Merging Forces: Why More U.S. Banks are Converging AML and Fraud

Shana brings over 15 years of experience driving growth at high-growth startups and scale-ups, with deep expertise in go-to-market strategy for financial crime and compliance solutions. At Hawk, she leads marketing for the Americas, supporting the company’s expansion across enterprise, mid-market banks, credit unions, and fintechs.

Previously, she served as Global Marketing Director at Silent Eight and Head of Marketing, Americas at Napier AI. Shana is also an active voice in the fintech and compliance community, serving as Chapter Lead for NYC Fintech Women in Chicago and a Steering Committee Member for 100 Women in Finance.

Neil is a Director in Celent's global Risk practice. He currently focuses on the risk and compliance space including regtech, anti-money laundering and know-your-customer compliance, financial crime, and AML/KYC technology.

Neil initiated Celent's influential research on AML compliance and technology in 2002. He regularly advises leading financial institutions and technology vendors on their business, technology, and compliance strategies. His advisory engagements have included vendor selection for financial institutions, market feasibility studies for financial institutions and technology vendors, and strategic due diligence on a number of the leading compliance vendors. 

Neil has been widely quoted in the press, including The Financial Times and The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, has appeared on CNBC, CNN, and TV Tokyo, and is a popular speaker at conferences in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Neil previously launched and managed Celent’s presence in Asia for 15 years and helped establish Celent’s market leading position in Japan. He holds a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and MA and PhD degrees from Harvard University. He is fluent in English, Japanese, and Chinese.

Bel Perez is a seasoned risk and fraud management professional, currently Senior Product Owner for Fraud & FRAML at Hawk. With leadership experience at Solarisbank AG, GiG, and other organizations, Bel brings hands-on expertise in fraud detection, investigation, AML, and building risk awareness across complex, fast-paced industries.

Susan R. Shaffer currently serves as the Vice President and BSA Officer at CBI Bank and Trust, where she is responsible for developing, implementing and administering all aspects of the BSA program.  With over 30 years of experience in the banking and financial industry, Susan has extensive experience in the anti-money laundering and financial crime management, and she is dedicated to advancing best practices in the field.

Susan is an advisory board member for the Coalition Against Financial Crime (CAFC), a public – private working group dedicated to fostering collaboration, innovation, and action in the fight against financial crime. She has contributed to a BSA roundtable, hosted a financial crime event, and has been a moderator at two of their events: one on Check fraud and Online Cyber Security and the other on Navigating 314(b): Risks & Opportunities.

Susan is the co-chair board member of the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists, Midwest Chapter, where like-minded professionals promote collaboration, cooperation and innovation, and in the areas of financial crime investigation, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, risk management and data privacy.

Susan participated in the Department of Homeland Security’s Public-Private Analytics Exchange Program, contributing to a white paper on “Combating illicit activity through financial technologies and cryptocurrencies phase III”.

Her leadership extends to the Quad City Security Officer Group, previously serving as the president of this group of bank professionals working together to help manage fraud and security threats within the community. In addition, she helped start two similar Security Groups in Iowa and coordinated a robbery victim peer group in the QC area.

Susan was a speaker on the panel titled "Next Generation Client Screening: Staying Ahead of the Bad Guys", 2023 Dato’s conference, where she, along with two other panelists, addressed various questions.

Susan holds the following certifications in her area of expertise; Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialist (ACFCS), and a Certified Community Bank Security Officer (CCBSO).