Ben Pankonin is a seasoned entrepreneur, tech innovator, and community leader. A veteran in heavily regulated industries, Ben is especially knowledgeable about the obstacles organizations face as they evolve increasingly digital communications strategies while also navigating substantial regulatory compliance. As a thought leader and speaker, Ben draws on decades of experience leading scaled growth and is particularly adept at navigating the complexities of disparate teams, content management, and streamlining processes to ensure consistency and accountability without stifling creativity. His approach is to challenge teams and leaders to take realistic and actionable next steps toward innovation and growth with the big picture in mind.
Ben is Founder and CEO of Social Assurance–a SaaS company he co-founded in 2011 that today serves thousands of organizations across three division: Social Assurance, Class Intercom, and Social Assurance for Government. Ben is originally from Grand Island, Nebraska, and studied computer science and business administration at Nebraska Wesleyan University. He remains actively involved in numerous community groups, including serving on several nonprofit boards and within entrepreneurship groups and programs, including the Pipeline Entrepreneurs and the Chamber of Commerce Founders group.
Speaking Topics & Workshops
Ben has presented on a range of topics at a variety of events hosted by entrepreneurial groups, regional and national trade associations, tech and software accelerators, startup incubators, universities, and more. He typically speaks and workshops on the following topics:
- Authentic and effective social media storytelling
- Social media process management
- Sourcing content for more equitable and effective communications
- Building and managing online communities (compliantly)
Relationships & Experience
- GSMCon
- TEDx
- nMotion Startup Accelerator
- Omaha Startup Week
- P3 Conference
- Iowa School Public Relations Association Annual Conference
- Sioux City Growth Conference
- ABA Bank Marketing
- Bank Social
- CUNA Marketing Conference
- Financial Brand Forum
- Fiserv Forum
- Flyover Fintech
- ICBA Live
- Midwest Independent Bankers
- Moody’s Analytics
- NE Bankers Association
- WV TopNet
- Wisconsin Bankers
