy and strategic partnerships, helping financial institutions capture the core operating account, accelerate activation, and win primacy.
Cale founded ClickSWITCH in 2014. A fintech that provides an innovative solution for banks, credit unions and neobanks that automates the process of switching direct deposits and automatic payments. Under Cale’s guidance ClickSWITCH provided services to over 600+ Financial Institutions, including 3 of the top 15 banks in the US. He has an extensive background in venture capital, raising multiple rounds for ClickSWITCH prior to its acquisition in Q2 of April of 2021.
Cale has been recognized as 40 Under 40 in 2021, Top 50 Financial Technology CEO in 2021, and Top 100 People to know in 2020. After conquering the consumer switching market with a successful exit, Cale is applying the same innovative approach to revolutionize business switching.
Shawn Main serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Architect at Vantage Bank, where he leads the Shared Services division. In this role, Shawn ensures strategic alignment between business and technology to enhance customer experience and drive operational efficiency. He is also a founder of the Hazel Network, Vantage Bank’s bank-operated platform focused on tokenized deposits and stablecoin innovation. His team is responsible for developing innovative applications and solutions, leveraging data analytics, overseeing member partnerships, and conducting ongoing outreach to customers—providing technical guidance, sharing insights on banking solutions, and identifying opportunities to enhance service offerings.
Shawn has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including 18 years at Vantage Bank. Throughout his tenure at Vantage Bank, he has held several key leadership positions, each enhancing his expertise in banking operations, technology integration, risk management, and emerging digital asset infrastructure. He brings deep experience with tokenized deposits, stablecoins, open blockchain infrastructure, and the operational controls required to support bank-led innovation. Before stepping into his current role, he served as Bank Cashier & Deposit Operations Manager, overseeing bank operations, compliance, and customer service channels. As Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Shawn played a critical role in shaping the bank’s long-term IT strategy, optimizing infrastructure, and driving the adoption of modern technology solutions to support business growth.
Shawn is a graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems, graduating Magna Cum Laude. His strong background in technology and financial services, combined with his leadership in aligning IT resources with business objectives, makes him a key driver of Vantage Bank’s continued innovation and customer-centric approach.
A dedicated leader with a passion for problem-solving and forward thinking, Shawn is committed to ensuring that Vantage Bank remains at the forefront of digital banking solutions while maintaining the personal, relationship-driven service that defines the institution.