This was Yields Innovate 2026

On March 12, 2026, the Google Digital Atelier in Brussels became the focal point for risk professionals, model validators, and AI governance leaders. Yields Innovate 2026 wasn't just a conference; it was a gathering of a community that understands that while building models and AI is the engine of growth, creating the guardrails to trust them is what truly moves us forward.

Relive the Energy: The After Movie

The biggest compliment we received? That it felt like a real community. From the technical deep-dives into traditional model validation to the high-level strategy sessions on the EU AI Act, the room was buzzing with one shared goal: making high-stakes technology safe and reliable.

If you were there, you know what we mean. And if you weren’t… we captured a bit of that atmosphere for you in our aftermovie:

The Big Takeaway: Democratizing Governance

A common thread across the presentations was that governance cannot live in a silo. We need to democratize trust. This means building AI-literate teams who know how to manage use cases from the ground up.

Key Insights from our 2026 Speakers:

• People-First Strategy: Ratul Ahmed (Commerzbank) and Atif Khan (Open Analytics) stressed that successful governance starts with training and evangelism, not just spreadsheets.
• Structured Foundations: The teams from BNP Paribas and The Alan Turing Institute highlighted the importance of a unified inventory to bridge the gap between AI and MRM teams.
• The Power of Automation: Dr. Philip Preuß (HSBC) demonstrated how intelligent automation can cut validation effort by 60%, proving that oversight doesn't have to slow you down.
• The "Bounty Hunter" Mindset: Tanveer Bhatti challenged the status quo with "AI Bounty Hunting"—inviting experts to proactively stress-test and break systems to find hidden risks.

A Global Exchange of Expertise

We were proud to host a diverse group of pioneers who are navigating the complex intersection of Model Risk Management and AI Governance..

A huge thank you to our contributors from:

• Google (Marina Bosso Bosso)
• Commerzbank AG (Ratul Ahmed)
• HSBC (Philip Preuß)
• The Alan Turing Institute (Lukasz Szpruch)
• BNP Paribas (Yann-Vai Andrieux, Leonardo Windlin Cesar, Nathalie Bouez)
• KPMG (Benjamin Steyfkens & Bart Van Rompaye)
• Agoria (Jelle Hoedemaekers)
• Datashift (Seppe Housen)
• Toreon (Asma Oualmakran)
• Open Analytics (Atif Khan)

Celebrating Our Champions

Success is a team sport. At the heart of the day, we were honored to present the Customer and Partner Excellence Awards to the champions who are setting the standard for responsible AI and model oversight.

Congratulations to our 2026 Winners:

🏆 Ratul Ahmed - Best Customer Excellence EMEA

🏆 Atif Khan - Best Customer Excellence APAC

🏆 Allison Measso - Best Customer Excellence AMER

🏆 Neoka Gounden - Best Implementation Partner

🏆 Saskia Breed - Best Implementation Partner

See You at the Next Edition

Yields Innovate 2026 was about connecting people who genuinely care about the future of our industry. Whether you're managing a suite of credit models or deploying your first LLM, we're in this together.

Thank you for the energy, the honest debates, and the shared vision.

Already looking forward to the next one! 😉