Breakfast, Big Ideas and the Bell: Our Morning at the NYSE

I was delighted to co-host, alongside our colleagues at EPAM, a truly memorable breakfast in the Hamilton Room of the New York Stock Exchange last week. Over fifty senior leaders from across the financial-services industry joined us for an early-morning discussion on one of the most important topics of our time – AI in practice.

The setting could not have been more inspiring. The Hamilton Room, steeped in history, provided the perfect backdrop for a forward-looking conversation. Over coffee and breakfast, we welcomed Nir Kaldero – EPAM’s Chief Data, Analytics & AI Officer and bestselling author of Data Science for Executives – to chair our fireside chat. Nir was joined by Julia Bardmesser and Dr. Sherry Marcus, both of whom brought thought-provoking, real-world examples of where AI is already making a tangible difference in financial services.

What struck me most was the energy in the room. This wasn’t a passive audience. Questions and insights flowed, people shared their own challenges and success stories, and you could feel the appetite to move beyond hype into real implementation. We could easily have carried on the conversation for hours.

After the panel we switched gears for a different kind of learning. Our hosts at the NYSE treated us to a fascinating walk through its history – how it evolved, the pivotal moments that shaped global markets – and then led us on a guided tour of the trading floor itself. It’s not every day you get to stand where the bell rings! There were plenty of photo opportunities and more than a few smiles.

I was delighted to share a fun fact with the NYSE historian and our audience. The presentation covered the NYSE Hybrid Market, which launched in 2006. Our FD team of KX engineers and UI designers were involved in this project, which created the unique blend of floor-based auction and electronic trading. In fact, the project is featured in The Museum of American Finance on Wall St. In the audience, we even had one of our engineers who had been part of the original project who should have taken a bow!

The feedback we’ve received has been fantastic. Many of our clients told me they left the session with practical ideas to take back to their organisations, as well as new connections across the industry. That, to me, is the true measure of success for these gatherings.

I’m enormously grateful to everyone who joined us, to our panellists for their insights, and to the NYSE for opening its doors. We’re already looking forward to our next FD-EPAM client event – though I suspect it will be hard to top this one.