Keynote Speakers
Sunday Keynote: Laila Ali
Four-Time World Boxing Champion, TV Personality, Bestselling Author
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Peak Performance Needs an “All In” Attitude
The challenges that treasury and finance professionals must successfully navigate are as complex as ever. Never one to backdown from a challenge, Laila Ali developed the values of hard work, determination, courage, and self-belief growing up as the youngest
child of the legendary boxer and humanitarian Muhammad Ali. As an undefeated, four-time boxing champion, Ali has successfully applied the discipline she gained as an elite athlete throughout her unique career as an entrepreneur, TV personality and
author. Constantly looking to defeat her next challenge, Ali shares tactics and strategies for navigating complex challenges and turning intentions into actions.
BIO Laila Ali is a world-class athlete, fitness & wellness advocate, TV host, home chef, founder of the Laila Ali Lifestyle Brand, and mother of two. She is a two-time hall of famer and four-time undefeated boxing world champion and in 2012 when women’s boxing was included in the Olympics for the first time Ali became the first woman in history to provide expert commentary for NBC Sports. A cooking enthusiast, Ali is also the host of OWN Emmy award-winning series, “Home Made Simple” and the author of a bestselling cookbook. She was a major voice for the 40th anniversary of Title IX, which protects women’s rights to be included and treated equally in collegiate sports and is a past President of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes equality for women in the world of professional sports.
Tuesday Keynote: Adam Grant
Organizational Psychologist & Bestselling Author
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
The past year has led us to rethink fundamental assumptions—where to work, how to manage remote culture and collaboration, whether to reimagine our strategy and our products or services. Yet too many leaders and employees, reluctant to think in new ways, have taken a reactionary approach that threatens the overall health of the organization.
Organizational psychologist, Adam Grant, examines how treasury and finance professionals can evolve their thinking, open their minds, and build a learning organization in which people know what they don’t know and are eager to improve upon the status quo. His eye-opening evidence and entertaining delivery will leave attendees determined to never again say “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
BIO Adam Grant has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for 7 straight years. As an organizational psychologist, he is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers and Fortune’s 40 under 40.
Grant is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 5 books that have sold millions of copies and been translated into 35 languages. His books have been named among the year’s best by Amazon, Apple, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Grant’s pioneering research has increased performance and reduced burnout among professionals working in diverse roles across multiple industries.
Want a sneak peek? Check out talks, books and a podcast from Adam.
Wellness Keynote: Dr. Lisa Bélanger
Behavioral Change Expert & Researcher
Brains at Their Best: Behaviors for Peak Performance and Proactive Mental Health
For many organizations, their greatest asset is the productivity, creativity, and innovation of their people. What can we do to promote brain health and optimal performance in our teams and in ourselves? In this eye-opening keynote, Dr. Lisa Bélanger
draws on psychology, behavioral science, and neuroscience to empower attendees to take control of their behaviors and offers daily practices to think more clearly, make better decisions, be more productive, build resilience, and have more energy.
Bélanger shares the most effective ways to manage short-term and long-term stress while providing practical exercises and strategies that require little time but offer significant gains in mental strength.
BIO An organization’s greatest asset is its people. Dr. Lisa Bélanger is an award-winning researcher who helps leaders and teams optimize performance, productivity, and innovation through leading-edge scientific research. With a PhD in behavioral medicine, Bélanger is the CEO of ConsciousWorks, a consulting firm that supports leaders and teams in maximizing their mental capacity and performance. She is also an executive MBA and a certified exercise physiologist and high-performance specialist. Belanger also the author of two books: Inspire Me Well: Finding Motivation to Take Control of Your Health and A Cup of Mindfulness: For the Busy and the Restless.
Want a sneak peek? Check out articles and videos featuring Lisa and her work.
The Wellness Keynote is restricted to corporate practitioners only
MindShift Keynote: Kaihan Krippendorff
Strategy & Innovation Expert
Sponsored by Capital One
Be the Disrupter, Not the Disrupted
We are experiencing a historic acceleration in the pace of change in our world. Artificial intelligence, digitization, robotics, 3D printing, and the rise of purpose-driven enterprises are reconfiguring how industries operate. These changes divide us into two camps: the “Disruptors” and the “Disrupted”. Entrepreneur, author, consultant and CEO Kaihan Krippendorff has spent over a decade studying what makes companies and individuals thrive in the face of disruption, while others fall behind; what gives some the power to shape the future and makes others fail to keep up. In this keynote, Krippendorff breaks down the underlying patterns of disruption and with compelling stories of successes, failures, and yet-unknown innovations, teaches practical tools to help you take action and become a Disruptor.
