2025 Mass Bankers Connect Conference : Massachusetts Bankers Association

Dates

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Time

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM EST

Location

2025 Mass Bankers Connect Conference Event Image

Program Overview

Mass Bankers presents the first Connect Conference for 2025, designed exclusively for banking professionals in Accounting and Finance, Compliance, Information Technology and Innovation roles, as well as Trust & Wealth Management.

This full-day conference event will feature two thought-provoking general sessions – one focused on the U.S. economy, market conditions and expectations for the future and the evolving legislative and regulatory landscape in Washington, D.C. and the other exploring how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are transforming banking operations and customer engagement today. Attendees will also benefit from career-specific breakout sessions, offering peer-led discussions, expert insights, and practical strategies tailored to your unique role within the bank.

The Connect Conference will also feature a vendor showcase, where you’ll have the opportunity to connect with vendors that provide the most innovative solutions for today’s challenges and opportunities.

Date & Time

September 17, 2025

7:45AM Registration | 8:30AM Conference Start | 3:30PM Conference Concludes

Session Information

The Connect Conference features four professional development tracks. See the agenda for session descriptions.

Accounting/Finance Track Topics: Modern Treasury Management: Insights from CFGI & Empyrean | What’s Next in Accounting and Tax: Updates from the FASB and Capitol Hill | From Close to Forecast: AI’s Role in Modernizing Bank Accounting Functions

Compliance/Risk Management Track Topics: Reg. Change at Ground Level: What Bank Compliance Officers Need to Know Now | The Compliance Officer’s Role in Cyber Resilience | Risk Management Perspectives on Concentration and Credit Risk in a Shifting Economy

IT/Technology Track Topics: Closing the Gap: Aligning Microsoft 365 Oversight with FFIEC Expectations | Integrating and Leveraging with Fintech Firms to Broaden Customer Relationships | AI in Banking IT: Transforming Infrastructure, Operations, and Security

Trust & Wealth Management Track Topics: Fiduciary Litigation Update for 2025 | Economic and Market Update | Powers of Appointment: Flexibility, Control, and Risk in Modern Trust Planning

Full Agenda HERE

Who Should Attend?

Banking professionals in Accounting and Finance, Compliance, IT and Innovation, and Trust and Wealth Management; Mass Bankers Innovation Liaisons and participants in our Emerging Leaders program who are looking to stay ahead of industry trends and expand their professional network.

