2025 Annual Summit

We are excited to announce the next FWA Annual Summit, taking place on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. This premier event offers in-depth content, including panel discussions, keynote addresses, and fireside chats, all designed to explore the latest developments in our industry.


This year's theme, Disrupting Wall Street: Technology, Deregulation, and the Future of Finance, will focus on artificial intelligence's impact on trading and operations, venture capital investments in New York startups, private equity and credit market growth, and the integration of digital assets within traditional firms. Our sessions will address how these transformative forces are reshaping New York's position as the world's leading financial center. 


Join us for an opportunity to engage with industry leaders, gain actionable insights, and explore emerging trends in finance. The Summit is a unique chance to network with thought leaders, delve into timely topics, and return to your work with valuable perspectives and strategies to navigate the evolving landscape of banking, finance, and related sectors.


Don't miss out on this chance to advance your profession and career. We look forward to seeing you there!

Cost:  FWA Members: $175 | Non-Members: $225

 

Registration closes at 11:59 pm EST on Oct 15, 2025


Program Overview


New York, the world’s preeminent financial center, is undergoing a profound transformation. Fueled by rapid technological innovation, evolving regulatory frameworks, and intensified competition from other global financial hubs, New York’s financial industry must adapt strategically to sustain its leadership on the world stage.


Key market dynamics reshaping the landscape include: 



  • Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to revolutionize the financial industry through changes to trading strategies, enhancing operational efficiencies, and reshaping of organizational design. 
  • VC investments in innovative startups in New York. 
  • Robust growth in private equity and credit markets, driven by evolving investor appetite and capital deployment strategies. 
  • Regulatory changes and the increasing integration of digital assets within traditional financial firms, signaling a paradigm shift in asset management and trading.


Agenda*

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

AWS  |  12 West 39th Street  |  New York NY 10018


*Subject to change.


9:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks from FWA and AWS


9:30 AM – 10:00 AM

Keynote:  Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City

Exploring how regulations and public policies impact business and innovation and how New York became a leader in financial services in part because its regulators had a high tolerance for risk and innovation.

                                       

10:00 AM – 10:40 AM

From Hype to Impact: How AI Is Transforming Finance


10:40 AM – 10:50 AM

Coffee Break


10:50 AM – 11:35 AM

AI Disruption in the Workforce: The Future of Talent in Finance


Noon - 12:45 PM

Lunch


12:45 PM - 1:05 PM

The Evolving New York Economy 


1:55 PM – 2:25 PM

A Global Outlook, a Fireside Chat with Rick Rieder

Rick Rieder will share his perspectives on the financial markets and key considerations for asset allocation in the current environment. He will also discuss the transformative role of technology in driving economic change and reshaping global markets. 

Rick Rieder, Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income
Patti Domm, Financial Journalist


2:25 PM – 3:10 PM

Private Credit Markets on the Rise - What Investors Should Know


3:10 PM – 3:20 PM

Break

                                       

3:20 PM – 4:05 PM

Enabling Innovation in NYC: Finance, Founders and the Future of Venture


4:05 PM – 4:50 PM

Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets and Blockchain: Regulation and the Race for Implementation


4:50 PM – 5:00 PM

Closing Remarks and Key Takeaways 


5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Networking Reception



Speakers

We’re excited to announce the following speakers for the 2025 FWA Annual Summit. These VIPs and experts will share their insights on this year's theme, this year’s theme, Disrupting Wall Street: Technology, Deregulation, and the Future of Finance. Speakers at the conference have a breadth of experience spanning the financial industry - explore their bios below!


Kathryn Wylde

Kathryn Wylde is the President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization whose members are the city’s global business leaders and major employers. The Partnership’s mission is to mobilize private sector resources and expertise to advance New York City’s standing as a global center of economic opportunity, upward mobility, and innovation.


Kathryn is an urban policy expert and represents the business community on issues that impact the economy and public policy more generally. She has written numerous opinion and policy papers and has been widely recognized for her leadership by educational, professional, and nonprofit institutions.


