SEC Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Industry

The SEC hosted a roundtable discussion on artificial intelligence in the financial industry. The event was held at SEC headquarters in Washington, DC and was open to the public.

The roundtable focused on the risks, benefits, and governance of AI in the financial industry. SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda and SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Caroline Crenshaw delivered remarks.

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AI Roundtable Webcast

• Webcast Archive (Opening Remarks)
• Webcast Archive (Panel 1)
• Webcast Archive (Panel 2)
• Webcast Archive (Panel 3)
• Webcast Archive (Panel 4 and Closing Remarks)

Agenda

Roundtable Panelists

Brad Ahrens, Senior Vice President of Advanced Analytics, FINRA

Brad Ahrens is the Senior Vice President of Advanced Analytics at FINRA. He co-leads the organization's analytics strategy, overseeing implementations in machine learning, natural language processing, graph technology, generative AI, and data visualization to enhance investor protection and market integrity. As chair of FINRA's Generative AI Industry & Investor Working Group, Mr. Ahrens coordinates efforts to identify opportunities, risks, and challenges in adopting generative AI within FINRA and across the financial industry. Prior to FINRA, Mr. Ahrens spent over two decades at Charles Schwab, most recently as Vice President in Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management. His focus areas included surveillance, analytics, sales practice, AML, and regulatory programs. Throughout his career, Mr. Ahrens has specialized in building collaborative partnerships that bridge compliance, regulation, and technology. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Hilary Allen, Professor of Law, American University, Washington College of Law

Professor Hilary J. Allen is a Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law.  She is an internationally recognized expert on financial stability regulation and new financial technologies, and has been invited to share her research and expertise with regulatory authorities and central banks worldwide.  She has testified before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, and is the author of the book Driverless Finance: Fintech’s Impact on Financial Stability (2022, Oxford University Press).  Prior to entering the academy, Professor Allen spent seven years working in the financial services groups of prominent law firms in London, Sydney, and New York.  In 2010, she worked with the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which was appointed by Congress to study the causes of the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

Gregg Berman, Managing Director, Market Analytics and Regulatory Structure

Mr. Berman is managing director of the market analytics and regulatory structure unit of Citadel Securities in Chicago where he focuses on utilizing data and analytics to better inform on a host of advanced topics at the crossroads of market structure, rules, and regulations. Mr. Berman is an active participant on several advisory boards, including the Economics Advisory Committee of FINRA, the Advisory Board of the Financial Information Forum, and the Advisory Committee of the Consolidated Audit Trail. From 2009 to 2015, Mr. Berman served at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC, where he established and was associate director of the office of analytics and research in the division of trading and markets covering a wide array of topics, including: equity and options market structure, the consolidated audit trail, exchange-traded products, the Volcker Rule, and security-based swaps. Mr. Berman is a physicist by training and holds degrees from Princeton University (Ph.D. 1994, M.S. 1989), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S. 1987)

Tyler Derr, Chief Technology and Product Officer, Broadridge

Tyler Derr leads our enterprise technology and development organizations. He serves as the senior-most technology officer for Broadridge, which includes overseeing Broadridge’s global technology teams including: enterprise-wide software engineering, product delivery, architecture, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and technology operations. Tyler joined Broadridge in 2012 as the CTO for our Global Technology and Operations business, and also as its Chief Administrative Officer. Prior to joining Broadridge, he worked at OppenheimerFunds, was the CTO for the global tax business of H&R Block and in private equity.

Douglas Hamilton, Head of AI Engineering and Research, Nasdaq

Douglas Hamilton heads AI research and engineering at Nasdaq. He joined Nasdaq in 2017 as a data scientist and has developed solutions leveraging rapid adaptation, reinforcement learning, and efficient market principles as solutions to predictive control problems. Hamilton’s notable achievements at Nasdaq include establishing the first AI-powered strike listing system, bringing generative AI to board governance, publishing over a dozen patents, and launching the first AI-powered order type approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Previously, Hamilton was the lead data scientist for an advanced manufacturing analytics group at Boeing Commercial Airplanes and built customer relationship management systems at Fast Enterprises. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and sits on the advisory board of The Data Science Conference. Hamilton has a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from MIT and a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Conan French, Director of Digital Finance, Institute of International Finance

