New Thinking for Navigating Uncertainty: Speakers & Insights for Financial Leaders

Trending Speakers & Insights for Financial Leaders

Financial services organizations are navigating a uniquely complex moment — regulatory pressure, shifting member expectations, and competitive disruption from outside traditional boundaries. The right speaker can help leadership teams make sense of that environment and identify where the real opportunity sits.

Here are three perspectives worth bringing to your next financial services or insurance event. Keep these in mind for upcoming planning, or pass them along to a colleague on your team!

In this post:

  • Lital Marom – AI strategy and competitive advantage in financial services

  • David Allison – Member values research for credit unions and financial institutions

  • Ian Bremmer – Geopolitical-economic outlook and growth strategy for financial leaders

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1. Lital Marom – How Leading Organizations Are Using AI to Reimagine Competitive Advantage

Lital Marom has advised global financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies on AI strategy, giving her a clear-eyed view of why most disruption frameworks are falling short and what organizations need to do differently to stay ahead.

The organizations seeing the most meaningful results from AI aren’t simply adopting it. They’re using it to rethink how they create value in the first place. Lital’s keynote introduces a proprietary framework developed through real-world application across finance, healthcare, and education – giving leadership teams a structured way to identify where AI creates genuine strategic value, and how to turn disruption into a growth opportunity rather than a threat to manage.

Sample rave review in 2026: “I have heard nonstop how incredible your keynote was! By far the best session at the conference.”
Topic: Future of Business for Credit Unions and Financial Services

Best For: Leadership teams asking how to move beyond AI pilots and create tangible business value – and a defensible competitive position

2. David Allison – Understanding What Financial Services Members Actually Want

David Allison approaches the member loyalty challenge through values research. As founder of the Valuegraphics Project, he has surveyed over one million people across 180 countries – including a dedicated study of Canadian credit union members.

His research maps what actually drives member behavior: not demographics or product preferences, but the underlying values that shape decisions. For financial services audiences, his keynote offers a data-grounded framework for understanding what members care about right now, and how institutions can consistently earn their trust and loyalty in a more competitive environment. It’s a useful session for organizations thinking through member experience, service design, or how to differentiate in a consolidating market.

Sample rave review in 2026: “… we loved having you, it was such an interesting talk. I’m impressed with how many attendee responses you got! Thank you again for all your hard work in putting the talk together, it was a pleasure working with you.”
Topic: The Values Economy (Adapted for a Canadian credit union and financial leadership audience)

Best For: Credit unions and financial institutions focused on member retention, service design, and differentiation in a competitive market

3. Ian Bremmer – Pricing the Unpredictable


Watch: Global Instability & Risk with Ian Bremmer on The Diary of a CEO

Founder of Eurasia Group and creator of Wall Street’s first global political risk index (GPRI), Ian Bremmer brings his expert perspective to the business of volatility. He demonstrates how shifting alliances and a fragmenting global order pose threats to enterprise risk, portfolio resilience, and long-term positioning.

Drawing from his bestseller The Power of Crisis, Ian gives leadership teams a structured way to close the gap between traditional market risk and un-modeled geopolitical risk. Using his “Fat Tail” methodology, he equips leaders to accurately price their exposure to the AI revolution and climate transition – translating global disruption into strategic foresight.

Best For: C-suite and board-level strategy looking for economic framing and anchor their long-term position

Bring Expert Insight to Your Next Financial Services Event

NSB represents some of the top financial services and insurance keynote speakers in Canada and globally – and we’ve been doing it for more than 50 years! These speakers are available through National Speakers Bureau, Canada’s original speakers bureau. We’re here to help match Canadian organizations with the right voices for their moments.

Whether you’re building a full conference program or looking for one keynote that lands, NSB’s team can help you find the fit.

Contact NSB today to get personalized recommendations for your next financial services or insurance audience event.