Arizona Tribune - Narmi Brings AI, Innovation, and Industry Leaders to Downtown Detroit for 2026 Innovators Retreat

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / May 20, 2026 / Narmi, a leading provider of digital banking solutions for financial institutions, today announced the full agenda and list of featured speakers for its 2026 Innovators Retreat, taking place September 22-24, at the Shinola Hotel in downtown Detroit. Building on the theme "Innovation Over Incumbency," this year's retreat will bring together more than 100 leaders from community banks and credit unions for three days of hands-on collaboration, peer-driven strategy sessions, and candid conversations about the future of AI in banking.

The newly released agenda places AI at the center of the event experience, including a full day dedicated entirely to AI strategy, governance, infrastructure, and real-world deployment across community financial institutions. The retreat will also kick off with an interactive AI hackathon where attendees can form teams, build deployable AI agents, and showcase their projects live at the conclusion of the event.

Featured speakers include Richard Mandell, CAO of Bedrock, Allison Netzer, Founder and CEO of BrandThnk.co and Tommy Nicholas, CEO of Alloy. Mandell will anchor the theme of revitalization and long-term resilience that has come to embody the city of Detroit. Bedrock has led more than $7.5 billion in development across 140-plus Detroit and Cleveland properties since 2011, catalyzing commercial and residential development. His remarks will connect enterprise insights to opportunities for community institutions today.

"Detroit is a city defined by its enduring grit, adaptability, and spirit," said Mandell. "It is critical that this same mindset is what companies embody today. Those who can transform ideas into action, demonstrate purpose, and empower the next generation are poised for forward momentum."

This year's agenda reflects the accelerating urgency around AI adoption in banking, with programming focused on practical implementation inside the workflows, infrastructure, and customer experiences that power modern financial institutions.

Agenda Highlights Include:

• AI Hackathon: Opening-day collaborative sessions where attendees can build and showcase deployable AI agents designed to solve real banking challenges

• Opening Session: The parallels between urban and banking reinvention, and how community financial institutions can apply the same principles to build lasting resilience

• AI in Action: Real-world applications of AI across lending, onboarding, operations, fraud prevention, and business-banking workflows

• AI Governance & Compliance: Emerging regulatory considerations, governance frameworks, and board-level discussions around responsible AI adoption

• Executive Sessions & Panels: Conversations on reinvention, resilience, digital growth, and navigating rapid technological change across financial services

• Payments & Business Banking: FedNow, RTP, deposit growth strategies, and innovation opportunities for community financial institutions

• Product & Member Experience: Personalized banking experiences, embedded AI tools, and evolving customer expectations in the digital era

• Open Platforms & Execution: APIs, infrastructure modernization, implementation strategy, and scaling operational innovation across the institution

"Community financial institutions can no longer treat AI as optional, it has become a competitive requirement," said Nikhil Lakhanpal, co-founder of Narmi. "In embracing that change, we couldn't be more excited to bring this year's retreat to Detroit and create a space where leaders can move beyond AI theory and focus on practical execution that strengthens their institutions and better serves their customers."

Designed as an intimate, highly interactive gathering, Narmi's Innovators Retreat emphasizes meaningful dialogue over traditional conference formats, bringing together community bank and credit union leaders for hands-on sessions, small-group discussions, and curated networking experiences focused on actionable innovation.

The retreat continues to serve as a strategic hub for institutions to share best practices, strengthen industry relationships, and explore modern approaches to banking, while reinforcing Narmi's position at the forefront of AI innovation for community financial institutions.

Registration is open now. For the full agenda and speaker details, visit the Innovators Retreat website.

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About Bedrock

Bedrock is an award-winning real estate developer focused on comprehensive city building initiatives in Detroit and Cleveland. Its work includes creating iconic cityscapes, rehabilitating historic properties and making space for the community-all with the philosophy to operate for more than profit.

Since 2011, Bedrock has invested and committed more than $7.5 billion to develop and restore more than 140 properties, totaling over 21 million square feet of office, retail, residential, hospitality, industrial, data centers and parking. In 2024, Bedrock was named one of the world's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.

For additional information about Bedrock, please visit bedrockdetroit.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Narmi

New York City-based Narmi's digital platform empowers financial institutions to unlock the very latest capabilities in digital banking and account opening, enabling them to move faster, tap new growth opportunities, and achieve true digital transformation. The Narmi platform was built with the customer experience in mind, empowering financial institutions with an experience that is always effortless, current, and dependable. As a result, Narmi's customers are seeing as much as 3x account growth in less than 30 days and 4x deposit growth in as little as 90 days. Additionally, Narmi's financial institution clients are winning awards like Bankrate's Best Online Bank and Nerdwallet's Best Bank for Online Experience. For more information, please visit narmi.com.

Media contact:

Annie Armstrong
[email protected]

SOURCE: Narmi

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Ch.P.Lewis--AT