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Daniel Faggella

The AI in Financial Services is for non-technical financial services leaders looking to find AI opportunities, build an AI strategy, and deliver ROI.

Each week, Emerj AI Research team (and CEO Daniel Faggella) interview leaders from global financial services firms and unicorn AI startups to get to the heart of AI ROI - uncovering what’s working and what’s not working for FinServ leaders.

Visit our advertising page to learn more about reaching our executive audience of AI adopters in the world’s largest banking and insurance firms: https://emerj.com/advertise

AI in Financial Services Podcast

Navigating the complex world of AI hiring in financial services is no easy feat. In this debut episode, Nirmal Ranganathan, Vice President of Engineering and AI at Rackspace Technology, joins host Matthew DeMello to explore the unique challenges financial services enterprises face when integrating AI talent. With the sector still in its early adoption phase, generative AI’s impact is evident, but leveraging these innovations requires addressing fundamental infrastructure and regulatory hurdles. Throughout the episode, Nirmal shares his insights into the practical applications of generative AI, from enhancing customer-facing operations to transforming back-office workflows. The conversation highlights the essential role of data governance, the impact of AI bias, and the transition smaller financial institutions must make to fully digitize and prepare their data foundations. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Hiring in AI for Financial Services - with Nirmal Ranganathan of Rackspace

Today’s guest is Nirmal Ranganathan, Vice President of Engineering and AI at Rackspace Technology. Rackspace, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a global cloud computing company with additional offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates data centers in key locations including Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, and various cities in the United States. Nirmal returns to the show to explore the accelerating journey of AI adoption in financial services. Pulling from Rackspace’s recent AI survey, we discuss key findings: 86% of companies report tangible AI benefits, and 60% are transitioning from ideation to early implementation. However, as organizations race to integrate AI, many still face skills gaps, with a majority seeking talent in machine learning and software development. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Driving AI Growth in Financial Services - with Nirmal Ranganathan of Rackspace

Today’s guest is Edward Maslaveckas, CEO and Co-founder of Bud Financial. Bud provides transactional lending analysis and advanced AI solutions for power affordability and credit lifecycle management. Edward joins us on today’s program to talk about the biggest challenges in driving personal banking experiences, and what the landscape between legacy and fintech organizations might look like given the practicality of adopting large-scale generative AI use cases in different kinds of financial institutions. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Transforming Personal Banking with AI - with Edward Maslaveckas of Bud Financial

Today’s guest is Edward Maslaveckas, CEO and Co-founder of Bud Financial. Bud provides transactional lending analysis and advanced AI solutions for power affordability and credit lifecycle management. Edward returns to the program to talk about use cases across financial services that are going to transform the personal banking space, from back-office services to customer-facing applications. Throughout the episode, Edward talks about what will come easiest to born-digital fintech startups before they will eventually need to gain the trust and proximity to retail banking customers that legacy organizations have. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Use Cases Driving Personal Banking Transformation with AI - with Edward Maslaveckas of Bud Financial

Today’s guest is Matt Marolda, Chief Innovation Officer at Acrisure. Acrisure is a global insurance broker and fintech financial services provider. Matt joins us on today’s program to explore how AI is revolutionizing personal insurance and home refinancing. In the process, Matt shares insights into the current trends and challenges facing insurance leaders, the role of AI in enhancing customer experience, and how data-driven strategies are helping small and mid-sized businesses streamline operations. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

The Role of AI in Insurance Efficiency and Customer Engagement - with Matt Marolda of Acrisure

Today’s guest is Matt Marolda, Chief Innovation Officer at Acrisure. Acrisure is a global insurance broker and fintech financial services provider. Matt returns to the program this week to explore the impact of AI on industry practices, from streamlining workflows to automating customer interactions and enhancing decision-making with predictive analytics. Our discussion examines how AI can process data more efficiently, identifying patterns in customer behavior and refining risk assessments. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Use Cases in AI-Driven Personal Insurance - with Matt Marolda of Acrisure

Today’s guest is Sophia Qureshi, VP of Product Management for Fraud Solutions at Provenir. Provenir is a fintech company whose AI decisioning platform helps clients manage credit risk, prevent fraud, and stay compliant across the customer lifecycle. Sophia joins the podcast to discuss the evolving threat landscape and how AI is changing the balance of power. Later, she explains how fraud detection has traditionally relied on deterministic technologies like anomaly detection and how the rise of generative AI has enabled more sophisticated fraud tactics, from deepfake identity forgeries to large-scale phishing campaigns. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

The Rise of Generative AI-Enabled Financial Crime - with Sophia Qureshi of Provenir

Today’s guest is Arpit Sarin, Vice President of Digital at Regions Bank. Arpit joins us to share insights into the evolving role of AI and data in financial services. Our discussion covers the challenges banks face in adopting AI-driven solutions and scaling them across diverse customer bases and how AI is transforming personalization, customer engagement, and financial advisory services. Arpit provides a deep dive into the intersection of AI, security, and customer-centric innovation, offering practical advice for financial leaders navigating digital transformation. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Navigating AI-Driven Digital Transformation in Banking - with Arpit Sarin of Regions Bank

Today’s guest is Jessica Saperstein, Former CXO and CMO, Strategic Advisor, and Corporate Board Member at Church Mutual. Church Mutual is a leading provider of specialized insurance solutions for religious organizations, educational institutions, senior living communities, and nonprofit organizations. Jessica joins us on today’s program to explore the intersection of CX, digital transformation, and data-driven decision-making. With a career spanning financial services, pharmaceuticals, and travel, she brings a cross-industry perspective on customer-centric innovation. If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!

Lessons from Retail and Healthcare for Financial Services CX Leaders - with Jessica Saperstein at Church Mutual

Today’s guest is Jim Palmer, Chief AI Officer at Dialpad. Dialpad is an AI-powered communication platform offering unified calling, messaging, video conferencing, and customer support. It helps businesses improve team collaboration and productivity through scalable, efficient communication solutions. In this episode, Jim Palmer joins Emerj Managing Editor Matthew DeMello on the show today to discuss the evolution of AI in customer experience. With over 10 years of experience in AI solutions, Jim shares valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities businesses face in implementing human-centric AI. From overcoming disparate systems to measuring AI’s ROI, they dive deep into the practical aspects of AI integration and its impact on customer satisfaction. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.

Transforming Customer Experience with AI-Enhanced Contact Centers - with Jim Palmer of Dialpad

This week, we spoke to another of our research advisors: Lee Smallwood, COO of Markets and Securities for Citi North America. Lee speaks with us about the dynamics of AI talent: finding the right talent and growing the right talent.
 
How can a bank attract the right young people, train the right people within their organization, and martial them to success with AI in the future? How does a bank compete with Google, Facebook, and other AI-focused giants for AI talent?
 
We answer these questions in this week's interview.

Building and Leveraging AI Teams in Banking - with Lee Smallwood, COO Markets and Securities North America at Citi

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