The Institute of International Finance (IIF) is the global association of the financial industry, with more than 400 members from 60 countries.  Conan joined the IIF ten years ago as a Senior Advisor to launch the Institute’s work on AI, blockchain, and quantum technologies in financial services. His work in the IIF’s Digital Finance Department helps global standard setters, regulators, and financial service executives better understand the implications of these transformative technologies and inform policy and regulatory considerations. In recent years, payments and financial market infrastructure have been a priority and included frequent work with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) CPMI, FSB, and other entities focused on the G20 Roadmap for Cross-Border payments.  As an IIF Lead in Project Agora, he is advancing an effort to test a unified platform for tokenized central bank and commercial bank money in seven countries. Conan works with the OECD and other forums to advocate for good data policy for banks, insurers, payments firms, and their third-party technology partners, which underpins AI and much of the rest of this technology landscape for international finance. Conan frequently hosts IIF events, speaks in conferences, and regularly participates in international forums. Prior to his role at the IIF, Conan focused on innovations in finance with both the private and public sector. As a payments fintech co-founder, he launched a mobile payment and stored value product platform. In the public sector, he worked on policy and public-private partnerships as a Presidential Appointee at the US Departments of State (USAID) and Treasury.  Conan earned his MBA from Georgetown University and his BA in History and Economics from Dickinson College.

Katherine Forrest, Partner and Digital Technology Group Chair, Paul Weiss

Katherine is widely considered among the nation’s foremost advisors on legal issues relating to technology, including artificial intelligence, big data, the digital environment, and high-speed trading and content distribution. A partner in the Litigation Department, chair of the Digital Technology Group and a member of the Antitrust Practice Group, Katherine previously served as a federal district judge for the Southern District of New York and as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. A veteran trial attorney with more than 30 years of experience, she has led complex, high-stakes litigation spanning antitrust, copyright, patent, and media law, and regulatory and litigation matters at the intersection of technology and the law, including in relation to artificial intelligence, Web3 and digital assets. She has led numerous sensitive, high-profile investigations involving the DOJ, FTC and other U.S. and foreign regulators. She has authored two books entitled When Machines Can be Judge, Jury and Executioner: Justice in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (on algorithmic bias) and Is Justice Real When “Reality” is Not: The Construction of Ethical Systems in Virtual Worlds. She is a regular technology columnist for the New York Law Journal, with a recent article “Cutting Through the Mess: What Does AI Really Mean for Lawyers?” and in 2020 earned a distinguished legal writing award from The Burton Awards for her article “The Holographic Judge.” Katherine has delivered numerous lectures to the National Judicial College and the New York State Judicial Institute, among others, on topics related to AI and the metaverse. Katherine is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABA), a member of the ABA Taskforce on Law and Artificial Intelligence, co-chair of the New Jersey Court Systems AI Initiative and a Governor of the New York Academy of Sciences. Katherine has been recognized as a leading lawyer by numerous industry publications including most recently among Chambers Global 2025 “Global Market Leaders” in artificial intelligence. Additionally, Katherine was named an individual Innovation Award winner in the New York Law Journal’s 2023 Legal Awards for her work in AI and shortlisted as an Innovative Practitioner finalist in the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers Awards North America 2023. She was also recently named to Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America” list and “Top 250 Women in Litigation” list. In 2023, she was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America as a leading lawyer in IP and Antitrust law, and in 2022 was named Best Lawyers’ New York City “Lawyer of the Year” for Antitrust law.

Sarah Hammer, Executive Director, Wharton School; Adjunct Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School; CEO of Wharton Cypher Accelerator

Professor Sarah Hammer is Executive Director at the Wharton School, Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and CEO of Wharton Cypher Accelerator. She teaches Responsible AI for Wharton Executive Education. She is the Academic Director of the Penn Law Program on AI, Industry, & the Law. She is featured in Penn Law’s massive open online courses on digital assets and AI. She is an affiliated scholar at the Penn Program on Regulation.

She was previously Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the US Treasury and Acting Secretary of Banking and Securities for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where she led the Department through the 2023 Banking Crisis. The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities regulates ~290,000 financial entities and ~$3.5 trillion+ in assets under management.

Hammer is Co-Chair of the International Expert Consortium on Artificial Intelligence. She has published in academic journals and is co-editor of a forthcoming Oxford University Press book on Generative AI. She is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, where she co-chairs the working group on AI in finance. She is also an advisor at the World Economic Forum, the Dubai International Finance Centre, and the MENA Fintech Network. From 2018 through 2023, Hammer served on the oversight board for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the specialized UN agency that sets global standards for broadband, internet, mobile, and satellite and leads AI for Good.

Hammer has held leadership positions across financial services at Vanguard, PIMCO, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Tudor. Hammer’s legal experience includes assignments at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Hammer holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an MBA from the Wharton School, and a Master of Studies from Oxford University. Awards and honors include being elected to the American Law Institute, selected as a Harry S. Truman Scholar, unanimously approved to the American Inn of Court, featured in 50 Women to Watch by the Corporate Counsel Business Journal, named to Pennsylvania City & State AAPI Power 100, TIME Best Crypto Course 2022, and Special Recognition from the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union.

