The Future Now Hackathon: Advancing business priorities
A weeklong initiative developing technology-enabled solutions aligned to Personal Business Banking priorities.
James Maeng, Tammy Kilgannon and Farah Fatima
Mar. 23, 2026
3-minute read
Innovation delivers the most value when it solves real business challenges and is designed to deliver results. As AI, data and digital capabilities continue to evolve, organizations face a common challenge: moving from experimentation to meaningful application.
The Enterprise Innovation team designed the Future Now Hackathon with that objective in mind. The week-long initiative brought together colleagues from Enterprise Client Relationship Management Enablement and Digital & AI Enablement to work on clearly defined challenges aligned to current Personal Business Banking priorities.
The goal was to create space for focused collaboration while maintaining a strong connection to measurable business outcomes.
Grounded in real business needs
The hackathon engaged 120 participants across 20 teams. Each team worked against problem statements rooted in existing business objectives, ensuring the effort remained practical and relevant.
Unlike traditional single-day events, the extended format allowed teams to deepen their understanding of the problem, assess available data and refine their thinking. Mentors provided ongoing guidance, helping participants evaluate feasibility and alignment. Executive leaders participated as judges, offering perspective on how proposals connected to broader priorities and delivery considerations.
Ideas were assessed on clarity of problem definition, thoughtful use of data and their ability to complement or advance work already underway. Participants were provided access to Gartner resources for research to strengthen problem framing and solution development and hands-on sessions with enterprise tools, including Power Automate, to ground proposals in real capabilities.
The emphasis was not simply on generating ideas, but on developing solutions with a credible path forward.
From exploration to opportunity
At the conclusion of the week, 6 teams were selected as finalists, and 3 winning ideas identified for continued exploration.
The winning teams focused on practical applications of AI across client and advisor experiences. These included:
- Exploring how AI-enabled insights could enhance personalized financial planning and advisor collaboration
- Considering more intelligent approaches to loyalty and engagement that encourage positive financial behaviors
- Examining opportunities to reduce friction in onboarding and switching journeys through automation and guided workflows
While each solution will undergo further review and refinement, together they reflect a shared commitment to applying emerging technologies in ways that improve client experience, support advisors and strengthen operational effectiveness.
“What stood out was the depth of business understanding across the teams. The solutions reflected thoughtful application of technology to challenges that matter to both our clients and frontline team members.”
Tammy Kilagannon
Senior Director, Enterprise Digital & AI Enablement
Equally important were the broader outcomes. The hackathon strengthened cross-functional relationships, increased familiarity with enterprise tools, and provided leadership with greater visibility into innovation efforts underway across teams.
The Future Now Hackathon represents a deliberate step toward embedding business-led innovation more consistently across the organization. Selected ideas will be assessed in collaboration with stakeholders to determine where they can deliver sustainable value.
“This initiative strengthened cross-team collaboration and sharpened our focus on applying innovation for meaningful impact. Our next step is ensuring the strongest ideas continue forward, tightly aligned with our strategic priorities.”
Farah Fatima
Senior Director, Frontline Platform Strategy
By pairing structured problem-solving with executive engagement and practical tooling, the organization continues to build the capability to translate innovation into measurable progress.
James Maeng
Senior Director, Enterprise Innovation
