Top Financial Services and Fintech Executives Join Speaker Lineup at the Fintech Sandbox Innovation Forum During Boston Fintech Week 2026

Industry leaders will address a variety of subjects, including the responsible adoption of AI in financial services and how best to scale it

BOSTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / August 13, 2026 / Fintech Sandbox, the nonprofit providing early‑stage fintech startups with free access to critical datasets, today announced its initial speaker lineup of executives headlining the Fintech Sandbox Innovation Forum, the annual event anchoring Boston Fintech Week 2026. Newly revealed speakers include:

• Ashley Nagle Eknaian, Chief Digital Officer at Eastern Bank

• David Jegen, Co-Founder of Fintech Sandbox and Managing Partner at F-Prime Capital

• Hans Morris, Managing Partner at Nyca Partners

• Jelena McWilliams, President of Corporate and External Affairs at Plaid

• Mohit Kansal, Chief Payments Officer at Flywire

• Peter Hazlehurst, Co-Founder and CEO at Synctera

• Sears Merritt, Chief Information Officer/Head of Enterprise Technology & Experience at MassMutual

“The shift toward an AI-first financial services industry won’t just happen in one pocket of the community,” said Lucas Timberlake, Executive Director of Fintech Sandbox. “These industry leaders representing traditional financial institutions and fintechs are some of the top minds determining the role of AI in financial services and preparing for the challenges that come with it.”

The theme for Boston Fintech Week and the Fintech Sandbox Innovation Forum is “Fintech That Thinks.” Each session will tackle the biggest question now facing organizations: not whether to adopt AI, but where and how to deploy it responsibly and effectively at scale. Specific conversations will explore the technologies, data, governance expectations and practical applications defining what “intelligent finance” means for the next phase of financial technology.

“The financial services community is at a critical and exciting moment in our AI journey,” said Sarah Biller, Co-Founder of Fintech Sandbox. “At Boston Fintech Week, we’re bringing together the founders, financial institutions, investors and technologists actually building the new rails, programming money, and deploying AI to separate the hype from what is real. Throughout the week, we’ll explore what happens when software doesn’t just recommend, but acts and provides a meaningful forum for thoughtful conversations around the future of financial services.”

Boston Fintech Week is taking place from September 22-25, with the Fintech Sandbox Innovation Forum scheduled for September 22-23 at the Federal Reserve Plaza. This event would not be possible without the generous support of its sponsors, including Fidelity Investments, Fidelity Labs, Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (FCAT), F-Prime Capital, KKR, MassMutual, EY, Goodwin Procter LLP, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, ITRS, The Open Accelerator and the Scottish Government.

Tickets for the Fintech Sandbox Innovation Forum are on sale now with early-bird pricing available until August 21 through this link: https://luma.com/fintechthatthinks.

For additional information, please visit https://bostonfintechweek.org.

About Fintech Sandbox

Fintech Sandbox is a nonprofit that provides early‑stage fintech entrepreneurs around the world with free access to critical datasets through its Data Access Residency. In return, participating startups collaborate with current and past residents, sharing insights that strengthen the broader ecosystem. More than 450 startups have participated to date, with no fees and no equity taken. Fintech Sandbox also operates Boston Fintech Week, a global gathering of innovators, investors and industry leaders. For more information, please visit https://fintechsandbox.org and https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-sandbox.

Contact Info:
Caliber Corporate Advisers
fintechsandbox@calibercorporateadvisers.com

SOURCE: Fintech Sandbox

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

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