Keynote Speakers | Bank Marketing Conference

September 15-17, 2025

Hyatt Regency

New Orleans, Louisiana

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2025 Keynote Speakers

Duncan Wardle, Former Head of Innovation and Creativity, Walt Disney Company, Multiple Ted X Presenter, Teacher of Innovation & Design Thinking

In his role at Disney, Duncan worked with global teams at Disney Parks, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, Imagineering and Animation. Today, he delivers keynotes and masterclasses that help people capture unlikely connections. Duncan teaches innovation and creativity masterclasses at Yale, UNC and the University of Florida. He holds the American Citizen Award presented by the White House, and the Duke of Edinburgh Award, presented by her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

Jared Orton, President, Savannah Bananas

After working with Fans First Entertainment in Gastonia, NC, Jared made his way to the Savannah Bananas — where he’s been the President since day one. The success and popularity of the Savannah Bananas has been covered by Good Morning America, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, MSNBC and more. Now, Jared regularly speaks to organizations and business leaders around the country to help them create their own Fans First Experiences.

Natalie Bartholomew, Community President, First Community Bank, Founder, The Girl Banker

Natalie Bartholomew is a 23+ year career banker who currently serves as community president of First Community Bank in Northwest Arkansas. Natalie has been recognized on several 40 under 40 lists and was named as a Power Woman in Banking by Arkansas Money and Politics in 2020 and 2022. Natalie is a faculty member and alumna of the Graduate School of Banking in Boulder, Colorado, and is a past member of the Emerging Leaders Council of the Arkansas Bankers Association. She launched The Girl Banker platform in 2017 to create a voice for working moms and women in banking.

Steve Lerch, Founder and president of Story Arc Consulting

Steve Lerch is an award-winning international public speaker, consultant and former Google executive. While at Google, Steve served as a digital strategy advisor to brands like GoPro, Roku, YMCA and branches of the Federal government. He was also heavily involved in the onboarding process for hundreds of new Google employees. Steve helps organizations better understand their customers, tell more compelling stories and use data strategically. Steve is obsessed with data, patterns and trends, but believes data isn’t useful when it’s boring.

Val Grubb, Executive Coach and People Development Leader

Val Grubb’s expertise is based on 20+ years in senior leadership roles at companies such as Rolls Royce Aircraft and NBC Universal as well as helping to found the Oxygen channel for Oprah Winfrey and InterActiveCorp for Barry Diller. Val’s book, Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality, helps leaders manage multiple generations in the office