Senior Vice President, Business Technology Executive
When she was in middle school, Alicia Stone breezed through a science-class assignment to write computer code for an ATM. The experience led her to pursue a career in technology, but it was not until 2016 that it came full circle when Stone made the leap into financial services.
Before joining KeyBank in February 2016 as a technology executive, Stone held information technology roles at Ernst & Young and General Electric.
Stone acknowledged having some trepidation about moving into banking. But, she said, “Now that I made the transition, I couldn't be happier. I think that there's so much untapped potential in banking and I’m really excited about making that come to life.”
Like many banks, the $187 billion-asset KeyBank has been investing heavily in technology, according to Terry McEvoy, a Portland, Maine-based bank analyst with Stephens. Examples include the Cleveland-based bank’s 2019 acquisition of Laurel Road, a fintech lender that specializes in refinancing student debt.
Citing an investor presentation in March, McEvoy also noted KeyBank’s 163% increase in tech hires between 2019 and 2021.
KeyBank initially brought Stone on board to help drive adoption of Salesforce, the customer relationship management software, by overseeing the creation of a center of excellence inside the bank. It is now staffed by a team of 65 technologists. That work continues. But she has gone on to play a leading role in sharpening the digital experience for the bank’s 10,000 commercial customers.
Stone’s work on the bank’s digital experience for commercial clients began in late 2020, a time when banks were racing to ramp up technology in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her team’s goal was to make KeyBank’s digital portal easier for customers to navigate, and easier for the bank to change in response to feedback.
For example, customers said it was hard to navigate the process for approving ACH payments, Stone said. So the bank simplified the process. In the past, the bank might have taken up to a year to make a change, Stone said. “Now, we're able to turn things over within months.”
It was the opportunity to make a difference that persuaded Stone to join KeyBank. In her first role, she spent time explaining to bankers the value of using Salesforce. Many were reluctant to change, Stone said. “The challenge was getting past that first initial impression that ‘I didn't need tech’ or that ‘Tech wasn't going to help me.’”
To overcome their reluctance, Stone listened to their concerns in order to figure out how technology could deliver what they needed. She also leaned on mentors like Margot Copeland, former president and CEO of the KeyBank Foundation, and Amy Brady, the bank’s chief information officer, who helped Stone understand the bank’s culture.
According to Brady, Stone has excelled in the transition. “She has quickly become both a thought leader across the enterprise and an inspiring leader to her team and those with whom she works,” Brady said.
Stone, who is in a hiring role, takes a long-term view of the challenges she and KeyBank face when it comes to staffing. “The current Great Resignation, as they call it, has impacted us dramatically,” she said. Solutions include strengthening the internal pipeline of tech talent, Stone said. She has worked with Brady, for example, in an effort to find employees in operations roles who are suited to shift into IT.
Stone also takes advantage of speaking opportunities to promote careers in technology and banking. She measures success, in part, based on the people who come up to talk with her. In the beginning, it was mostly people who already were in banking. Now, she said, it includes nonbankers who ask her about her transition into the industry and how banks are thinking about technology.
Stone has also taken a prominent role in promoting IT opportunities in banking, particularly for women and minorities. In March, she launched a nonprofit called “Why Not Me!” to bring the possibilities of technology to sixth-grade students in the Cleveland area.
Her nonprofit stems from her realization of the forces that hold back young people, particularly women and minorities, from thinking about technology careers. They may have little hands-on experience in the field, she said, and they also may not see many people who look like them.
“That's where ‘Why Not Me!’ came from,” she said, adding that her goal is to change how young people think about technology. “I'm trying to connect with them that anything that you like has a tech element, and you can take that to the next level.”