BIO A bestselling author, internationally recognized thought-leader, and a sought-after strategic advisor, Kaihan Krippendorff is known for his ability to turn difficult concepts into easy-to-understand ideas that drive meaningful outcomes and actions. He shows organizations and individuals how to thrive in today’s era of fast-paced, disruptive technological change. Krippendorff was named to the prestigious Thinkers50 “Radar Class of 2019,” which showcases 30 emerging leaders to watch and is the founder of Outthinker, a growth strategy and innovation consulting firm, and The Outthinker Network, an invitation-only group of high-level strategists and innovators for large $1 billion+ organizations. An accomplished author, Kaihan has written five books on business strategy, growth, and transformation, with his most recent being Driving Innovation from Within.
Certification Keynote: Dr. Simone Ahuja
Strategist and Author, Disrupt Yourself
Author, Jugaad Innovation
Sponsored by PNC
Fast and Frugal Intrapreneurship: Solving Problems with the Resources You Already Have
For treasury and finance professionals, solving the biggest problems starts with utilizing existing resources. Great things can be accomplished when pairing a growth mindset and a simple toolkit. Based on her research in emerging markets and her bestselling book, Jugaad Innovation, Dr. Simone Ahuja shares inspiring stories of frugal innovators who solve problems large and small with the right mindset and a set of guiding principles. This high-value, low-resource approach to problem-solving occurs at the intersection of business, design, and social innovation, provides attendees with tactics and strategies for using creativity to reframe problems as opportunities while also gaining support for new ideas to move faster and have a greater impact.
BIO Dr. Simone Bhan Ahuja is the founder of Blood Orange, a global innovation and strategy firm headquartered in Minneapolis, USA. She is co-author of the international bestseller, Jugaad Innovation, called “the most comprehensive book yet on the subject” on frugal innovation by the Economist. This practical innovation playbook makes clear how and why leaders must support the passionate and purpose-driven “intrapreneurs” inside their organizations to drive innovation and achieve sustainable growth. Dr. Ahuja has served as an advisor to MIT’s Practical Impact Alliance and Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. She provides innovation and strategy advisory and consulting services to organizations including 3M, UnitedHealth Group, Procter & Gamble, Target Corp, Stanley Black & Decker, and the World Economic Forum. Dr. Ahuja is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review online, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and a practitioner of improvisational comedy.
The Certification Keynote is restricted to corporate practitioners only.
Monday Executive Institute Keynote: Chloe Demrovsky
President & CEO, Disaster Recovery Institute International
Executive Institute Sponsored by PNC
Tactical Insight: Re-evaluating the Risk and Resilience Status Quo
Gaining a better understanding of the future trends in risk and resilience is critical for treasury and finance executives to navigate risks facing their organizations. Leveraging key findings from Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) research, Chloe Demrovsky reviews the decisions leaders must make in a post-Covid world and provides tactical insight on how to strengthen and improve enterprise-wide business continuity practices to address various risks such as supply chain and cybersecurity. Additionally, Demrovsky discusses how leaders must be prepared to partner with their boards on developing risk management strategies as recent events have underscored the need for both boards and management teams to reassess their approach to mitigate risk.
BIO Chloe Demrovsky is the President and CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International. Globally recognized as a thought leader, Demrovsky has been a commentator for CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, BBC, The Financial Times, and USA Today. She has presented on global risk at events across five continents and has conducted on-site briefings for government officials, government bodies including the US Congress, the European Commission, and the United Nations. Demrovsky is also an adjunct professor at New York University, a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a US-Japan Foundation Scott M. Johnson Fellow, and a French-American Foundation 2019-20 Young Leader.
The Executive Institute is limited to corporate practitioners with the title of treasurer, chief financial officer, vice president of finance, assistant treasurer or controller.
Tuesday Executive Institute Keynote: April Rinne
Founder & Chief Change Navigator, April Worldwide
Executive Institute Sponsored by PNC
Flux: Thriving in Constant Change and Uncertainty
Flux Mindset is a concept April Rinne developed for thriving in a world of constant change. She takes treasury and finance leaders on a journey through what a flux mindset is, why it matters, and how to get one. Drawing on her personal and professional experiences with flux, Rinne shares her unconventional and often counter-intuitive strategies for how to think, learn, work, live, and lead better by slowing down enough to get clear on what really matters. Attendees walk away with strategies to better prepare for the unknown and become more resilient by rethinking uncertainty and getting comfortable with ambiguity.
BIO April Rinne is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, one of Forbes’ 50 Leading Female Futurists who has the uncanny ability to identify and understand the potential of trends early. Rinne spent the first half of her career focused on global development and financial inclusion. When the digital economy began to take root, Rinne shifted her focus to how new platforms could help build more inclusive business and more robust opportunities for income generation. The second half of her career has focused on how this “new” economy and the future of work will play out worldwide, advising numerous startups, established companies, governments, policy makers, financial institutions, educational institutions, think tanks and others along the way.
The Executive Institute is limited to corporate practitioners with the title of treasurer, chief financial officer, vice president of finance, assistant treasurer or controller.