2025 NEXT Forum: Your Front-Row Seat to What’s Next in Banking
The NEXT Forum returns October 8–9 with a sharpened purpose: to equip community bank leaders with actionable ideas for navigating one of the most demanding — and opportunity-rich — moments in banking. Hosted at the Union League of Philadelphia, this year’s edition brings together top minds in finance, tech, leadership, and strategy for two tightly focused days of learning and connection.
Cohosted by Travillian and Alden Investment Group, the 2025 event is curated for the 2025 event is curated for the C-suite, directors, business-line heads, and investors who are expected to lead with urgency and clarity amid rapid change. And that’s exactly what the Forum delivers.
As Stanley F. Orszula, a former presenter and current partner at Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP, put it:
“The NEXT Forum is a curated event for collaboration among banks and their partners, with invaluable insights in an accessible setting.”
A Rich, Sharp Agenda for 2025
For a look back at last year’s highlights, see our 2024 NEXT Forum recap.
Building on the success of its Atlantic City debut, NEXT Forum 2025 is doubling down on relevance. Sessions this year go beyond the trendspotting that characterizes many banking-related events. Instead, the Forum provides real-world strategies from banks that are winning in their markets.
Expect frank peer-to-peer conversations, including one between Ira Robbins (Chairman and CEO of Valley Bank) and Brent Beardall (President and CEO of WaFd Bank) on culture, growth, and risk in the post-consolidation era. Other sessions dive into the rise of embedded finance, evolving capital markets, and the nuts and bolts of building top-flight executive teams.
The tone throughout will be both energizing and practical — hallmarks that last year’s attendees deeply appreciated. As Bob Diegel, COO of Thread Bank, recalled:
“NEXT Forum brought together the right people, the right topics, and the right conversations… The energy was high, the crowd was sharp, and the networking was ‘Next’-level.”
A Style That Suits the Times
Unlike traditional banking conferences, NEXT Forum strikes a different chord — intimate yet high-powered, serious yet fresh. Session titles like “Channeling Your Inner ‘Rocky’” and “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of a Tech-Forward Bank Strategy” reflect the Forum’s distinctive voice and confidence in its audience. Speakers aren’t just theorists — they’re operators.
The event’s Mid-Atlantic setting isn’t incidental. Philadelphia offers both a symbolic and strategic backdrop: a historically resilient city known for reinvention — much like the community and regional banks it now hosts. It’s also easily accessible to professionals up and down the Eastern Seaboard, especially those in New York or Washington, D.C., long-term industry centers of oversight and influence.
A Moment That Won’t Wait
The 2025 banking landscape is unforgiving of inertia. Institutions that hesitate on talent decisions, digital investment, or strategic growth may find themselves quickly behind the curve. The NEXT Forum meets that moment with actionable insights across initiatives — from balance-sheet structuring and transformational hiring to fintech partnerships and M&A.
Trey Maust, Executive Chairman of Lewis and Clarke Bank said “[The NEXT Forum contained] a wide variety of timely topics. It really highlighted that Travillian has their finger on the pulse of industry trends and what’s going on in the minds of bank leaders.”
Seats are limited by design. The Union League venue ensures intimacy; the invitation-only model ensures quality. And the October timing ensures you’re planning next year’s strategy with the right tools in hand.
Request your NEXT Forum invitation via the official site. This is more than just a conference. It’s where bold ideas meet bankable action.
