7 February 2025
/ Sara M. Costanzo
Takeaways From AFSA 2025 Vehicle Finance Conference: From AI to the CIA
Shareholder Sara Costanzo recently attended the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) 2025 Vehicle Finance Conference in New Orleans, LA. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with industry professionals during breakout sessions, collaborate with key decision-makers, and network with colleagues in the industry. Now, Sara is sharing her top takeaways from this uniquely remarkable event!
The Women’s Leadership Council kicked off on Monday, January 20th, with guest speaker Jonna Mendez, former CIA technical operations officer and chief of disguise and widow of Tony Mendez (about whom the movie Argo [2012] was about). She talked about the Moscow Rules, her life in the CIA, and how photography got her involved.
One attendee talked about how they use Kumospace in their office/remote environment as a great tool to keep people included. The association’s education foundation shared a financial teaching tool, MoneySKILL, that is a free online personal finance course.
The opening general session was titled, Harnessing AI: Strategies to Transform Business and Empower Workforces, with some discussion on the HR Bot uses for policies and general staff inquires/responses. This is a great introductory way for employers to implement Bots in an organization and can automate routine tasks, allowing the HR team to focus more on important tasks like strategic planning.
There are two primary types: Rule-based and AI chatbots
A rule-based chatbot operates on pre-defined rules and patterns and is designed for specific tasks such as guiding users through a process or answering frequently asked questions, i.e. where to find expense forms, time off requests, and other items needed for the job.
AI chatbots use machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to interact with customers and give more personalized responses, i.e. conducting surveys and collecting feedback.
Storm Enzo, aka the Bayou Blizzard hit New Orleans Tuesday and Wednesday, accumulating 10+ inches of snow, and shutting the city down. Many attendees were not able to fly in, as the airport was closed as well as all roads in/out of the city. That included many speakers, so ASFA had to pivot quickly and made some scheduling adjustments that included having most speakers remote/online. With some of them online, they weren’t able to get live video feeds for some presentations, but they did try to make the sessions available online for those who couldn’t make it there.
With all of the traveling and technical problems presented above, there were some great takeaways from this event. If you have any questions about these topics or would like to learn more about Weltman’s consumer collections or bankruptcy recovery solutions, please contact me at any time.
This blog is not a solicitation for business and it is not intended to constitute legal advice on specific matters, create an attorney-client relationship, or be legally binding in any way.
The Women’s Leadership Council kicked off on Monday, January 20th, with guest speaker Jonna Mendez, former CIA technical operations officer and chief of disguise and widow of Tony Mendez (about whom the movie Argo [2012] was about). She talked about the Moscow Rules, her life in the CIA, and how photography got her involved.
Here are the Moscow Rules:
- Assume nothing
- Never go against your gut
- Everyone is potentially under opposition control
- Do not look back, you are never completely alone
- Go with the flow, blend in
- Vary your pattern and stay within your cover
- Lull them into a sense of complacency
- Do not harass the opposition
- Pick the time and place for action
- Keep your options open
One attendee talked about how they use Kumospace in their office/remote environment as a great tool to keep people included. The association’s education foundation shared a financial teaching tool, MoneySKILL, that is a free online personal finance course.
The opening general session was titled, Harnessing AI: Strategies to Transform Business and Empower Workforces, with some discussion on the HR Bot uses for policies and general staff inquires/responses. This is a great introductory way for employers to implement Bots in an organization and can automate routine tasks, allowing the HR team to focus more on important tasks like strategic planning.
There are two primary types: Rule-based and AI chatbots
A rule-based chatbot operates on pre-defined rules and patterns and is designed for specific tasks such as guiding users through a process or answering frequently asked questions, i.e. where to find expense forms, time off requests, and other items needed for the job.
AI chatbots use machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to interact with customers and give more personalized responses, i.e. conducting surveys and collecting feedback.
Storm Enzo, aka the Bayou Blizzard hit New Orleans Tuesday and Wednesday, accumulating 10+ inches of snow, and shutting the city down. Many attendees were not able to fly in, as the airport was closed as well as all roads in/out of the city. That included many speakers, so ASFA had to pivot quickly and made some scheduling adjustments that included having most speakers remote/online. With some of them online, they weren’t able to get live video feeds for some presentations, but they did try to make the sessions available online for those who couldn’t make it there.
With all of the traveling and technical problems presented above, there were some great takeaways from this event. If you have any questions about these topics or would like to learn more about Weltman’s consumer collections or bankruptcy recovery solutions, please contact me at any time.
This blog is not a solicitation for business and it is not intended to constitute legal advice on specific matters, create an attorney-client relationship, or be legally binding in any way.
