Speaker Spotlight: Lauren Stables — Building AI-Ready Foundations in Complex Organisations

Speaker Name
Lauren Stables

What's one thing you hope attendees take away from your session?
Don't start with AI. Start by understanding what you're building it on. In complex organisations, particularly those that have grown through acquisition, you can't simply layer new technology over fragmented processes, systems and data and expect it to work. The foundations matter.

In one sentence, what do you do and what is your role?
I'm a transformation leader with experience spanning InsurTech, digital, operations and complex acquisition-led organisations, turning business strategy into large-scale change and measurable results.

What's the biggest challenge facing the industry in this area?
The pressure to move faster than many organisations are ready for. AI is developing incredibly quickly, but many established businesses are still dealing with years of legacy technology, fragmented data and different ways of working. The challenge is closing that gap without getting stuck trying to make everything perfect first.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone working in fintech today?
Stay close to the real problem. Spend time with the customers and the people actually doing the work. The process on paper and what happens in reality are rarely exactly the same, and that gap is often where the biggest opportunity sits.

What book, podcast, newsletter, or resource would you recommend to our audience?
InsTech. I've worked in both established insurance businesses and InsurTech, so I'm naturally interested in where the two meet. It's a useful way of keeping up with how others across the market are approaching technology and innovation, including what's actually working, not just what's getting the hype.

What topic will you be speaking about at FinTech Connect 2026?
I'll be sharing a practical case study on preparing a large, acquisition-led organisation for AI and the foundational work needed before the technology can really add value.

Just for fun: if you could have dinner with any person, past or present, who would it be and why?
Deborah Meaden. I really like her straight-talking, practical approach to business and would love to hear about the lessons she's learned along the way. We also share a love of horses, dogs and animals generally, so I think we'd have plenty to talk about beyond business too!

What industry trend are you watching most closely?
The rise of AI-native InsurTechs. I'm interested in the businesses being built around AI from day one, rather than trying to add it into an existing model. We're starting to see what becomes possible when AI is part of the foundations of a business, not something introduced later.

Why is this topic particularly important right now?
Established businesses don't have the luxury of starting again. They need to find a way to benefit from AI while working with the systems, processes, data and structures they already have, and for businesses that have grown through acquisition, that can be particularly complex. The work they do now to simplify, standardise and organise will have a huge impact on how successfully they can take advantage of what comes next.

What's one prediction you have for the next 3-5 years?
AI will become far less visible. We'll stop talking about it as a separate tool or initiative because it will simply sit behind more of the platforms and processes we use every day. The real difference will be between organisations that have prepared themselves to take advantage of it and those still trying to untangle the complexity underneath.