Michael Kelly, Head of Strategic AI Governance and Enablement, JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Mike Kelly is the head of strategic AI governance & enablement of JPMorganChase, based in Chicago, IL. In his current role, his responsibilities include shaping the strategic direction and governance of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML). He leads efforts to drive the adoption of AI/ML regulation and enable capabilities across the firm, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and regulatory requirements. Mike was previously the Head of Digital, Data, and Product Controls for Global Banking, overseeing a broad range of risk and control areas. His responsibilities included managing relationships with regulatory bodies, auditors, business risk stakeholders, and compliance teams. Mike graduated from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied Economics and Computer Applications.

Alexander Leblang, Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection, Department of Treasury

Alexander Leblang is an analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he works in the Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection. He joined Treasury in 2021. Previously, he was a software engineer at Cloudera, developing distributed open-source data systems.

Alex holds an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University and an A.B. from Brown University, where he concentrated in Computer Science and Latin American Studies.

Kristen McCooey, Chief Information Security Officer, Edward Jones

Krissy McCooey is an accomplished cyber security professional with 17 years of experience across the financial, defense contracting, and private sectors. She currently serves as the Chief Information Security Officer of Edward Jones and continues to be involved in the broader security community through active participation in organizations such as the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and National Technology Security Coalition (NTSC). Prior to joining Edward Jones, Krissy was a Director at American Express responsible for preventing and detecting cyberattacks and performing offensive security exercises. As a VP at Synchrony Financial, she was instrumental in building and running core security operations programs as well as leading the information security governance, risk, and compliance program. She also worked for Booz Allen Hamilton as a Leader for the Computer Incident Response Team. Krissy earned an undergraduate degree in computer science with a minor in digital forensics and a master's degree in computer science with a focus in machine learning from the University of Rhode Island.

Jeff McMillan, Head of Firmwide Artificial Intelligence, Morgan Stanley

Jeff McMillan serves as Head of Firmwide Artificial Intelligence. In this role, McMillan works across the Firm to help install and ensure appropriate AI strategy and governance, partnering with the various business and infrastructure areas to identify and prioritize AI opportunities.

Previous to this role, McMillan served as Head of Analytics, Data, and Innovation for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, where he played a key role in driving the technological evolution of the business.

Jeff has held a variety of leadership roles at Morgan Stanley, as well as other financial services firms in the areas of Investment Products, Research, Operations, Digital Strategy and Technology.

Jeff is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point where he earned a BS in economics. Upon graduation, he served on active duty as an armor officer and scout platoon leader stationed in South Korea and Fort Knox, KY.

Scott Mullins, Managing Director, Worldwide Financial Services Industry, Amazon Web Services

As Managing Director of Financial Services, Scott Mullins leads the development and execution of AWS’ global initiatives across the Financial Services industry. Scott works closely with industry leaders, global regulators, policy makers, and strategic partners to transform the industry and evolve the technology that powers it. In Scott’s 10 years with AWS, he has collaborated with leading financial institutions and AWS leadership to run the industry’s most complex, critical systems and applications on AWS. In 2017, Scott founded the AWS FSI Advisory Council, a forum that brings together industry leaders from across the world to share how they are innovating with AWS and to identify opportunities for AWS to help the industry better serve financial consumers and businesses. Scott has worked in the Financial Services industry for 28 years. He began his career as an equity trader and has worked at leading organizations including Nasdaq, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, and Penson Worldwide. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Scott is a recognized thought leader who is quoted in industry media. He recently served on the advisory board of the FinTech Sandbox and on the US FDIC’s Subcommittee for Supervision Modernization.

Daniel Pateiro, Managing Director, Office of Chief Operating Officer, Strategic Initiatives/Artificial Intelligence, BlackRock

Daniel partners with leaders across BlackRock and BlackRock’s client community to develop and deliver BlackRock’s Artificial Intelligence strategy. Daniel previously led BlackRock’s Americas and EMEA Aladdin Client Transformations teams. He oversaw the successful implementation of BlackRock’s enterprise investment platform - Aladdin - at external clients. While based in London, Daniel worked with regional leaders to expand the EMEA Aladdin business and to deepen partnerships across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the Middle East. Daniel graduated, magna cum laude, from Tufts University.

Johnna Powell, Managing Director and Head of Technology, Research and Innovation, The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation

Dr. Johnna Powell is Managing Director, and Head of Technology, Research and Innovation at DTCC. Within this role she drives external and internal innovation through strategic thought leadership, enterprise-wide advocacy, collaborative sponsorship and execution. She has spearheaded the enterprise AI strategy and overall execution, alongside enabling and implementing DTCC’s first blockchain acquisition and integration. She currently serves on the Board of Fnality, Inc. and Hyperledger Foundation.

