2024 SPEAKERS

CONNECT 24 hosted remarkable thinkers, leaders, and innovators from across the financial technology space and beyond.

2024 FEATURED SPEAKERS

Matt Flake

Chief Executive Officer,
Q2

A visionary leader known by Q2 team members and customers alike for his authentic, engaging, and quick-witted communication style, Matt is committed to Q2's mission to build stronger communities by strengthening their financial institutions. He values direct engagement with customers and prospects and leverages his inquisitive nature to uncover innovative ways to improve the Q2 organization.   

Matt has made significant contributions to Q2's growth, strategic direction, and mission-driven culture. He was instrumental in driving Q2's growth from a startup to a publicly traded company with a global workforce, more than a thousand financial institutions across the globe, and a market capitalization exceeding $4 billion.  

He is a veteran of the financial services industry with more than 25 years of professional experience, 19 of those years with Q2. In addition to his role as CEO, Matt also serves on the Q2 Board of Directors.  

A graduate of Baylor University, Matt is a recipient of the esteemed EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award and was also recognized as a National Finalist. He is currently the Chair of Dell Children's Hospital Board of Trustees and serves on the Board of Directors of payment solutions company AffiniPay.   

Kirk Coleman

President, Q2

As President, Kirk Coleman leads day-to-day operations, including marketing, sales, customer support, product, engineering, hosting, infrastructure, delivery, and support. He is responsible for executing on Q2's strategy to meet increasing customer demand for Q2's comprehensive digital banking and lending solutions.  

Prior to joining Q2, Kirk founded Centerline Advisors in July 2020 with the mission of helping mid-sized financial institutions and fintechs develop actionable strategies. Previously, he served as a senior executive with Texas Capital Bank for five years, responsible for Service, Operations, Technology, and Strategic Planning. Coleman also had a successful 20-year career at Accenture, where he served as Managing Director (Partner), devoting the majority of his time to developing and managing banking clients. In addition to his client responsibilities, he worked across multiple specialties, including Core Banking and Front Office transformation (Marketing, Sales, and Service), holding several leadership roles within the North America Banking practice and the Dallas office. 

Kirk earned a degree in Economics from Baylor University, where he served on the Advisory Board of the Hankamer School of Business and is an investor with the Baylor Angel Network. He also served on the Information Technology and Operations Management Advisory Board at Southern Methodist University and the advisory board for the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America. 

Katharine Briggs

Chief Product Officer,
Q2

As Q2’s chief product officer, Katharine Briggs leads the strategic direction and design of Q2’s products and solutions to enable banks and credit unions to better onboard, grow and serve their consumer, small business, and corporate account holders.

Briggs brings nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services, advisory, and technology industries to the CPO role. Most recently, she led Q2’s Customer Success organization, working closely with the Product teams to ensure Q2 solutions deliver measurable value and success to more than 1300 financial institution customers. During her career at Q2, she also served as General Manager of Q2 PrecisionLender, responsible for product, engineering, delivery, and go-to-market activities.

Prior to joining Q2, Briggs was Chief Operating Officer of a Blackstone-owned specialty finance company, responsible for launching new products. She also spent nine years as a Managing Director on BlackRock Solutions’ Financial Markets Advisory team, providing advice and portfolio management services to banks, regulatory agencies, and official institutions. Briggs began her career as a Certified Public Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers before transitioning to commercial banking at Wells Fargo.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance & Accounting from Washington & Lee University. 

ADAM BLUE

Chief Technology Officer,
Q2

His conviction that technology can and will change the lives of people, businesses, and financial institutions everywhere sets Adam apart from other chief technical officers. He pours himself into developing talented, curious, and creative self-starters willing to tackle technology in new ways. Adam works with our customers, partners and Q2 team members to drive the technology vision and strategy at Q2.

Adam brings years of technology and software management expertise to Q2, including his management role at CipherTrust, the leading provider of enterprise-class email security solutions, where he was the vice president responsible for product development, customer support, and professional services. Adam also made distinct contributions to Q UP Systems and Servana.com as Vice President of Internet Operations and was the Chief Network Engineer for Harte-Hanks Response Management.

Adam holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from Indiana University and has completed graduate work in computational economics at the University of Texas at Austin. 

Lou Senko

Chief Availability Officer,
Q2

An engineer by trade and coach by passion, building skillful development and IT teams has been a trademark of Lou Senko’s career. Lou brings more than 20 years of experience leading architectural design, development, implementation and integration of enterprise-wide solutions to meet global business, financial and market demands to Q2. His organization is responsible for the Availability, Performance and Quality of the solutions being delivered, and the Security and Compliance of the environments they are delivered from. This aligns Hosting, Support with Security & Compliance under a single organization.

Lou was recently recognized with the Central Texas CIO of the Year award for 2022.

Will Furrer

Executive Fellow, Emerging Markets,
Q2

Will is an accomplished technology executive dedicated to helping banks and credit unions escape digital mediocrity, transform their business, and excel in today’s ultra-competitive business environment. Will is the Chief Strategy Officer at Q2 – a leader in digital transformation solutions for banks and credit unions – where he spends his time interpreting the voice of every Q2 customer, immersing himself in the newest technologies, and determining the build, buy, or partner strategies for the organization. Through consistently empowering his team and his creative, collaborative approach to strategy, Will leads prolific initiatives that transform today’s banking conversations. Since arriving at Q2, he is most proud that the company has been ranked among Austin’s Best Places to Work twelve years in a row.

