Session 1 — Re-Platforming the Core: From Legacy Constraint to Innovation Engine

How leading banks are turning mainframe and core platforms into API-driven foundations for digital experience, AI enablement and continuous value delivery

09:00 – 12:00

Session chair: Mac Mahalingam, AWS Global Financial Services, Amazon

Presentations:

How innovation is reshaping financial services by Yorick Naeff, Head of Innovation, ABN AMRO Bank (20 minutes)

From creating better client experiences to unlocking new ways of delivering value in an increasingly digital world.

Platform-Led Core Transformation: Building the Bank for the Next Decade by Vladimira Tomasek, Head of Core Banking Systems, VUB Bank and Brad Goad, CRO Banking Services DXC GrowthX (20 minutes)

Modern core banking transformation leverages existing systems through functional decoupling, modular architecture, and platform thinking—supported by strategic vendor partnerships that enable continuous innovation and long‑term sustainability.

Mainframe@Rabobank: Our Modernization Journey by Henk van Dasler, VP, Manager Generic Infra Services, Retail NL, Rabobank (20 minutes)

Rabobank’s modernization journey putting the mainframe platform as the back end of the new core payment systems.

Reimagine Legacy: Deterministic Understanding for AI-Speed Delivery by Ohad Kotler, CEO and Co-Founder, Tweezr (20 minutes)

Changing the Engine While Flying: How to Modernize a Core Banking System Without Stopping the Business by Michał Niedźwiecki, IT Director, mBank (20 minutes)

Presentation title to be confirmed by OutSystems (20 min)

Panel discussion: Innovation in Banking Built on Legacy Foundations (40 mins)

• Innovating without replacing the core: pragmatism vs ambition
• How legacy platforms can still enable digital products and speed
• The role of AI in modernizing, operating, and extending legacy systems
• Lessons learned from large-scale legacy transformation programs

Panelists:

• Nathan Snyder, Head of Modernization, DXC
• Peter Heijblom, Head of Mainframe, ABN AMRO Bank
• Alexander Wiener, CEO and Co-Founder, Element

12:00 – 13:00  LUNCH BREAK

Session 2 — The Composable Bank: Delivering Core Transformation Without Breaking the Business

Decoupling account engines, introducing microservices, and navigating the strategic trade-offs between in-house builds and ecosystem partnerships

13:00 – 15:00

Session Chair: Alessandro Vozza, Solution Engineer Cloud & AI (Apps), Microsoft

Presentations:

The 94% core – banking problem: What derails modernization, and actionable insights from CIOs by Paolo Sironi, Global Research Leader in Banking, IBM (40 minutes)

Transforrming the beating heart of the bank : Modernising the Account Engine Application Layer by Sandhya Garapati, IT Chapter Lead & Product Lead, ING (20 minutes)

Why Most Core Banking Modernization Programs Fail — and How to Avoid It by John Mason, SVP Customer Engineering, Zafin (10 minutes)

To Fly Solo or Partner: That is the Question by Aaron Kouhoupt, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP (10 minutes)

Panel discussion: Edge Banking: Resilient Services Beyond the Core (40 minutes)

• Offline banking capabilities: payments, KYC, and customer identification
• Designing edge architectures for resilience and regulatory continuity
• Synchronizing edge services with central cores and data platforms
• Edge banking as an enabler for financial inclusion and new markets

Panelists

• Matias Tesolin, Co-Founder & CPTO, GoDutch
• Damir Vodenicarevic, CEO & Co-Founder, Clehance
• Bruno Sanglé-Ferrière, CEO, Carrousel Digital

15:00 – 16:00  COFFEE & NETWORKING BREAK