2025 Tech Talk - North

Discover how Ross Mynatt, CEO of Craft Bank, leveraged strategic technology choices and a strong leadership culture to achieve rapid growth in a competitive market. Ross will share his journey and challenge community bankers to think differently—and more effectively—about how they invest in and use technology. From building strong tech partnerships to ensuring cultural alignment and usability, his insights offer practical takeaways for community banks of sizes.

Join CBA Innovation Committee Co-Chair Christian Ruppe, SVP and Chief Innovation Officer at Colony Bank, for an engaging, interactive session exploring how AI is transforming community banking. Learn how Colony Bank is leveraging AI across key areas such as lending, back-office operations, employee training, and customer service. This session will offer practical insights, real-life applications, and a chance to exchange ideas on how AI can drive efficiency and innovation in your bank.

This session explores the critical security and compliance features within Microsoft 365 tailored for the banking industry. From enforcing Zero Trust principles and Privileged Identity Management to strengthening administrator account protections and Data Loss Prevention policies, we’ll examine how to safeguard your M365 tenant. We'll also address whether MFA alone is sufficient, best practices for password rotation and external sharing, and how to prepare your data for safe AI integration—all through a compliance-first lens.

James will discuss opportunities and challenges for banks seeking partnerships with payment companies and fintechs with a particular focus on rule-making applicable to third-party ledgered accounts and trends in bank chartering by fintechs and other non-traditional organizers.

Marisa Reynolds, Director of Fintech & Vendor Relations
Genesys Technology Group, Norcross

Chris Stanley, SVP, Payments & Technology
Georgia Banking Company, Atlanta

No matter where your bank is on its fintech journey—just starting out or expanding an established innovation plan—this session will help you make sense of it all. Join Marisa Reynolds, Director of Fintech & Vendor Relations at Genesys Technology Group, and Innovation Committee Co-Chair Chris Stanley, SVP of Payments & Technology at Georgia Banking Company, for an engaging conversation on how to align fintech partnerships and technology investments with your bank’s strategic goals. From choosing the right partners to ensuring technology delivers measurable impact, these experts will share insights, best practices, and real-world examples to help you find the fintech fit that works for your bank.