Clara is internationally recognized for her expertise, advising Boards of leading financial institutions, think-tanks, governments, and academia. She also mentors AI startups on governance, funding and growth strategy. She is consistently named on numerous global lists of leading women in fintech, and was the Chair of the Non-Executive Directors Board’s special committee on Best Practice for AI Adoption (UK) and a member of IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (USA). Clara’s book Decoding AI in Financial Services is widely recognized as a top resource for leaders and boards. In 2024, the second edition was published. A new book will be launched later in 2026 – details pending.
Clara has experience presenting to:
- Board of Directors technology briefings and strategy days (monthly virtual briefings)
- Financial services regulators discussing the strategy and vision for the future with AI
- Government authorities including central banks
- Financial services organizations
- Banks; Asset and Wealth management firms
- Insurance companies; Pension Funds
- Consulting firms: Deloitte, EY, McKinsey, BCG, Accenture (financial services arms)
- Fintech firms
- Business change consulting firms
- AI firms looking to enter financial services
- Law firms for their financial services clients
- Technology firms that have exposure to financial services
- Financial services large conferences, 8,000+ audience (including virtual conferences)
Session Descriptions:
An Elite Mind – Building Human Consciousness To Master AI and Lead in the Age of Synthetic Intelligence
Target Audience: C-Suite Executives, Board Directors, Investors, Policy Makers, High Performance Leaders
Format/Tone: Inspirational, yet rigorously practical keynote blending storytelling, neuroscience and real-world business application
Summary:
In a world racing towards synthetic consciousness – where AI systems evolve from tools into sophisticated partners with emergent awareness – most leaders are still operating with untrained minds. We optimize our bodies, our enterprises, our algorithms…but leave the most powerful asset – human consciousness- largely to chance.
This keynote introduces the concept of the Elite Mind: a rigorously trained, emotionally steady, analytically sharp and compassionately wise consciousness that becomes the ultimate strategic advantage when working alongside AI.
Drawing from her personal journey, from London ballrooms to the banks of the Ganges, encounters with billionaires and neuroscientists and deep practice of Vipassana meditation – Clara Durodie reveals how deliberate mental training transforms leadership. She demonstrates why an Elite Mind is no longer optional but a fiduciary duty for those stewarding AI in financial services and critical sectors.
Key Takeaways:
Understand the Elite Mind
-What it is (far beyond “mindfulness apps”), how it feels in a room and why it creates magnetic trust and better decisions.
The Neuroscience Backbone
How meditation and structured mental training rewire the brain for superior attention, emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility and resilience – backed by research on long-term meditators, brain imaging and performance data.
From Personal Crisis to Professional Edge
-Clara’s candid story of leaving corporate life, her improbably pivot to India and the practical tools that upgraded her ability to navigate billion-dollar decisions with clarity and humanity.
AI Governance in the Age of Synthetic Consciousness
-Why untrained human minds cannot oversee systems that never sleep, forget nothing and operate at superhuman speed. Leaders must evolve their own consciousness to co-author ethical, benevolent AI futures.
Real-World Evidence
-Stories from fintech CEO’s sending leadership teams on silent retreats, elite athletes, supermodels and high-performers who now treat inner work as infrastructure for outer results.
Actionable Insights
-Simple rigorous practices to close the gap between sensation and reactive story – turning leaders into the calm, reliable force in volatile rooms.
AI in Financial Services
-Opportunities, Rewards & Risks
-Advances in Finance
-Efficiency Gains
-Productivity
-Profitability
-Work Force
-Data Strategy
-Use Cases
Technology Strategy
-Modern Corporate Boards
-Broader Digital Mandate
-AI Risks & Mitigation
-New Regulatory Frameworks
-Business Continuity
-Disaster Recovery
-Strategic Investments in AI
-AI Governance
-Data Strategy
-AI in the Enterprise
Trust with Technology:
-Governance
-Privacy
-Safety
-Decentralization
-Data Ethics
-Bias
-Explainability
-Transparency
-Accountability
-Financial Personal Data
Business and governance implications of artificial intelligence in financial services
- Boards and AI strategy: modern governance
- Cybersecurity and AI : fighting fire with fire
- Artificial intelligence in plain English
- Trust with Algorithms – what is it and how to build it
- Trust by design – how to start right
- What is good, robust high quality AI ?
