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Last Thursday evening at EPAM’s London office, the room was buzzing with energy, curiosity, and ideas. “The Future of Finance – Agentic AI in Action”, hosted by First Derivative with Google, brought together some of the most influential leaders across financial services, from trading and compliance professionals to AI innovators and risk experts, all eager to explore how Agentic AI is shaping the future of finance.
The room filled quickly, with conversations already underway before the event officially started, and the KYC-inspired cocktails helped create an atmosphere that was relaxed but focused. One unexpected star of the show was the Sinclair C5, one of the earliest examples of electric vehicle design. It sparked plenty of attention, photos, and conversations before the sessions even began.
The event opened with impactful introductions from Stephane Aita, EMEA Sales & Strategic Partnerships, EPAM, and Christos Solomonides, EMEA Strategic Partnerships Leader, Google, who set the scene for the conversations ahead. They outlined the momentum building around Agentic AI, not just as a concept but as something already changing how financial institutions operate. Their opening remarks gave the audience a clear understanding of the industry’s direction and the opportunities that lie ahead of us.
This led seamlessly into a live demonstration from Leon Orr, First Derivative and Jamie Thomspon, EPAM, who presented on“ The Future of KYC”. Their session delved into how AI-driven workflows are already reshaping compliance and financial-crime prevention, making processes that have been manual and slow far more dynamic, intelligent and scalable. The demo prompted several immediate questions from the audience, the first sign of how engaged the room truly was.
The evening then moved into a panel discussion moderated by Tom Mason, Principal Specialised Engineer at Google, featuring an incredible lineup of industry voices. Nicola Magennis, Financial Crime Practice Lead at First Derivative, shared her perspective on financial crime and compliance, while Darren Lester, Senior Cloud Architect at EPAM, highlighted the evolving role of cloud technologies in finance. Chor Teh, Senior Director and Financial Crime Compliance Lead at Moody’s, and Chris Conway, AI Transformation Lead at Natwest Markets, offered candid insights into the opportunities and challenges of bringing AI into complex financial systems.
I closed the formal part of the evening with some reflections on the momentum we’re seeing across the industry and the growing appetite for practical experimentation. The collaboration between organisations like First Derivative, EPAM, and Google is what unlocks real progress, not just because of the technology, but because of the people who know how to apply it.
From there, the evening naturally flowed back into the reception area, where the cocktails and engaged conversation kept the energy going. The networking was lively, and there was a genuine sense of excitement in the room about the shared ambition to start turning these ideas into reality.
Looking back on the night, what stood out most to me was the openness in the room. People were curious, engaged, and ready to challenge assumptions. It’s clear that the future of finance isn’t something we’re waiting for, it’s something we’re actively building together, right now.
For anyone who couldn’t join us on the night, or for those who want to dig deeper, you can explore more of the themes for the evening in our latest insight here: The Future of Finance: Agentic AI in Action
