A Banker's Journey with AI: From Skepticism to 'I Have a New Friend'
Most bankers hear "AI in banking" and think chatbots, hype, or another vendor pitch. Karen Grindrod thought the same thing. Then she started working with an AI agent in real banking operations, and everything changed.
Join Akash Desai (Payman AI) and Karen Grindrod (Middlesex Federal Savings) for a candid 45-minute conversation about what actually happens when a community bank puts agentic AI to work. Just a real banker sharing her real experience.
What You'll Learn
- What it actually looks like when a community bank starts working with an AI agent in day-to-day operations
- The concerns Karen had going in and the specific moments that changed her mind
- How trust gets built between a banker and an AI agent - the controls, the guardrails, and the surprises
- What Karen would tell other bankers who are still evaluating whether agentic AI is ready
- Live Q&A with both speakers for the final 15 minutes
Who Should Attend
- Community and regional bankers exploring AI but wanting a real story before making a decision
- Operations and innovation leaders evaluating what AI can do beyond answering customer questions
- Digital banking executives looking for honest insight into agentic AI adoption
- Compliance and risk professionals who want to understand trust and oversight in an AI-driven model
About the Speakers
Akash Desai - Payman AI
Chief Product Officer at Payman AI. Akash leads the product team building the infrastructure that enables banks to deploy AI agents capable of executing real financial transactions with compliance controls, audit trails, and enterprise-grade safety.
Karen Grindrod - Middlesex Federal Savings
Vice President of Platform Innovation at Middlesex Federal Savings. Karen has been hands-on with agentic AI inside MFS, going from initial skepticism to becoming one of the strongest internal advocates for what AI can do in a community bank.