- AI Ethics: a business case in financial services
- The meaning of Trust with Technology
- Redefining Trust with AI in financial services
- AI in the finance function – use cases and areas for improvement
- AI and Data Ethics in financial services
- Thinking strategically about automation
- Linear vs Exponential automation
- Use cases of applied artificial intelligence in financial services
- Future uses of AI/ML and business strategy impact
- Global trends in AI adoption
- Leading AI companies, cloud and the AI stack delivery
- How to pick the winners when selecting AI vendors – criteria for selection
- Alternative data and AI: value and timing
- Trends in natural language processing, data strategy and deep learning
- Asset management: Distribution solutions and Customer engagement with AI
- Wealth management & private banking and AI solutions
- Back office automation with AI and where RPA sits in all of this
- Behavioral finance and AI
- Why it is important to understand Intelligence: human and artificial
- The need for Trust in financial services and how technology addresses it
- Cybersecurity and a safer world
- Importance of AI Ethics and responsible design
- Personalization at scale: AI use cases in private banking
- Philosophy of technology
- Data ethics and integrity
- The macroeconomics of AI : key considerations
- Data privacy and AI
- Data commercialization: use and abuse
- AI in asset management: how to benefit of AI adoption
- Government AI strategy for financial services
- Regulators and AI sandboxes: staying ahead
- What’s an AI and what’s not – implications for your operational model
- What AI can and cannot do for asset management
- Fixed Income and AI: operations, default and scenario analysis
- AI Ethics in financial services: what do we need to know ?
- What is AI, why now and what’s in it for financial services ?
- AI and workforce impact: same people with new skills
- Where to start with AI ?
- Central Banks and Deep Learning applications
- Labor markets and AI: will wages still be relevant ?
- AI and operational resilience in financial services
- Retraining your workforce: where to start
2024 Update of Clara’s Influential Book: Decoding AI in Financial Services
Business Implications for Boards and Professionals
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to integrate into various business models and becomes a central means of service delivery, it also shapes the way corporate governance and business strategy are perceived, approached, and put into action. As a result, AI transcends being solely an IT concern; it is now a matter for the board’s consideration.
In 2017, Clara started writing “Decoding AI in Financial Services – Business Implications for Boards and Professionals” with the intent of providing boards with an unbiased reference book that elucidates what AI entails and how it influences business models, governance, and strategy. The book was published in 2019. The 2nd edition is due in 2024.
The journey to produce the 1st edition of this book encompassed:
- Two years of dedicated effort.
- Engaging in discussions with 180 industry executives and corporate directors.
- Curating a database of 15,000 bibliography entries for in-depth research.
The reception of the book has been overwhelmingly positive. It stands as the pioneering work that comprehensively explores the business ramifications of AI within the realm of financial services.
Clara Durodié is a technology strategist specializing in the business and governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services.
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Bio:
Clara Durodié is internationally recognized for her expertise, advising Boards of leading financial institutions, think-tanks, governments, and academia. She also mentors AI startups on governance, funding and growth strategy. She is consistently named on numerous global lists of leading women in fintech, and was the Chair of the Non-Executive Directors Board’s special committee on Best Practice for AI Adoption (UK) and a member of IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (USA).
Clara advised the World Economic Forum’s 4th Industrial Revolution Centre in San Francisco (US), the All Parliamentary Party Group for Artificial Intelligence (UK) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ special commission on Artificial Intelligence (Japan). In June 2017, Clara was also invited as a member of the European Union Artificial Intelligence Alliance.
Clara is a frequent presenter at leading conferences around the globe, including SIBOS, Money 2020, Innovate Finance Global Summit, AI World and at London Business School where she addressed an audience from leading universities around the world such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Cambridge. She has been invited as guest lecturer by leading universities like the University of Oxford’s Executive MBA. London Business School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Clara was also invited to teach at the Oxford Artificial Intelligence course, organized by the University of Oxford.
Clara is the author of the highly acclaimed Decoding AI in Financial Services – Business Implications for Boards and Professionals the first guidebook on AI in financial services for C-level, Boards and decision makers. The book’s Japanese translation was published in Japan in 2022. Clara also writes Decoding AI® Briefing, a popular digital publication which examines the business and governance of AI in financial services. Since its inception in 2016, it remains a preeminent and impartial source of information on this topic.
Her academic interest sits at the intersection of neuroscience, artificial intelligence and financial services. Her focus is on how episodic memory informs how people spend, save and invest. In her corporate life, Clara served in leadership roles in European asset and wealth management in the UK, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Clara is a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (UK), has a Certificate in Investment Management (UK) and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Oxford.