She serves on many boards and advisory groups, including the Fund for Public Schools, Invest Puerto Rico, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, New York City Tourism + Conventions, NYC Economic Development Corporation, and the NYC Regional Economic Development Council.

Prior to taking over as Partnership CEO in 2000, Wylde was the founding CEO of both the Partnership’s investment fund and housing affiliates. From 1995-2000, Wylde worked with Henry Kravis and Jerry Speyer to establish and manage the Partnership Fund for New York City, a civic fund that is capitalized with $170 million in private contributions.


From 1982 to 1995, Wylde was responsible for developing and managing affordable housing and economic development programs that contributed to the renaissance of blighted urban neighborhoods across the five boroughs. The New York City Housing Partnership was the sponsor of the city’s New Homes and Neighborhood Builders programs, producing more than 35,000 units of new, owner-occupied housing and of the Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Program, which enabled more than fifty minority and women-owned firms to purchase and rehabilitate apartment buildings that were formerly owned by the city.


Before joining the Partnership, Wylde worked in senior positions at the former Anchor Savings Bank and at the former Lutheran Medical Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. She is a native of Madison, Wisconsin.
Pawneet Abramowski

Pawneet Abramowski is a recognized Compliance and Risk Management Executive with over 25 years of comprehensive public and private sector experience, offering unparalleled knowledge in shaping the organization’s risk and compliance ecosystem to achieve strong business outcomes with a digital transformation. 


In 2017, she established PARC Solutions LLC, an advisory firm with expertise in business strategy development, repositioning of products/services to align with regulatory standards. She has been responsible for the business’s digital transformation, approach and delivery focused on modernizing how the clients utilize technology across the organizations while balancing risk and security. 


Ms. Abramowski has successfully steered businesses in managing complex regulatory challenges. In her roles as the Head of Financial Crimes Risk Management, Chief Compliance Officer, she designed and drove the execution of most significant regulatory deliverables within and across geographies, businesses, and functions. Previously, she also held Compliance leadership roles at CIT Group Inc., RBC Capital Markets & Morgan Stanley. Prior to private sector roles Ms. Abramowski spent several years in an investigative and intelligence capacity with government agencies ending with the Federal Bureau of Investigation working on global terrorism cases.  


Ms. Abramowski was also an Adjunct Professor of Law/Distinguished Lecturer at Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s Financial Integrity Institute teaching and, in the U.S., and globally. She is an SME trainer providing training to government and financial industry professionals in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.  


Ms. Abramowski holds an MBA from Adelphi University Robert B. Willumstad School of Business and an MA in Government and Politics and BA in Public Administration from St. John’s University.  
Patti Domm

Patti Domm is an Emmy award winning journalist and former CNBC Markets Editor. Patti is currently a consultant and financial writer, specializing in the financial markets, energy, Wall Street and the economy. Her articles appear frequently in Barron's. She was awarded an Emmy for her work during the financial crisis for NBC Nightly News. Prior to joining CNBC, she was the equities editor for the Americas at Reuters, where she had also served as Wall Street editor.  She is principal of Patti Domm Associates. 


Patti is a member of the board of the Financial Women's Association and is co-chair of its programming committee. She has organized many high-profile events for the FWA in her more than two decades of service to the organization.
Tahira Dosani

Tahira Dosani is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ResilienceVC, an early stage venture capital fund investing in scalable fintech startups that build financial resilience for consumers and small businesses. She's been investing in seed-stage venture for 15 years, has done over 100 deals, and loves working with founders to support their growth. 


Previously she served as the Managing Director of Accion Venture Lab, a seed-stage venture capital fund focused on inclusive fintech. Prior to that, Tahira was at LeapFrog Investments, an emerging market private equity impact fund focused on financial services, and worked as Director of Strategy at the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development where she drove strategic initiatives for portfolio companies and led new investments in telecoms, technology, and financial services in Asia and Africa. Tahira also worked at Roshan, Afghanistan’s leading telecommunications operator, where she was Head of Corporate Strategy and helped launch the country’s first mobile money platform. Tahira began her career as a management consultant with Bain & Company in Boston.


