Ben Pankonin is a seasoned entrepreneur, tech innovator, and community leader. A veteran in the banking and financial services space, Ben is especially knowledgeable about the obstacles community banks, credit unions, and financial brands face in authentically engaging their customers and communities in an increasingly digital environment. As a thought leader and speaker, Ben draws on decades of experience leading scaled growth and is particularly adept at navigating the complexities of heavily regulated industries. His approach is to challenge teams and leaders to take realistic and actionable next steps toward innovation and growth with the big picture in mind.
Ben serves as CEO of Social Assurance–a SaaS company he co-founded in 2011 that today serves over 1,500 financial brands nationwide. Ben studied computer science and business administration at Nebraska Wesleyan University. He remains actively involved in numerous community groups, including serving on several nonprofit boards and within entrepreneurship groups and programs, including the Pipeline Entrepreneurs and the Chamber of Commerce Founders group.
Speaking Topics & Workshops
Ben has presented on a range of topics at a variety of events hosted by entrepreneurial groups, regional and national trade associations, tech and software accelerators, startup incubators, universities, and more. He typically speaks and workshops on the following topics:
- Trust as a crucial form of social and economic currency
- Authentic and effective storytelling as content marketing
- Leveraging digital marketing to deliver ROI while meeting broader business goals
- Leading with an entrepreneurial mindset
Recent Awards
- Silicon Prairie Executive of the Year
- Entrepreneurship Spirit Award, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
- Pipeline Entrepreneur Fellow
Speaking Experience
- ABA Bank Marketing
- Bank Social
- CUNA Marketing Conference
- Financial Brand Forum
- Fiserv Forum
- Flyover Fintech
- ICBA Live
- Midwest Independent Bankers
- Moody’s Analytics
- NE Bankers Association
- nMotion Startup Accelerator
- Omaha Startup Week
- P3 Conference
- Reach Community Bankers
- Sioux City Growth Conference
- TEDx
- WV TopNet
- Wisconsin Bankers
