Willayna Banner is a financial services and technology executive who has held senior leadership positions at major corporations, including Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley. Her career has focused on business strategy, operational management, and the application of emerging technologies, including blockchain and artificial intelligence, in enterprise settings. ^[4]

Education

Banner earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) with a focus on Finance and international business from Washington University in St. Louis. ^[4]

Career

Banner began her career in investment banking, starting as a summer analyst with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity before joining Morgan Stanley as an investment banking and financial analyst under the Richard B. Fisher scholar program from 1999 to 2002. She then transitioned to the media industry, working at HBO from 2002 to 2006, where she held roles as a finance manager and later as a tech and operations manager. Following this, she served as a finance manager for business analysis at American Express from 2006 to 2010. Banner joined Bank of America in 2010, initially as Vice President of Customer Strategy and Finance. By 2012, she was promoted to Senior Vice President and Business Controls Executive for Third-Party Administration and the Chief Administration Office, a role she held until 2016.

From 2016 to 2020, she worked at Wells Fargo, first as Senior Vice President for Third-Party Provider Management in Cards and Retail Services, and was later appointed Senior Vice President and Business Delivery Executive for the Cards, Retail, and Merchant Services division. In 2020, Banner joined Microsoft as Director and Global Head of Worldwide Financial Services Business Strategy Enablement. She subsequently held several senior director positions, leading initiatives in Web3, blockchain, and growth and innovation for sectors including retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and agriculture within the company's cloud and AI engineering divisions through 2024. Concurrently, she served as a member of the investor advisory committee for the Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund from 2021 to 2025. In 2025, she took on board advisory roles, becoming a board advisor at rtscale.ai and a board director at Permuto Capital. ^[5]

Interviews

Too Ambitious

On the Courageously Speaking podcast in March 2025, host Maria Soriano interviewed Banner, who shared her journey of professional reinvention after two decades in leadership roles across tech, finance, and media. Banner discussed the challenges women face in high-pressure industries, emphasizing the importance of navigating biases and asserting one's identity, especially in male-dominated environments. She reflected on pivotal moments in her career, including an incident in investment banking where she courageously corrected a senior colleague's assumption about her role. The conversation highlighted Banner's perspective on ambition, urging young professionals to explore their passions and embrace uncertainty as an opportunity for growth, without fear of societal judgment. Ultimately, she encouraged listeners to introspectively assess their motivations and self-doubt by practicing the art of asking "why," thereby fostering self-discovery and empowerment. ^[1]

Enterprise Adoption

At Rare Evo in September 2023, a fireside chat featured Banner and Joey Ingram, a well-known poker commentator. During the conversation, Banner discussed her extensive background in corporate banking with firms such as Morgan Stanley, HBO, and Bank of America, before transitioning to lead blockchain and Web3 efforts at Microsoft. She highlighted her journey and the potential of blockchain technology to disrupt traditional financial systems by improving efficiencies in processes such as mortgage applications and trade finance. Banner emphasized the need for regulatory clarity to facilitate the adoption of these innovations and expressed optimism about the future of technology while acknowledging the importance of education and inclusion in the evolving financial landscape. The session concluded with a recognition of the inherent risks and the potential for collaboration between traditional banks and emerging technologies. ^[2]

Institutional Demand

On the Rare Network podcast in March 2024, Banner shared insights into the current state of blockchain technology adoption among companies. She noted that while some businesses genuinely identified problems that blockchain could solve, a significant percentage (around 85-87%) remained in a "blockchain tourist" phase, where they were merely exploring the technology without making practical applications. Banner elaborated on her background in finance and investment banking, describing her career trajectory, initial exposure to cryptocurrencies in 2015-2016, and the mixed reactions from colleagues regarding blockchain's potential. She emphasized the importance of regulatory frameworks for the broader acceptance and use of blockchain technology, particularly in finance. The conversation also touched upon the emergence of Bitcoin ETFs as a sign of legitimacy in the cryptocurrency space and how firms were using them as a marketing tool to attract customers. Overall, she conveyed a sense of excitement about the evolving landscape and anticipated further developments in blockchain technology and its applications. ^[3]