Women in Technology: KlariVis’ Amy Kelley

In the latest installment in our “Women in Technology” series, we visited with KlariVis’ Domain Knowledge Product Manager Amy M. Kelley.

Supporting 64 employees and more than 145 financial institutions (FIs), the Roanoke, Va.-based finetch bills itself as providing enterprise dashboard and analytics tools designed by bankers for bankers.

By W.B. King

A self-described “numbers lover at heart,” Amy Kelley studied accounting at Keystone College, eventually becoming a CPA. After graduation she began a nearly 14-year tenure at the Scranton, Pa.-based First National Community Bank (now Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company)—initially as a financial performance officer (loan review analyst) and later, operations officer.

Amy M. Kelley

“I had never considered banking a career path, but it was a perfect fit for me. I got to utilize my analytical skills and really try and understand complex business relationships, where was there concern with business operations and repayment considerations,” she told Finopotamus. “I moved through a handful of different roles at the bank over the years and each of them pushed me closer and closer to technology. When I became operations officer, I suppose that was really my first ‘tech’ role.”

Before joining KlariVis in the summer of 2024 as its domain knowledge product manager, she spent one year working at Employees Federal Credit Union as vice president of accounting.

“My time at the credit union gave me an even greater appreciation for technology and for the culture credit unions have,” she shared. “There were only about 40 employees there, but every one of them, from the teller line to CEO, was focused on the member experience – strong financial performance was important, but it was secondary to member satisfaction and that was incredibly refreshing.”

The Best of All Worlds

Joining the KlariVis team, she said, was a “no brainer” and she aligned with the company mission: believing in the importance of embracing technology, studying its evolution and pushing the limits of innovation.

“It’s been a unique transition to working in the software development space. I still struggle with the language differential between engineers and end users, but it's supremely satisfying when everyone lands on the same page,” she noted. “Now I’m living the best of all worlds: I still get to satisfy my inner banker, utilize my analytic skills and embrace technology.”

Within the construct of these worlds are changing philosophies, especially as related to women working in the space. “When I first started advancing my career in banking, it absolutely felt male-dominated at the management level,” Kelley said. “Now, there are more and more prominent women advancing to control positions throughout the financial services industry, and I am extremely proud to work for a strong, successful female CEO [Kim Snyder] in the tech space.”

Over the last 15 years, she also noted a handful of mentors, including a college accounting professor, Kevin Vinson; Stephanie A. Westington, MBA, CPA / SVP and chief accounting officer at Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company and her colleague, CFO James M. Bone, Jr. The collection of these experiences has positively impacted the trajectory of her career, she said.

“To pay it forward, I try and overshare information. When someone comes to me with a question, I try whenever possible to avoid ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers,” she told Finopotamus. “I probably make some people crazy with too much information, but the intent behind that is to always prompt curiosity.”  

Results Speaks Truths

Noting the increasing prominence of fintechs embracing CUSO partnerships, Kelley sees this trend as a major benefit to the credit union movement. “Not only does it provide access to technology that small community-based credit unions may not have the ability to implement on their own, but it also provides a great resource group for collaborating on best practices, learning new use cases and fostering advancement.”

Coming from the community banking side of fence, she also shared that while banks advocate for their customers, “credit unions live and breathe that devotion to their members throughout the organization; it’s really engrained in their culture.”

This credit union ethos is embraced at KlariVis, she said, noting that the fintech is as interested in understanding and developing technologies as is it deciphering the needs of its valued clients.

“From my time at the bank and the credit union, I’ve seen firsthand just how transformational technology can be, as well as how frustrating it can be,” she told Finopotamus. “Technology should be the thing pushing you forward, not holding you back. It is critical to find partners that are working toward the same end goal as your institution. The results will speak for themselves.”