March 3-4, 2026
NYC
Key Speakers
Rafic Fahs
Chief Model Risk Officer Fifth Third Bank
Key Themes
Samir Abroll EVP, Chief Model Risk Officer and Head of Data Governance Santander US
Kash Agrawal
Global Head of Gen AI
Model Validation, US Head of AI/ML Model Validation Barclays Investment Bank
Roderick Powell
Managing Director, MRM AI/ML Center of Excellence Bank of America
Sofia Rahman
Managing Director, General Counsel, Intellectual Property and AI Citi
The Evolving Role of the Chief Model Risk Officer
What the next five years will look like for the CMRO?
Regulatory Landscape & Alignment
Navigating multi-regulator expectations across banking and financial services
Bias, Fairness & Ethical Use
Addressing fairness and reputational risks
Transparency in Blackbox Models
There was a fantastic list of speakers with highly relevant topics giving us a much better understanding on what they need
Navigating blackbox models through disclosure and transparency
Facial Recognition & Biometrics in Banking
Testing and governing sensitive high-risk applications
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Imir Arifi Head of Gen AI Model Compliance Review Citi
Samir Abrol EVP - Chief model risk officer and head of data governance Santander
Rafic Fahs Chief Model Risk Officer Fifth Third Bank
Moez Hababou Global Head, Compliance and US Stream Lead, Independent Review and Control BNP Paribas
Roderick Powell Managing Director, MRM AI/ML Center of Expertise Bank of America
Alexey Smurov Senior Vice President, Balance Sheet Analytics and Modeling PNC
Sofia Rahman Managing Director, General Counsel, Intellectual Property and AI Citi
Shawn Tumanov Data, Privacy, Model and AI Risk Governance Executive GEICO
Kash Agrawal Global Head of Gen AI Model Validation & US Head of AI&ML Model Validation (MRM)
Barclays Investment Bank
Nikolai Kukharkin Head of Model Risk Management MUFG Bank
Christophe Rougeaux Global Head of Model and AI Risk Governance TD
Steve Zhou MD- Head of MRM Webster Bank
Emre Balta Chief Model Risk Officer First Citizens Bank
Aniruddha Chatterjee Head of Data & AI - Risk and Compliance USAA
Aleksey Leksanov Managing director, Head of Model Risk Management Mizuho Bank
Pablo Salazar Director Model Risk Management Stellar Bank
Chandrakant Maheshwari EVP Flagstar Bank
Daniel Saunders Head of Model Risk Management USAA
Kai-Ching Lin Head of Model and Market Risk Management Valley National Bank
Riten Dixit VP, Market Risk FHLB
Satish Nathan Director, Model Risk Governance UBS
Briony Pentecost SVP, Senior Program Manager Model Validation Bank of Hawaii
Bryan Shieh Senior Vice President - Head of Model Risk Management Umpqua Bank
Chris Smigielski Model Risk Director Arvest Bank
8:00 Registration & Breakfast
8:50 Chair’s Opening Remarks
9:00 THE EVOLVING ROLE OF THE CHIEF MODEL RISK OFFICER – KEYNOTE PANEL
What the next five years will look like for the CMRO
Strategic leadership at the intersection of regulation, innovation, and enterprise risk
Rafic Fahs, Chief Model Risk Officer, Fifth Third Bank
Samir Abroll, EVP, Chief Model Risk Officer and Head of Data Governance, Santander US
Emre Balta, Chief Model Risk Officer, First Citizens
9:45 REGULATORY LANDSCAPE AND ALIGNMENT
The regulators strike back: surviving evolving oversight
Navigating multi-regulator expectations across banking and financial services
(Reserved for Federal Reserve Bank)
10:20 Morning Refreshment Break and Networking
10:50 EVOLVING MODEL GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORKS – PANEL
Frameworks built for today, ready for tomorrow
Reassessing model governance frameworks under expanding complexity and scrutiny
Satish Nathan, Director, Model Risk Governance, UBS
Chris Smigielski, Model Risk Director, Arvest Bank
Bryan Shieh, SVP, Head of Model Risk Management, Columbia Bank
11:35 VALIDATION APPROACHES FOR BLACK-BOX MACHINE LEARNING MODELS
Cracking open the black box
Future-proofing validation for next-generation AI models
Chandrakant Maheshwari, EVP, Flagstar Bank
12:10 DEFINING A MODEL – PANEL
One definition to govern them all
Clarifying scope as new tools blur classification boundaries
Steve Zhou, Senior Managing Director, Model Risk, Webster Bank
Kash Agrawal, Global Head of Gen AI Model Validation & US Head of AI/ML,
Barclays Investment Bank
Nikolai Kukharkin, Global Head of Model Risk Management, MUFG
12:55
Lunch Break and Networking
Luncheon roundtables
1:55
2:20
Organizational AI Literacy and Fluency Standards
MRM and AI Program Integrations/Enhancements
VALIDATION OF GENERATIVE AND AGENTIC AI MODELS
Can you really validate what you don’t understand?