Registration Fees

Continental Breakfast Sponsorship

Early Standard Late

$2000.00

Member Registration

Early Standard Late

$385.00

Mobile App Sponsorship

Early Standard Late

$2500.00

Nonmember Registration

Early Standard Late

$770.00

Vendor Table Registration

Early Standard Late

$995.00

WIFI Sponsorship

Early Standard Late

$1500.00

Agenda


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7:45 am
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8:30 am
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8:35 am
	General Session: From Headwinds to High Ground: Charting a Path for Community Banks in an Uncertain Economy Sold Out! 0 Slots Left Robert Flock, SVP of Strategic Engagement, American Bankers Association As community banks continue to operate in a complex and fast-moving environment, this session brings clarity to the macroeconomic forces, legislative activity, and regulatory shifts that will define the months ahead. With rising uncertainty in both markets and consumer confidence, bank leaders must navigate interest rate volatility, a changing credit landscape, and the ever-present pressure from bank examinations in areas like fair lending, third-party risk, and consumer protection. Yet, within this uncertainty lies real opportunity. This session will also highlight how community and regional banks are uniquely positioned to respond with agility and innovation—leveraging new technologies like artificial intelligence, advancing fraud prevention, and exploring growth strategies grounded in deep community knowledge and trusted customer relationships.
9:35 am
	Coffee Break \| Networking with Exhibitors Sold Out! 0 Slots Left
10:15 am
	Breakout Sessions Sold Out! 0 Slots Left Tracks Accounting/Finance: Modern Treasury Management: Insights from CFGI & Empyrean Compliance/Risk Management: Reg. Change at Ground Level: What Bank Compliance Officers Need to Know Now Panel IT/Technology: Closing the Gap: Aligning Microsoft 365 Oversight with FFIEC Expectations, Ed Perkins, iuvo Technologies Trust & Wealth Management: Fiduciary Litigation Update for 2025, Mark Swirbalus and Marshall Senterfitt, Holland & Knight
11:15 am
	Breakout Sessions Sold Out! 0 Slots Left Tracks Accounting/Finance: What’s Next in Accounting and Tax: Updates from the FASB and Capitol Hill, Jim McGough and Kelley Chartier, Wolf & Company, P.C. Compliance/Risk Management: The Compliance Officer’s Role in Cyber Resilience, Jeff Miller, N-Able / Adlumin IT/Technology: Integrating and Leveraging with Fintech Firms to Broaden Customer Relationships, Moderator: Steve Dorval, Mass Bankers Association Trust & Wealth Management: Economic and Market Update, Alex Urbani, MainStreet Advisors
12:15 pm
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1:15 pm
	General Session: AI in Action: Navigating Risk, Compliance, and Innovation in Community Banking Sold Out! 0 Slots Left Alec Crawford, Founder and CEO, AI Risk Inc. This session will be led by Artificial Intelligence Risk, Inc., a leader in AI safety, security, and compliance. The presentation will delve into the practical applications of AI in community banking, highlighting how financial institutions can leverage AI technologies to enhance operations while managing associated risks. Topics will include AI governance, risk management, compliance strategies, and the integration of AI into existing banking systems. Alec Crawford will explore how AI deployment can benefit business lines such as accounting, compliance, and wealth management while discussing strategies for balancing innovation with regulatory frameworks throughout the institution.
2:30 pm
	Breakout Sessions Sold Out! 0 Slots Left Tracks Accounting/Finance: From Close to Forecast: AI’s Role in Modernizing Bank Accounting Functions, Jeff Bronaugh & Jay Spencer, Partners at CrossCountry Consulting Compliance/Risk Management: Risk Management Perspectives on Concentration and Credit Risk in a Shifting Economy, Steve Carpinella, President and CEO, Cobblestone IT/Technology: AI in Banking IT: Transforming Infrastructure, Operations, and Security, Brian Brunelle & Mike Kannan, GraVoc Trust & Wealth Management: Powers of Appointment: Flexibility, Control, and Risk in Modern Trust Planning
3:30 pm
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Speakers

