2026 AI Compliance Showcase: Democratizing AI: Moving Banking from Efficiency to Transformation

2026 AI Compliance Showcase:   Democratizing AI: Moving Banking from Efficiency to Transformation

From Efficiency to Transformation
Most banks use AI to do old tasks faster. The real opportunity? Using AI as a connectivity tool that links your intuition to better data — helping you walk into meetings more prepared, more insightful, and more competitive.

INSTRUCTORS:

Byron Earnheart Barret School of Banking

Rob Spessard Intersect Technology Group

CJ Kadakia  Intersect Technology Group

Barret School of Banking:
From Efficiency to Transformation

Most banks use AI to do old tasks faster. The real opportunity? Using AI as a connectivity tool that links your intuition to better data — helping you walk into meetings more prepared, more insightful, and more competitive.

Intersect Technology Group:
Democratizing AI for the Backbone of the American Economy

Most AI conversations start in the wrong place, with technology rather than outcomes. Rob Spessard and CJ Kadakia of Intersect Technology Group are on a mission to change that. Their focus is democratizing AI so that community and regional banks can access the same intelligence that was once reserved for the largest national institutions. The playing field is leveling. In this session, they will share a practical framework built specifically for community banking, covering how your peers are approaching AI, how to think about your data, where compliance fits, and how to take a first step that creates real value for your bank and the customers who depend on it.

INSTRUCTOR BIOS:
Byron Earnheart is the Programming Director for the Barret School of Banking in Memphis, TN and the host of the “Main Street Banking” podcast.  He has 9 Google certifications around AI and has been showing banks creative generative AI uses on his Back Porch Banking LinkedIn program for over a year.

Rob Spessard, CEO, Intersect Technology Group, an AI strategy and software firm focused exclusively on community banks and credit unions. A former banker turned technology executive, Rob brings firsthand knowledge of the pressures community institutions face and a practical, no-nonsense approach to helping them compete. He has spent his career at the intersection of financial services and enterprise technology, and co-founded Intersect with the conviction that the community banking model is worth fighting for.

CJ Kadakia is the architect behind BankIQ, Intersect's AI intelligence platform for community banking. With over 25 years of building enterprise software and leading advisory practices for global organizations, CJ brings the technical depth to design platforms that actually scale and the consulting experience to make sure they solve the right problems. At Intersect, the mission is personal: give community bank employees the tools to be genuinely great at their jobs, and give their customers the experience they deserve.