Education Summit: Optimizing Digital Experiences in Financial Services 2025

Recap

On June 4, 2025, FCS WEST chapter staged a full-morning Education Summit at Northwestern University’s downtown San Francisco campus, reaffirming the organization’s commitment to serving the West Coast financial marketing community. Themed “Optimizing Digital Experiences in Financial Services,” the event brought together senior marketers, fintech leaders, and academic experts for a rich discussion on personalization, AI, and marketing leadership.

New Research on Digital Best Practices
The morning kicked off with a presentation from Frank Dudley, President of the Financial Marketing Institute and a professor at Northwestern University. He shared highlights from FMI’s latest Digital Marketing of Financial Services research, including insights on what defines top-performing firms in 2025. His talk spotlighted best practices in digital experience strategy and how marketers are using data and modeling tools to elevate customer engagement.

Marketing Leadership in a Digital Era
A panel of senior marketing executives explored how large institutions are evolving their digital experience strategies to drive growth and engagement. Stacy Hammond (Charles Schwab), Ben Stuart (Rabobank), and Angelica Favela (Wells Fargo) discussed the organizational challenges and leadership mindset required to embed digital innovation across functions. The conversation covered everything from restructuring teams to aligning MarTech investments with long-term customer needs.

The Role of AI in Personalization
Vijay Viswanathan, PhD, professor at Northwestern University, led a thought-provoking session on AI’s growing influence in marketing. He offered practical examples of how AI is already reshaping the customer experience—through better targeting, dynamic content, and predictive decision-making—and outlined how marketers can adopt these tools without losing sight of human insight and intent.

Fintech Voices on Innovation and Impact
The final panel featured marketing leaders from fintech and asset management firms who are pushing boundaries with digital engagement. Di Sanborn (Coinbase), Bianca Rodrigues (Franklin Templeton), and Abby Domine (Flourish) shared how their teams are experimenting with new channels, smarter media strategies, and nimble campaign design. Their discussion emphasized agility, customer-centric thinking, and the importance of integrating digital experience planning with business goals.

Sponsors and Community Support
The Summit was made possible through the support of programming partners The Daily Upside and Women in ETFs, along with the dedication of the FCS WEST Steering Committee. The event closed with a lively networking session, giving attendees the opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and build relationships within the West Coast marketing community.

In gratitude to the speakers, FCS West donated $1,000 to DrawBridge, an organization that offers free expressive arts programs to children at shelters, affordable housing sites, and community centers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, providing them with the opportunity to tap into their creativity and build self-confidence through expressive art.

This event is sold out

As a sign of the FCS’ commitment to the San Francisco market, FCS West is proud to announce the staging of a full-morning Education Summit on Wednesday, June 4th, on the theme “Optimizing Digital Experiences in Financial Services.” The content of this event will be driven by the research and work of professors at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, in partnership with the Financial Marketing Institute (FMI), led by Frank Dudley.

Augmenting the research presentations will be two panel discussions featuring local senior marketing executives with a wealth of experience in the financial services and fintech space. We’re excited to welcome:

Stacy Hammond, Managing Director, Chief Marketing Officer, Charles Schwab
Ben Stuart, Head of North America Marketing & Communications, Rabobank
Angelica Favela, SVP & Head of Commercial Banking Marketing, Wells Fargo
Di Sanborn, Head of Institutional, Developer & Base Marketing, Coinbase
Abby Domine, Chief Marketing Officer, Flourish
Bianca Rodrigues, Director, Digital Client Experience, Franklin Templeton

As financial services firms strive to enhance customer satisfaction and drive loyalty, optimizing digital experiences has become a critical focus for marketers and digital leaders alike. This event will explore how firms are leveraging cutting-edge tools—including data analytics, AI, marketing technology, and emerging media platforms—to create seamless, personalized, and impactful digital journeys that meet evolving customer expectations and deliver measurable business results.

Our exclusive programming partners for this event are The Daily Upside and Women in ETFs.

Content Champion Sponsors receive a discounted package of 5 tickets plus branding before and at the event.

Special thanks to the FCS WEST Steering Committee:
Courtney Phillips, The Daily Upside; Joanna Harrison, Harrison Strategic Narratives; Bruce McCoy, The Guardian US; Katrina Noelle, KNow Research; Dorothy Friedrich; Catharine Frick, Catnip.