Beth-Anne Bygum

SVP, Chief Information Security Officer,
Q2

Cybersecurity issues and the potential to disrupt resilient operations and brand trust is top priority for publicly traded companies and corporate boards. Risks, particularly cyber risks are accelerating and if not prepared, can undermine regulatory compliance, strategic growth and worse, weaken consumer loyalty. Navigating this environment, proactively responding to changes in regulatory expectations and managing fluctuating residual concerns requires knowledge and an understanding of proactive planning.

At Q2, Beth-Anne is responsible for the company’s global information protection, product & application security (SSDLC), enterprise IT security, cyber defense, and data protection strategy and services. Our security program is designed to scale with changes across the digital and development landscape while enabling the organization to achieve growth and revenue targets. Beth-Anne is a member of Q2’s senior leadership team reporting to the president.

With more than 30 years of experience directing disparate teams across application and product security, cyber security, risk management, information governance, IT compliance, IT training and sales, Beth-Anne has a proven expertise in connecting teams, people and leaders across the organization in solving operational challenges that require large scale transformation.

Beth-Anne holds a Master of Science degree in management and leadership (MSLM) from the University of La Verne and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Rutgers University. She has worked with leading companies in data science, technology, consumer packaged goods, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and consulting sectors. Beth-Anne holds a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) designation and is a member of NTSC, National Technology Security Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that serves as the preeminent advocacy voice for CISOs working with public and private sector stakeholders. Her work there is to help advance policies that improve national cybersecurity standards and awareness.

Beth-Anne is a board advisor to non-profit, the Forge Institute, she and her husband volunteer their time to assist resources in underserved communities as well as transitioning military members into the civilian workforce. 

Dallas Wells

SVP, Product,
Q2

Ahon Sarkar

SVP, General Manager Helix,
Q2

Anthony Ianniciello

VP, Product Management,
Q2

In his 15+ years of experience in the design and technology industry, Anthony has developed a passion for innovation and user-centered problem-solving, while leading successful projects related to design, production, and product management. As a VP of Product Management with the Digital Banking team at Q2, he is currently responsible for driving strategies that enable customers to effectively engage users on the platform.

Throughout his career, Anthony has demonstrated a track record of listening and delivering products that help enterprise customers grow their relationships. He has a deep understanding of the importance of user experience, and he is focused on delivering solutions that are user-friendly and effective.

Anthony holds a degree in Design from Colorado State. 

Jonathan Price

EVP, Emerging Businesses, Corporate & Business Development,
Q2

With a strong passion for the technology and financial services markets, Jonathan is responsible for Q2's Strategy and Emerging Businesses organization. The Strategy function, which also includes Corporate & Business Development activities, helps shape and coordinate Q2's strategic initiatives with a view to creating long-term value for all stakeholders while delivering Q2's mission. Jonathan also oversees our Emerging Businesses efforts, with a focus on accelerating innovation and growth across Q2. These include Helix, Q2 Innovation Studio, and our Alt-FI lending offerings.

Jonathan is a fourteen-year investment banking veteran who specializes in uncovering investment opportunities in the financial software space. He previously served in the Technology & Business Services Investment Banking group at BMO Capital Markets, where he advised Vertical Software and Financial Technology companies on strategic opportunities and funding alternatives. Before BMO, he spent time between Goldman Sachs and Citi.

Jonathan holds an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

 2024 GUEST SPEAKERS

Bradley Wilkes
CEO & Co-Founder,
Open Payment Network (OPN)
Bryan Long
Enterprise Technologist,
Amazon Web Services
Casey Reynders
SVP, Director of Consumer Product Strategies, Global Payments & Deposits,
Umpqua
Christine Barry
Leader of Strategic Initiatives and Commercial Banking,
Datos Insights
Dan Gonzalez
VP, Customer Relations,
Federal Reserve Financial Services
DJ Seeterlin
Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer,
Chesapeake Bank
Jennifer Dupre
VP, Business Solutions Manager,
Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Co.
John Byl
SVP Product Development Manager,
Mercantile Bank
Keith Gray
VP, Strategic Partnerships,
The Clearing House
Kelly Davis
SVP, Director of Bank Operations,
CoreFirst Bank & Trust
Krista Snelling
President and CEO,
Santa Cruz County Bank
Kristin Pruitt
President,
Lake City Bank
Malcolm Harkins
Chief Security and Trust Officer, HiddenLayer, former Trust Officer, Intel
Megan Baker
IT & Security Lead,
Georgian
Michael Staw
Chief Innovator Officer,
Old Glory Bank
Peter Davey
Venture Partner,
Alloy Labs
Ron Shevlin
Chief Research Officer,
Cornerstone Advisors
Shon Cass
Executive Vice President,
Texas Security
Stacy Thomas
VP Digital Strategy and Optimization,
Founders Federal Credit Union
Susan Mlot
EVP Head of Operations,
Citizens Business Bank
Todd Senger
SVP Corporate Banking,
Dacotah Bank
 

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