Name	Organization	Speaking At
Alec Crawford <p>Founder and CEO, AI Risks Inc.</p>	Artificial Intelligence Risk, Inc.	-
Alex Urbani <p>Alex joined MainStreet Advisors in 2009 and is President of the firm. With nearly 30 years of experience, Alex has a deep understanding of investment management and the unique needs of MainStreet’s clients. Alex oversees all aspects of the firm, working closely with each member of the firm’s leadership team to ensure that the organization’s goals are on track for long-term success. He leads the firm and its team with a strategic focus on developing existing client relationships and identifying opportunities for new business. Alex received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut. Additionally, he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designation and is a member of both the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Chicago.</p>	MainStreet Advisors	-
Benjamin Craigie <p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(16,19,63);font-size:14px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-family:Roboto;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:center;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Senior Vice President Professional Development Group</span></span></p>	Mass Bankers Association	-
Brian Brunelle <p>Director of Risk Management & Audit, GraVoc</p>	GraVoc Associates, Inc.	-
Daniel Hartman <p>Dan Hartman is an of counsel in Nutter’s Corporate Department and a member of the firm’s Banking and Financial Services group, where he focuses on representing banks, bank holding companies, and other financial institutions in regulatory, transactional, supervisory, and enforcement matters. Dan relies on his experience as counsel at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where he advised on matters involving bank mergers and bank and holding company activities, formal and informal supervisory enforcement actions and appeals, discount window access and emergency lending programs, and Federal Reserve master account requests. While at the Fed, Dan also represented the Reserve Bank in multiple investigations and audits, including before Congress, various inspectors general including the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), in addition to internal investigations.</p>	Nutter, McClennen and Fish, LLP	-
Ed Perkins <p>With Ed’s over twenty years of IT experience, he has had an opportunity to work with many different technologies.  He has a proven ability to build and managed teams and deliver exceptional results. Developing business solutions, designing computer infrastructure and an emphasis on providing excellent customer service is what he is about.</p>	iuvo Technologies	-
James McGough <p>Jim is a Principal in Wolf’s Assurance Group, where he focuses on financial statement audits for public and non-public banks, financial institutions, and investment management companies, as well as trust operations and employee benefit plans. He also works extensively with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting issues and performs System and Organization Controls (SOC) examinations for a wide range of industries. Jim has over 20 years of experience in auditing. Also, as a former examiner for the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), he has extensive experience in the credit union industry.</p>	Wolf & Company, PC	-
Jay Spencer <p>Jay Spencer is CrossCountry’s Boston Office Managing Partner. Utilizing his deep industry knowledge and experience across a variety of complex accounting, transaction, internal control, and risk areas, Jay is responsible for client delivery, strategy, and practice and business development.</p><p>Jay has over 30 years of experience supporting public and private startups to Fortune 100 companies, across all commercial industries. His extensive involvement with SEC reporting requirements, internal control reporting, and mergers and acquisitions will provide greater support to CFOs, controllers, and their organizations by helping to anticipate and respond to accounting and transaction-related demands. Given current market conditions, his focus on technical accounting, engagement quality, and responsive execution will be invaluable to the Office of the CFO as client needs continue to grow and expand.</p><p>Most recently, Jay served as a Partner at Ernst & Young leading high-performing teams in the execution of financial statement audits and audits of internal controls over financial reporting. He also served as a member of Ernst & Young’s national professional practice group, which included coordinating and supporting teams through internal and external inspections. Jay also previously served as Controller at E Ink Corporation, a technology start-up, where he built the initial accounting team, implemented their first enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and led drafting of financial aspects of an S-1.</p><p>A certified CPA in Massachusetts, Jay has a BS in Business with a concentration in Accounting from Boston College. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the Museum of Science.</p>	Cross Country Financial	-
Jeff Miller <p>Jeff Miller is a unique blend of engineer, teacher, and evangelist of all things cybersecurity. His roots in cybersecurity stem from his engineering degree and tenure at the nation’s second-largest law firm, where he regularly defended against ransomware, the hacktivist group Anonymous, distributed denial of service attacks, and various other threats.</p> <p>Jeff spends much of his time educating organizations on how to adhere to both security regulations and best practices around cybersecurity.</p> <p>Jeff lives, breathes, and bleeds cybersecurity. It’s not just what he does; it’s who he is.</p>	Adlumin	-
Jeff Bronaugh <p>Jeff is a Partner in CrossCountry’s national Business Transformation practice where he works toward the convergence of the narratives between the office of the CFO and CIO to optimize business operations using technology and data. Based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, he has deep knowledge of the private equity and alternative assets industry, and partners with executives in order to create and deliver technology strategies.</p><p>Jeff is an accomplished executive with 23 years of experience demonstrating leadership skills to enable strategic transformation through firm-wide initiatives. Previously, he served over 11 years at The Carlyle Group, most recently as the CTO where he set the IT strategy for the firm to drive segment growth and optimize back-office functionality. Prior to that, Jeff spent over 10 years in Strategy and Operations at Deloitte where he focused on the development of long-term strategic relationships with Finance and IT executives.</p><p>Jeff holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting Information Systems and Computer Science from James Madison University and is also a Certified Public Accountant.</p>	Cross Country Financial	-
