Speakers | HR Connection Forum

August 25, 2026

Virtual Conference

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Kandace Beamon, Vice President, Community Banks, Executive Education and CEO Programs, American Bankers Association

Kandace Beamon is a highly accomplished financial services professional with over 25 years of expertise in community banking, strategic planning, public policy, and leadership development. As Vice President, Community Banks in the Executive Education and CEO Programs department at the American Bankers Association (ABA), she leads the Community Bankers Council (CBC) and the Conference for Community Bankers (CCB), ABA's premier platforms for community bank CEO engagement, advocacy, and peer-driven education. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Kandace actively mentors women and minorities, helping them achieve leadership success.

Paul Carney, Founder, Ishtot, Inc.

Paul Carney, founder of The AI Klatch™, writes, trains, and speaks to audiences about using AI in our organizations. He has a passion for helping people learn how to leverage the immense power of generative AI (AI) in our companies. He has a very unique combination of expertise in training, technology, business, and Human Resources that very few people in the business world have. It is this combination of talents that enables him to help you and your organization quickly and effectively learn and grow through the use of AI.

Jo-Anne Goldman, Executive Coach and Consultant, Goldman Chase Consulting

Jo-Anne Goldman Chase is a unique combination of seasoned leader and executive coach. She excels at helping individuals, teams and organizations transform to achieve the goals they aspire to – from realizing their full potential as leaders, to improving bottom line results. With more than 30 years experience, Jo-Anne blends her skills in strategic planning, coaching, branding and communications to help executives achieve impact and evolve their strategic direction.

Mika Moser, Founder and CEO, At C Level Consulting Group

Mika Moser is an experienced C-Suite executive with over 25 years of professional success in strategic planning, leadership development, brand marketing and board governance in the banking, technology and nonprofit industries. She is the founder and CEO of At C Level, a talent consulting group that helps companies build diverse, high-performing leadership teams by providing executive search, professional development and consulting services.

Rob Nichols, President and CEO, American Bankers Association

Rob Nichols is the president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, which represents banks of all sizes and charters and is the voice for the nation’s $23.7 trillion banking industry. Rob joined ABA in August 2015 following ten years at the helm of the Financial Services Forum, a non-partisan financial and economic policy organization. Before joining the Forum, Rob served in the George W. Bush administration as the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury Department, a position requiring confirmation by the United States Senate. In this role, he acted as chief spokesperson and head of the office of public liaison, serving as Treasury’s lead representative with the media, business, professional trade organizations, consumer groups and the public.

Arika Pierce Williams, JD, CEO and Founder, Piercing Strategies

Arika Pierce Williams is the creator of the award-winning H.U.M.A.N. First Method and founder of Piercing Strategies. With over 100,000 hours of experience developing leaders across Fortune 500 organizations—from Land O’Lakes to Fidelity to Assurant—she has built a methodology that transforms how organizations approach leadership development in the AI era. Under her leadership, Piercing Strategies has earned back-to-back Gold Brandon Hall Excellence Awards (2024 & 2025) for Best Leadership Development Program, and has helped organizations achieve measurable improvements in retention, engagement, and succession planning.