2:55
3:30
Adapting validation approaches for GenAI and emerging AI use cases
Kai-Ching Lin, Head of Model/Market Risk, Valley National Bank
VALIDATION CAPACITY AND RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION
Smart resourcing for smarter models
Meeting rising demands with finite validation staff
BIAS, FAIRNESS, AND ETHICAL USE
With great power, comes great responsibility
Addressing fairness and reputational risks
Shawn Tumanov, Senior Director, Data Governance, Model & AI Governance, Data Privacy, GEICO
Afternoon Break and Networking
4:00 FACIAL RECOGNITION & BIOMETRICS IN BANKING
When identity meets integrity
4:35
5:20
5:30
Testing and governing sensitive high-risk applications
Roderick Powell, Managing Director, MRM AI/ML Center of Excellence, Bank of America
TRANSPARENCY IN BLACKBOX MODELS - PANEL
Shining light into the black box
Navigating blackbox models through disclosure and transparency
Alexey Smurov, SVP, Head of Business Model Risk Management and Administration, PNC
Riten Dixit, VP, Market Risk, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati
Moez Hababou, Global Head, Compliance and US Stream Lead, Risk
Independent Review and Control, BNP Paribas
Chair’s Closing Remarks
End of Day One and Networking Drinks Reception
8:00 Registration & Breakfast
8:50 Chair’s Opening Remarks
9:00 CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION – PANEL
Breaking silos, building strength
Strengthening cross functional collaboration across model risk management
Christophe Rougeaux, Global Head of Model and AI Governance Risk, TD Bank
Briony Pentecost, SVP, Senior Product Manager Model Validation, Bank of Hawaii
9:45 MEASURING AI AND GEN AI PERFORMANCE
When accuracy isn’t absolute – what’s next?
12:35
Lunch Break and Networking
Luncheon roundtables
Model Validation Challenges
Model Inventory and Attestation Strategies
Briony Pentecost, SVP, Senior Product Manager Model Validation, Bank of Hawaii
1:35 EMERGING RISKS & GEOPOLITICAL SHOCKS
From trade wars to sanctions - modelling the fallout
Modeling emerging risks and geopolitical risks
Developing new metrics for non-deterministic outputs
Imir Arifi, Head of Gen AI Model Compliance Review, Citi
Sofia Rahman, Managing Director, General Counsel, Intellectual Property and AI, Citi
10:20 Morning Refreshment Break and Networking
10:50 VENDOR MODELS AND THIRD-PARTY DEPENDENCE
Outsourced doesn’t mean out of mind
Managing risks of dependencies on vendor models
Daniel Saunders, Head of Model Risk Management, USAA
11:25 COUNTERPARTY CREDIT RISK MODELING
Balancing precision with practicality
Addressing methodological and data challenges in CCR modeling
12:00 DEPOSIT MODELING IN A HIGH-RATE ENVIRONMENT – Fireside Chat
Modeling the new reality of deposit behavior
Refining frameworks for deposit behavior and pass-through advanced modeling
Alexsey Leksanov, Managing Director, Head of Model Risk Management, Mizuho
2:10 INNOVATION IN MODEL INVENTORY TECHNOLOGY – Fireside Chat
Future proofing the backbone of model risk
Advancing model inventory through leveraging technology and innovation
2:45 Afternoon Break and Networking
3:15 TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
Digital power meets model risk
Leveraging digital transformation in model risk functions
3:50 DATA CONFIDENTIALITY
Data security is model security
Ensuring confidentiality across models through detection, data traceability, and governance
Aniruddha Chaterjee, Head of Data and AI, Risk and Compliance, USAA
Chair’s Closing Remarks 4:45 End of Advanced Model Risk 2026
Pablo Salazar, Director, Model Risk Management, Data Privacy, Stellar Bank 4:35
Because
“It’s in New York City” probably isn’t enough. What your boss might ask...