Mark Swirbalus <p>Mark Swirbalus is a partner at Holland & Knight LLP in the firm’s Boston and New York City offices.  Mark handles complex, high-stakes probate and fiduciary litigation matters in Massachusetts, New York, and other jurisdictions across the country.  Nationally, he is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, where he serves on its Fiduciary Litigation Committee, and he also serves on the Steering Committee of the Cambridge Forum on Private Wealth Litigation.  Locally, he sits on the Steering Committee of the Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum, and he is a former cochair of the Fiduciary Litigation Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Boston Bar Association.  He speaks and writes often on issues relating to probate and fiduciary litigation.  He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Boston College Law School.</p>	Holland & Knight LLP	-
Marshall Senterfitt <p>Marshall D. Senterfitt is a partner in the private wealth services group in Holland & Knight's Boston and New York offices. He works with clients involved in complex and high-stakes fiduciary and probate litigation in Massachusetts, New York, and other jurisdictions throughout the country. In addition to litigating and resolving disputes, Marshall frequently advises professional and private fiduciaries, individuals, and families on a wide range of trust and estate administration issues and in judicial and non-judicial trust modification matters. Marshall is a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a past president and current board member of the Greater Boston Fiduciary Law American Inn of Court, and a former co-chair of the Boston Bar Association Fiduciary Litigation Committee. He speaks and writes frequently on a broad range of probate and fiduciary litigation and administration topics. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Northeastern University School of Law.</p>	Holland & Knight LLP	-
Meghan Sutherland <p>Meghan has held leadership and advisory positions at multiple early-stage start-ups, notably helping StormForge secure Series A funding from Insight Partners in 2019 and serving as an advisor at the Harvard Business Analytics Program since 2022. With over thirteen years of banking and investment experience at institutions like JPMorgan, UBS, and Wells Fargo, she has a deep understanding of the financial industry. Beyond her professional commitments, Meghan is active within her community and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Women's Lunch Place in Boston. Meghan received her B.A. from Boston College and is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development.</p>	FiVerity, Inc	-
Mike Kannan <p>Director of IT Assurance and Security Research, GraVoc</p>	GraVoc Associates, Inc.	-
Robert Tammero <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Rob Tammero represents banks, bank holding companies, and other financial services participants in corporate, transactional, and regulatory matters. He advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and investments, bank/fintech partnerships, corporate governance, products and services, and attendant bank regulatory compliance. Rob is a partner in K&L Gates’ Boston office.</span></span></span></p>	K&L Gates	-
Robert Flock <p>Flock joined ABA in 2022 and has played a key role in ABA’s advocacy efforts on bank capital requirements, debit interchange fees, credit union issues, bank mergers and other critical areas. Before joining ABA, Flock served as director of advocacy for the Credit Union National Association (now America’s Credit Unions), where he lobbied members of Congress and administration officials on the industry’s behalf. Prior to that role, he was a policy advisor at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. He began his career at QGA Public Affairs.</p><p>Flock received a B.A. from Georgetown University and MBA from Columbia Business School. He is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, Exchequer Club of Washington, D.C., and Public Affairs Council.</p>	American Bankers Association	-
Steve Dow <p>Steve Dow is a financial services veteran turned fintech founder and CEO. Prior to Monit, he served as Head of Corporate Strategy at Webster Bank and later helped lead their Business Banking group. Under Steve’s leadership, Webster became the #1 SBA lender in New England two years in a row. At Webster, Steve observed first-hand the difficulty that banks have serving business customers and likewise the issues SMBs have interfacing with their bank. Monit aims to solve both problems by partnering with banks to deploy its award-winning software, which gives business owners the financial optimization tools they need to prosper and, in turn, provides banks an analytics and targeting platform to serve their business customers more effectively and profitably. Steve also ran Webster’s corporate investment fund and sat on the Board of Payrailz (now a Jack Henry company).</p><p>Mr. Dow has been a speaker at American Banker Small Business Banking Conference, ICBA Live, Janney Community Bank Summit, Startup Boston among other industry events.</p>	Monit	-
Steven Carpinella <p>Mr. Carpinella has over 30 years of experience in commercial lending, loan review and bank examination. He has held progressively responsible positions in work-out and loan review, eventually managing the credit review function of Citizens Bank’s Massachusetts operation.  During the course of his career, he spent three years as a bank regulator for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) where he assessed the credit quality of community and regional banks throughout New England.  His experience includes thirteen years working as a commercial loan officer for Citizens Bank and TD Bank and as SVP of Commercial Lending in the Non-Profit group of Peoples United Bank.  He holds degrees in Economics and Marketing from Boston College’s School of Management.</p>	Cobblestone Management, LLC	-
Steven Dorval <p>Sr. Innovation Advisor, Mass Bankers Association</p>	Mass Bankers Elevate	-