Business Transformation | 03.11.26

Gather, Guide, Grow: A Week of Advancement at the BISA 2026 Annual Conference

by: BISA Staff

During the March 1-4 BISA 2026 Annual Conference, the BISA Portfolio team was onsite, taking in keynotes, workshops and sessions across leadership, technology and the future of wealth management. We also recorded live podcast interviews throughout the week with speakers and attendees. Those conversations will be coming out in upcoming episodes, so make sure you subscribe on your favorite app!

Here is a look at how the week went.

Sunday, March 1 — Gathering Together

The event launched Sunday evening with a Welcome Reception for first-time attendees at The Veranda at the Tampa Marriott, followed right after by the Early Bird Networking Reception sponsored by BISA Platinum Leadership members. Both gave financial institution leaders a chance to find their footing before the full schedule kicked in Monday morning.

Later that night, the Black Voices Unmuted Nightcap brought attendees to the Beacon Tampa Rooftop Bar, sponsored by Prosperity Life Group, LPL Financial and Swan Financial Group. It was a place for sincere conversation about representation and community, and a good way to open the week.

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Monday, March 2 — Connections and Insights That Guide Us

Ask the Experts & Women's Networking Lunch

Monday started before the main stage opened. The Ask the Experts session gave attendees small-group time with an industry expert panel covering where financial services stands today and where it is heading — the kind of direct access that is hard to replicate in a ballroom setting. From there, the Women's Networking Lunch, sponsored by Symetra, took a creative approach to connection: guests were seated by birthstone, handed a card game designed to get them moving between tables, and given more unstructured time than in previous years to just talk. The format reflected what attendees have asked for — more room to build relationships with women across the industry.

 

Opening Keynote: Leading Through Transformation

The conference officially opened Monday afternoon with “Leading Through Transformation: Shaping the Next Era of Wealth Management.” The session featured Dean Athanasia from Bank of America in conversation with outgoing BISA Board President John Olerio of Lighthouse Credit Union, covering the forces reshaping financial services from shifting client expectations to technology to market dynamics.

Olerio opened with a dedication to his late sister, who had recently died of pancreatic cancer. He talked about what wealth management actually means at the human level — helping people build families, plan futures, and get through the hard parts. It grounded the rest of the session in something beyond the macro picture.

Celebrating BISA’s 2026 Awardees

Following the keynote, BISA recognized this year's awardees. Honorees of the Circle of Excellence Award, BISA’s most prestigious award, were Tim Sease, EVP and managing director of investment services at SouthState Bank, Vance Richard, managing director of b1BANK Wealth Solutions, and Laurie Bricker, account executive VP at Nationwide.

Laurie Bricker with John Olerio and Jane-ellen Porter.

Seven organizations received Technology Innovation Awards for their work in digital transformation, and industry Rising Stars took the stage in celebration of their commitment to industry inclusion and belonging.

The Class of 2026 Impact & Vision Rising Stars.

Session: Small Room, Big Deal — The Art of Winning in the Boardroom

After the morning's programming, attendees headed to a slate of informative sessions. Bill Sweeney, head of creative storytelling, and Jeannie Underwood-Kotner, senior VP, both from Global Atlantic Consulting, led a practical session on winning in high-stakes boardroom settings. The setup: financial professionals manage $144 trillion globally, $300 to $500 million moves across boardroom tables, and yet almost no one gets trained on how to actually perform in that environment. Sweeney's framework covered three phases — pre-board strategy, boardroom execution and onboard follow-up — with the core argument being that boardroom wins come down to orchestration, not just the quality of what you bring. Group decision-making rarely goes to the best pitch; it goes to the team people trust most.

A few key takeaways: every meeting needs a designated team captain — not the most senior person in the room but the one closest to the relationship. Without that, teams talk over each other and send mixed signals. With one, they move as a unit. Seating arrangements matter more than most people assume — the session walked through six configurations and made the case that sitting down randomly before a client meeting puts you at a disadvantage before anyone has said a word. On the tactical side: keep agendas to three items max, introductions to 20 to 40 seconds and close every meeting with a statement that’s unique, measurable and defendable, e.g. “We are the only organization providing this resource.”

Session: The Current State of AI in Wealth Management

Brian Busch from Fidelity Investments walked through findings from Fidelity's 2025 AI Pulse Survey. As of the survey, 68% of respondents were actively piloting or adopting generative AI, with the top uses still centered on writing assistance, note-taking and meeting summaries. The benefits picture remains uneven — over 80% reported efficiency gains, while improvements in customer experience, growth and prospecting came in much lower. Compliance and regulatory concerns remain the top barrier at 63%. Busch closed with a reminder that the firms getting the most out of AI are the ones who have invested in clean, well-organized data and thought through governance before scaling up.

Exhibit Hall Engagement

The night ended in the Exhibit Hall, where attendees played putt-putt for prizes at select booths, visited the puppy petting lounge sponsored by Cetera and enjoyed plenty of other activities — including one puppy who found a permanent home with a generous attendee.