Quite a bit. Two days of expertly curated content led by senior experts and thought leaders exploring the latest challenges, innovations and regulatory developments, with focused discussions on gen AI, geopolitical risk, model validation, and ethics and bias. That includes keynote sessions, roundtables, fireside chats, and some of the sharpest peer-to-peer conversations heard this year - all wrapped in structured networking breaks and a drinks reception. Oh, and there’s a Post-Event Toolkit packed with slides, interviews, and exclusive resources, plus CeFPro Connect access for ongoing insights. In short: tangible ROI and some very useful PDFs.
“What happens when you’re out of the office for two days?”
I’ll be reachable - there’s Wi-Fi, breaks, and plenty of places to go if I need some privacy for a call. But more importantly, me stepping away for 48 hours means stepping back with sharper ideas, a stronger network, and actionable knowledge that feeds directly into our risk strategy. Call it time well invested.
“Will you actually learn anything useful?”
Not just useful - usable. The agenda is built on months of research with risk leaders at the top of their game to reflect real-time challenges and regulatory changes. I’ll walk away with practical strategies to enhance visibilitythe evolving role of the chief model risk officer, regulatory landscape, facial recognition & biometrics in banking, validation of generative and agentic AI models.
And yes, I’ll hear it directly from those walking the walk: global heads, policy advisors, model risk leaders, and other practitioners who’ve been there, done that, and got the postcard.
“How does this benefit the team?”
Whether you come solo or as a squad (there are group discounts), your whole team benefits. I’ll return armed with frameworks, strategies, and a toolkit that’s built for sharing. It’s professional development that pays off company-wide.
“How will you share what you learned?”
Expect notes, highlights, and a recap of key takeaways tailored to our priorities. I’ll prep a short debrief or slides (your pick), and I’ll share access to all post-event materials so the whole team can benefit. Consider it one ticket, multiple brains upgraded.
If you’re looking to connect with the people who live and breathe advancing models in a new era of complexity - the ones actioning, road-testing, and recommending solutions - this is where you need to be. These are the senior professionals who bring ideas up to the board, shape business cases, and drive adoption across their teams.
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Thought Leadership with Substance
Brand Awareness, the Right Way
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42 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036
Set in the iconic Midtown Manhattan landmark, this event brings together leading professionals, thought leaders, and innovators for a day of powerful discussions, actionable insights, and meaningful networking. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or emerging voice in your field, this is your opportunity to engage with the best and brightest in a venue that embodies the spirit of legal excellence and civic leadership.
Hear dynamic keynote speakers and expert panels, in-depth sessions on the latest industry trends and legal developments with ample networking opportunities in a historic setting
Centrally located, just steps from Grand Central and Bryant Park, getting here is easy.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your knowledge and expand your professional network — all in one of New York City’s most esteemed institutions.
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With full access to post-event session slides, interviews, and exclusive CeFPro Connect content, you’ll be equipped to brief your team, spark new conversations, and implement what you’ve learned back at the office.
Take advantage of our tailored group rates and bring your team with you. It’s a cost-effective way to;
• Break down silos across departments
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• Return to the office with momentum and shared insight