AGENDA

8:00am	Registration & Breakfast
8:30am	Financial Marketing Institute (FMI) research presentation >>> Best practices on Optimizing Digital Experiences in Financial Services >>> Top line results from FMI’s most recent Digital Marketing of Financial Services annual research initiative for 2025 >>> Examples of the top performing companies for 2025, based on the recent output from FMI’s digital experience models. — Frank Dudley, President, Financial Marketing Institute, Professor, Northwestern University
9:15am	Marketing Leadership panel Discussion of managing the development and implementation of digital experiences that drive business growth and facilitate a more dynamic approach to customer engagement. — Stacy Hammond, Managing Director, Chief Marketing Officer, Charles Schwab — Ben Stuart, Head of North America Marketing & Communications, Rabobank — Angelica Favela, SVP & Head of Commercial Banking Marketing, Wells Fargo
10:00am	Break
10:15am	Leveraging AI and Marketing Intelligence to Optimize Digital Experiences How AI is impacting the customer experience and best practices that financial marketers can adopt today to leverage AI in their marketing programs. — Vijay Viswanathan, PhD, Professor, Northwestern University
10:45am	Fintech Leadership panel Discussion of tools and channels used to manage and drive more efficient and effective digital experiences with customers and prospects. Newer and more innovative digital marketing tactics, technologies, and media strategies will be explored, along with priorities and focal areas for 2025. — Di Sanborn, Head of Institutional, Developer & Base Marketing, Coinbase — Bianca Rodrigues, Director, Digital Client Experience, Franklin Templeton — Abby Domine, Chief Marketing Officer, Flourish
11:30am- 12:00pm	Networking

Start June 4, 2025 08:00 AM PDT
End June 4, 2025 12:00 PM PDT
Location Northwestern University 44 Montgomery Street 18th Floor San Francisco

Speakers

Panelist Stacy Hammond

Managing Director, Chief Marketing Officer

Stacy Hammond is Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer at Charles Schwab. She has leadership responsibility for delivering high-impact programs across Investor Services, Advisor Services, and Workplace Financial Solutions that drive growth, engage clients, and build brand equity. Hammond has been with Schwab for 23 years, holding a variety of roles in retail and marketing. […]

Panelist Ben Stuart

Head of North America Marketing and Communications

Ben Stuart has spent his career at the intersection of brands and change. A strong advocate for creative courage, he’s led marketing programs for some of the largest and strongest brands on the planet: Pepsi, MasterCard, Charles Schwab, Procter & Gamble, American Express and BNP Paribas. Ben Stuart has more than 20 years of experience […]

Panelist Di Sanborn

Institutional, Developer & Base Marketing

Di Sanborn is the Head of Institutional, Developer & Base Marketing at Coinbase. She is a marketing professional with extensive experience in leading marketing strategies for global companies like BlackRock and Coinbase. Di has a background in journalism and has held various roles in marketing, institutional client segment, factor-based strategies, and global multi-asset strategies

Panelist Angelica Favela

SVP & Head of Commercial Banking Marketing

Angelica Favela is the Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial Banking Marketing at Wells Fargo, where she has built a 32-year career leading marketing teams to drive complex, multi-year strategies for both retail consumers and wholesale clients. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Angelica is actively involved in her community, volunteering with Breakthrough T1D […]

Panelist Bianca Rodrigues

Director, Digital Client Experience

Bianca Rodrigues is Director, Digital Client Experience, Personalization, at Franklin Templeton, which she joined in 2023.

Panelist Abby Domine

Chief Marketing Officer

Abby Domine is the Chief Marketing Officer at Flourish, which she joined in 2021.

Presenter Vijay Viswanathan, PhD

Professor & Associate Dean, IMC

Vijay Viswanathan is Lead Analyst, Financial Marketing Institute and Associate Dean of Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, which he joined in 2010.

Presenter/Moderator Frank Dudley

President

Frank Dudley is a professor at Northwestern University (ranked #1 for Marketing in the U.S.) where he teaches courses in Modern Marketing Management, Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, Media and Innovation and Influencer Marketing. Frank is also President of the Financial Marketing Institute (FMI), which currently conducts the most comprehensive research on digital marketing and media […]