Tahira holds an MBA from INSEAD and BAs in International Relations, Computer Science, and Education from Brown University and is a professor teaching courses on Venture Capital and Impact Investing at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University. She is an advisor to Village Capital, a mentor for TechStars, on the IC of the FINCA Ventures Fund, and an advisor to the Fourth Effect. Tahira lives in Washington DC; she is a voracious reader, practices martial arts and teaches self-defense, and loves to explore the city and beyond.
Rick Rieder

Rick Rieder, Senior Managing Director, is BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, Head of the Fundamental Fixed Income business, and Head of the Global Allocation Investment Team. Responsible for roughly $2.7 trillion in assets, Mr. Rieder is a member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee (GEC) and its GEC Investments Sub-Committee. He is also a member of BlackRock's Global Operating Committee, and Chairman of the firm-wide BlackRock Investment Council.

 

Before joining BlackRock in 2009, Mr. Rieder was President and Chief Executive Officer of R3 Capital Partners. He served as Vice Chairman and member of the Borrowing Committee for the U.S. Treasury and member of the Federal Reserve’s Investment Advisory Committee on Financial Markets.

 

Mr. Rieder currently serves on the Alphabet/Google Investment Advisory Committee and the UBS Research Advisory Board. He has been awarded the 2023 Outstanding Portfolio Manager by Morningstar, was nominated for Outstanding Portfolio Manager by Morningstar in 2021, was awarded the Global Unconstrained Fixed Income Manager of the Year for 2015 by Institutional Investor, was nominated for Fixed Income Manager of the Year by Institutional Investor for 2014, and was inducted into the Fixed Income Analysts Society Fixed Income Hall of Fame in 2013. Five of the funds Mr. Rieder manages (Strategic Income Opportunities, Fixed Income Global Opportunities, Total Return, Strategic Global Bond, and Global Allocation) have been awarded Gold Medals by Morningstar.

 

From 1987 to 2008, Mr. Rieder was with Lehman Brothers, most recently as head of the firm's Global Principal Strategies team, a global proprietary investment platform. He was also global head of the firm's credit businesses, Chairman of the Corporate Bond and Loan Capital Commitment Committee, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the corporate pension fund. Before joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Rieder was a credit analyst at SunTrust Banks in Atlanta.

 

Mr. Rieder earned a BBA degree in Finance from Emory University in 1983 and an MBA degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1987. He is a member of the board of Emory University, Emory's Goizueta Business School, and the University's Finance Committee, and is the Vice Chairman of the Investment Committee. Mr. Rieder is founder and chairman of the Goizueta Business School's BBA investment fund and community financial literacy program, Graduation Generation Public School Collaboration in Atlanta.

 

Mr. Rieder serves as Chairman and President of the Board of Education for North Star Academy's fourteen Charter Schools in Newark, New Jersey. He is on the Board of the BlackRock Foundation, the Board of Advisors for the Hospital for Special Surgery, and the Board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Newark and Essex County. Mr. Rieder is a Member of the Ownership Group and Board of Advisors of the Baltimore Orioles. He formerly served on the Board and National Leadership Council of the Communities in Schools Educational Foundation, and Trustee for the US Olympic Foundation. Mr. Rieder was honored at the Choose Success Awards ceremony in Atlanta in 2015 for his dedication to public education in Atlanta through CIS and Graduation Generation.
Manuela Veloso

Manuela Veloso is Head of AI Research at JPMorganChase and Herbert A. Simon University Professor Emerita in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Veloso pursues research interests in core AI as AI robot and digital agents with perception, cognition, and action. She further aims at a seamless human-AI symbiotic interaction. Veloso is a member of the National Academy of Engineering for “her contributions to artificial intelligence and its applications to robotics and to the financial domain.” She is a past president of AAAI, and a co-founder of RoboCup. Veloso is a fellow of AAAI, IEEE, ACM, and AAAS. She has a BSc. and MSc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from IST, an MA in Computer Science from BU, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from CMU. Veloso has doctorate honorary degrees from the Catholic University of Portugal, University of Bordeaux, ICTE, and University of Orebro.