AI Across Borders: WiBF Australia & WIBF UK 2026 Global Virtual Event

What to expect

AI in finance: How automation and AI-driven insights are transforming decision-making, customer experience, and operations.
Practical applications: Real-world examples of AI solutions driving efficiency and innovation across the industry.
Thriving in an AI world: Strategies to embrace technology and unlock new career opportunities.
Future-proofing your skills: The essential AI capabilities every finance professional needs.
Ethical AI and inclusion: Ensuring responsible, transparent, and equitable use of emerging technologies. This event is open to all genders and will also explore AI adoption trends across Australia and the UK, including key differences in gender representation and industry uptake.

Speakers

WIBF UK Management Board, Head of Thought Leadership Sarah Gresty, Moderator

Sarah has over 25 years working in the financial sector. She has spent most of her career in Private Banking & Wealth Management developing propositions, managing banking, credit and investment products, leading teams and delivering transformational change. She is also passionate about supporting other people develop and improving diversity and gender equity.

Outside of financial services, Sarah is a trustee at Doorstep Library, a community-focused literacy charity dedicated to bringing the magic of books and the joy of reading directly into the homes of children who need our support.

Sarah holds two degrees in Computer Science from the University of Liverpool and Lancaster University and an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School.

Sarah leads the Thought Leadership activities at WIBF.

Principal GenAI and AI/ML Specialist, Amazon Web Services Allanna Rigby

Allanna Rigby is the AI Go-To-Market Lead for Australia and New Zealand at Amazon Web Services (AWS). A recognised expert in agentic AI, Allanna works at the forefront of enterprise AI transformation - helping organisation move beyond experimentation to become truly AI-native businesses where autonomous agents drive decision, automate complex workflows, and create compounding competitive advantage.

Allanna's approach emphasizes collaboration and ethical AI practice, ensuring responsible data usage whilst championing fairness and transparency. Her expertise in AI allows her to push the boundaries of what's possible, creating novel solutions and unlocking new realms of creatively and efficiency.

Prior to AWS, Allanna held leadership roles in data analytics and discovery at Control Risks, serving the EMEA and APAC regions. She is a passionate advocate for responsible AI development and is excited to share her insights on the future of generative AI and its transformative impact on organisation.

Managing Director and Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group, Moodys Annabel Schassfsma

As Managing Director and Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group, Annabel Schaafsma brings strategic oversight to credit ratings and research across global banks, insurers, and non-bank financial institutions. Her leadership has been instrumental in navigating complex market dynamics. Beyond her analytical leadership, Annabel is a passionate advocate for inclusion. She is the executive sponsor of the UK Women's Business Resource Group, involved in the EMEA Regional Inclusion Council and supports initiatives like the RE_IGNITE returners programme. Annabel's influence spans both business and culture, making her a respected voice in the industry and a driving force for inclusive excellence at Moody's.

Client Executive in Financial Services, EY Arti Kesha

Arti Kesha is a Client Executive in Financial Services at EY, recognised for driving complex transformation agendas across major global banks. With more than 20 years of experience spanning operating model design, strategic change, and large‑scale delivery, Arti has built a reputation for helping institutions navigate periods of significant disruption. In recent years, she has been at the forefront of applying AI to real‑world Financial Services challenges, bringing a practitioner‑led lens to the conversation, drawing on her experience applying AI across customer journeys, risk and compliance processes, and operational efficiency programmes. In her Client Executive role, Arti partners closely with senior banking leaders to design and deploy AI‑enabled solutions that streamline processes, enhance decision‑making, and enable more personalised client interactions. She is passionate about demystifying AI for business stakeholders—translating emerging technologies into practical, responsible, and scalable outcomes that deliver measurable value.

Co-CEO, Amplify AI Group Will Liang

Will Liang is the CEO of Amplify AI Group, a consulting firm which advises, builds and coaches AI for the finance industry. Amplify AI Group’s mission is to solve your hardest problems with AI and data.

Will Liang is an accomplished CTO in financial services with over 18 years experience leading AI, data and technology for asset management at MA Financial Group (previously Moelis & Co), served as enterprise architect and CIO for Macquarie Capital as part of a decade working at Macquarie Group and led KPMG’s national regulatory technology practice where he was managing a team of 64 data engineers.

His interest in data analytics and artificial intelligence has been long standing and includes travelling to Harvard for professional development in data and AI in 2019.

He is recognised internationally for his technology leadership, including as a Top Voice on Linkedin for Data Science and AI and was named as a Global Top 100 Data and Analytics leader by Corinium. He was also named the Top 100 CIO in Asia by CIO.com. In Australia, he was awarded an honorary fellowship at UTS for his work on AI education in 2024.

He is currently serving as a non-executive director and treasurer for the RegTech Association’s board and contributes to leading financial services industry member organisations as a technology committee member.

He has delivered over 20 keynotes and masterclasses in the last 12 months with a focus on implementing data, technology and AI in organisations with a focus on practical implication of market leading technology innovation and data informed decision making. His most recent keynote was at the TEDxSydney event on AI and humanity. The talk has been viewed over 118,000 times since being posted online in the first 2 months.