In addition to her work at DTCC, Johnna was the Global Co-Head of ConsenSys NFT and Head of US Professional Services, where she served multiple Fortune 100 clients on product design, development and launch. Her work included bringing to market a carbon credit trading platform with a global alliance of 4 banks, designing a securities issuance and lifecycle management platform with 10 of the largest global banks, and launching an NFT ticketing platform with Sports Illustrated. Under her leadership, the ConsenSys NFT team spearheaded several high-profile endeavors in NFT collections across industries, including art, entertainment and music, such as Damian Hurst: The Currency Project and The Merge: Regenesis.

Prior to that, Johnna was a Vice President and Head of User Engagement within GLG, and senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where she focused on corporate strategy and commercial engagements including marketing & sales optimization and go-to-market strategies.

Johnna obtained a PhD in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from MIT, where she conducted research in millimeter-wave imaging systems and Ultra-Wideband ("5G") antennas for military applications. While at MIT, she won the IEEE International Best Paper Award for her research, along with a patent for her designs. In addition, BMW used her designs and prototypes in their Ultra-Wideband systems testing.

Peter Slattery, MIT FutureTech

Dr. Peter Slattery is a researcher at MIT FutureTech, an interdisciplinary group of computer scientists, engineers, and economists at MIT who study the economics and implications of progress in computing and Artificial Intelligence. At MIT FutureTech he leads the MIT AI Risk Repository: A comprehensive living database of over 1000 AI risks categorized by their cause and risk domain, which has become a vital resource for policymakers, technologists, and organizations seeking to understand and address the risks from AI. He is now working on a larger project, called the AI Risk Index. This aims to encourage best practice AI risk management by analyzing how 200+ organizations worldwide, including model developers, enterprise, and government agencies, are responding to risks from AI, and how experts evaluate those risks and responses.

Ryan Swann, Chief Data Analytics Officer, The Vanguard Group, Inc.

Chief Data Analytics Officer, Vanguard Ryan Swann is Vanguard’s Chief Data Analytics Officer and principal. In this role, he oversees the strategic use of data and analytics across the firm. This includes, but not limited to, managing the entire data lifecycle and improving business outcomes by leveraging analytics, AI/ML, and Data Science. Additionally, Ryan is an innovator, entrepreneur, and investor focused on the data/AI/ML, cybersecurity, blockchain, and sustainability spaces.

Before joining Vanguard in April 2020, Mr. Swann led data and analytics organizations not only to drive business outcomes but also to reduce risk in the private and public sectors. In the private sector, he was a Chief Data Officer (CDO) at Collibra Inc. after serving as the CDO at E*TRADE Financial, where he developed and implemented an enterprise data strategy. Prior to these private sector roles, Mr. Swann was CDO/Director of Data Analytics at the Office of Government-wide Policy during the Obama Administration. While in this role he co-founded the White House Data Cabinet and co-authored the first Federal Data Maturity Model after serving as senior data leader at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the 2008 financial crisis for almost a decade.

Mr. Swann earned a B.A. in communication with a minor in mathematics and computer science from the University of Maryland at College Park, an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and an M.P.A. from Harvard University. During his undergraduate years, Ryan also served in the U.S. Marine Corps where, after a tour in Iraq, he received several medals and commendations for outstanding service.

Hardeep Walia, Managing Director, Head of AI & Personalization, Charles Schwab

Hardeep Walia is Managing Director and Head of AI & Personalization at Charles Schwab, where he leads the firm’s AI transformation efforts and oversees the development of AI-enabled products. He is also responsible for building personalized solutions for retail clients, such as Schwab Investing Themes and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Prior to this role, he served as Managing Director of Schwab Asset Management Product Innovation, focusing on developing thematic investing, direct indexing, and ESG strategies.

Hardeep joined Schwab through the acquisition of Motif, a fintech company he founded and led as CEO. Motif pioneered thematic investing by combining data science and AI to develop innovative financial products for individual investors, financial institutions, and investment advisors. Under his leadership, Motif was recognized as one of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies in Personal Finance” by Fast Company and consistently ranked on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 List.

Prior to founding Motif, Hardeep spent more than six years at Microsoft, where he was General Manager of the enterprise services business. He also served as Director of Corporate Development and Strategy, overseeing Microsoft’s investments and acquisitions. He began his career as a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group.

Hardeep holds a B.S. in Engineering and Economics from Yale University and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business.

Michael Wellman, Professor of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Michigan

Michael P. Wellman is Lynn A. Conway Collegiate Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Michigan. He received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988 for his work in qualitative probabilistic reasoning and decision-theoretic planning. From 1988 to 1992, Wellman conducted research in these areas at the USAF’s Wright Laboratory. For the past 30+ years, his research has focused on computational market mechanisms and game-theoretic reasoning methods, with applications in electronic commerce, finance, and cyber-security. As Chief Market Technologist for TradingDynamics, Inc., he designed configurable auction technology for dynamic business-to-business commerce. Wellman previously served as Chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Electronic Commerce (SIGecom), and as Executive Editor of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery.


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