EVP, Head of Small Business Banking
Truist
Claudia Adamson is the head of small business banking for Truist Financial Corporation, a purpose-driven financial services organization committed to inspiring and building better lives and communities. As part of the Consumer and Small Business Banking leadership team, Adamson leads the team serving small business clients with personalized advice and specialized financial solutions delivered through caring partnerships within the most attractive growth markets in the U.S.
In her role, Adamson oversees strategic execution for all areas of small business banking including deposits, lending, and payments solutions; data and analytics, operations and governance, and client experience for more than 1.2 million small business clients through a multi-channel approach. She joined Truist in June 2025 and is a member of Truist’s Operating Council.
Adamson has more than 20 years of experience focusing on small and midsize enterprise, middle market and large corporate sector clients. Prior to joining Truist, she served as managing director, U.S. head of business banking, and as part of the executive committee for the U.S. commercial bank at HSBC. During her 10-year tenure, she also served as regional executive of corporate banking and U.S. head of sales intelligence for U.S. commercial banking along with championing culture and employee engagement as U.S. head of people excellence. Previously, she served as director and regional executive for London corporate banking at Barclays.
Adamson’s experience includes leveraging technology to enhance client outcomes and drive efficiency; digital transformation, including the deployment of a virtual business banker model and other digital-first strategies; and data analytics and sales intelligence to drive revenue growth.
Adamson holds a bachelor’s in mathematics and computer science from Converse University and studied at the London Business School.
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.