Tuesday, March 3 — Growing Together

Keynote: The Perfect Plan — How Elite Leaders Achieve the Unfair Advantage

Dr. Don Barden opened Tuesday with a high-energy session on what separates top financial performers from everyone else — a repeatable system he calls The Perfect Plan, built on 25 years of research in behavioral economics. A few observations landed with the room: 70% of tax advisors and bankers will not exist in their current form within three years, women will lead the industry by 2028 and the race to the bottom on pricing is a losing strategy. Luck favors the prepared.

Workshop: Impact and Vision

The late morning saw attendees head to workshops and peer groups, including one led by the Impact and Vision Committee exploring how workplace norms, expectations and experiences shape our cultures. Vanessa Wilson of BMO Wealth Management set the tone early: if clients do not see people who look like them, they will not work with us.

The discussion that followed covered a lot of ground across discussion topics including generational expectations and workplace change, appearance and authenticity, encouraging courageous questions and dialogue, attracting and serving diverse clientele, and challenging ourselves to think differently. On recruiting, the group pushed back on the industry habit of chasing established advisors in their 50s and 60s without thinking about pipeline — and raised the importance of building a diverse candidate pool before the first interview to reduce anchor bias. On serving clients, the conversation touched on the growing need for Spanish-speaking advisors, materials in multiple languages and meeting clients where they are rather than making assumptions about how they want to engage.

The session also got into the harder stuff: code switching, authenticity in professional settings, and how to have courageous conversations without making them confrontational. One point that resonated: the cost of not asking the uncomfortable question is often higher than the discomfort of asking it. Clients who care about a company’s values notice when institutions stop talking about them.

4th Annual Bracket Challenge: Finding Real Impact in the Age of AI Overload

The Bracket Challenge is one of those BISA traditions that is hard to explain and easy to enjoy. This year's participants faced off in head-to-head matchups on AI-related questions, with the audience voting and handing out superlatives: Coming in Hot, Swift Quip and Conference Clown.

Round one asked: with AI making it hard to know what is real, what human relationship skill is your best asset — and how would you use AI to support it without sacrificing what makes it real? One competitor went the literary route with a Les Mis-inspired take on AI stepping in for human engagement. Another showed up as a chef, pitching AI as sous chef. And another got philosophical about what it means to be fully present with someone. One competitor argued the other direction entirely — that AI will replace empathy too, that it already reads micro-expressions better than trained therapists, and that if caring is a competition, the smart money is not on humans.

Then came Rhonda Kulhanek. She walked out first as the Wicked Witch of the West and then as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and landed the session's best moments. The Tin Man, played by a fellow contestant, did not have a heart but still cared. The Wizard, cameo'd by BISA Past President Mike Miroballi, was impressive with the lights and sound — but much less so behind the curtain. AI could have helped Dorothy navigate the yellow brick road, she said, but it could not have told her who to trust or understood why the Cowardly Lion's voice quivers. Rhonda moved through every round with that thread and closed it the same way: in a world full of wizards behind curtains, there is no place like human connection. She took home the winner's belt.

Session: The Client of Tomorrow

Keith Burger facilitated a rich conversation with panelists Joe Maringer, Katherine Dease and Andrew Barnett on how client expectations are already outpacing what most firms can deliver. The client of tomorrow, as Katherine Dease framed it, is actually the client of today — expectations for transparency, immediacy and personalization are already here and compounding. Joe Maringer focused on the $70 trillion wealth transfer and made the case that advisors who treat planning as a family exercise, building relationships across generations before a transfer happens, are the ones who keep the assets. Andrew Barnett added the belonging factor: the next generation of clients expects their entire financial picture to reflect their values and community, and the industry is not keeping up. Stay tuned for a full recap of this session on Portfolio.

Headliner: Victory Through Teamwork and Leadership With Mike Krzyzewski

Before Coach K took the stage, John Olerio passed the BISA presidency baton to Jane-ellen Porter, who becomes the organization's first woman president. Porter reflected on a journey that started at BISA 20 years ago and expressed her honor in leading the organization into its next chapter.

Coach K closed out Tuesday's programming in a keynote sponsored by Athene. His message centered on three things — agility, adaptability and accountability — and the difference between expecting to win and preparing to win. The will to prepare, he said, is what actually separates teams. Mac Campbell of Athene joined for a Q&A to close it out.

Wednesday, March 4 — Farewell Keynote: The LeadFULL Way with Sara Ross

Sara Ross closed the conference with a session based on a three-year Workplace Vitality study involving over 10,000 high-performing leaders and her book Dear Work, Something Has to Change. Her core argument: most leadership development focuses on helping people lead better — better strategies, better decisions, better communication. But leading better and leading full are not the same thing. The LeadFULL Way is her framework for building the internal capacity to sustain high performance over time. The line that stuck with most people in the room: caring for people is not the same as carrying people.

See You in Scottsdale

The 2027 BISA Annual Conference is coming to Scottsdale, Arizona, March 7-10, 2027, at the Westin Kierland! If this week was any indication of what the community brings when it gets in a room together, it is worth marking your calendar now.