In this episode of the Financial Marketing Insights podcast, we sat down with Melissa Kanter, Head of Communications and Brand Experience, Americas at ING, to explore a career shaped by communications, community‑building, and a belief that bold, integrated marketing can transform how financial institutions show up in the world. From her early days in New York PR to her leadership role at ING, Melissa’s story is a reminder that brand is not a veneer - it’s a strategic engine that shapes culture, client experience, and long‑term value.

A Career Built in the Room Where It Happens

Melissa’s path into financial services began with a simple instinct: she wanted to communicate. Journalism and communications were her early anchors, but it was agency life in New York that gave her the breadth, discipline, and exposure that would shape everything that followed.

“I always recommend to young people to start on the agency side if they can.”

Those early years immersed her in IPOs, M&A, crisis moments, and board‑level conversations - a crash course in how financial institutions operate and how leaders make decisions. More importantly, it taught her that communications wasn’t a support function; it was a strategic lever. Being in the room with senior executives didn’t intimidate her - it energised her. It showed her where she wanted to be.

That foundation set the stage for the move that would define her philosophy of integrated marketing and community‑building: joining Liquidnet.

Liquidnet and the Power of Community

Melissa’s first in‑house role was at LiquidNet - a place that left a deep imprint on how she thinks about marketing.

“What a great place to truly see the integration of communications and marketing - and have a leader who really believed in both.”

Liquidnet didn’t have “clients”; it had members. Everything revolved around nurturing a buy‑side community: the products, the events, the feedback loops, even the language. It was a masterclass in how a company can build loyalty by treating its audience as a collective with shared needs and shared identity.

“Everything we did revolved around the members. Every product, every piece of marketing, every summit. They were the North Star.”

It was also where she first saw the power of integrated comms - the blurring of lines between PR, brand, and marketing to seize cultural moments and shape industry conversations. When the book 'Flash Boys' ignited debate about high‑frequency trading, the team responded with a bold, provocative Wall Street Journal ad - a moment where comms and marketing fused into one strategic strike.

That instinct for integration would follow her into her next chapter.

A Brand‑Led Function at the Heart of the Business

Today, Melissa leads brand, marketing, and communications for ING across the Americas - a wholesale banking business serving CFOs, treasurers, and senior finance leaders across multiple sectors.

“My team is at the heart of the organisation in the Americas - we have our hands in all internal communications, all external, all marketing.”

It’s a small team with a large remit, supported by a global network and a culture that blends Dutch humility with a growing appetite for strategic visibility.

“ING is humble. We didn’t always like to talk about what we were doing. But with a more assertive marketing strategy, we’ve become more open about who we are and what we offer.”

And the brand still carries weight - in part because ING has long invested in visibility, trust, and cultural presence.

“People still remember ING because we sponsored the New York City Marathon. That halo effect is real.”

It’s a powerful reminder that long‑term brand investments can echo for decades - often in ways you can’t predict.

Finance Forward: Building a Cross‑Sector CFO Community

One of Melissa’s proudest achievements at ING is Finance Forward, an event series designed to bring CFOs and treasurers together across sectors - a modern expression of the community‑building philosophy she first honed at Liquidnet.

“Knowing who your audience is allows you to nurture them.”

She saw an opportunity: ING’s sector teams were strong, but siloed. CFOs in transportation, healthcare, tech, and energy were facing similar challenges - but rarely speaking to each other.

“We wanted it to feel different. Not salesy. Content all about them.”

The result was an intimate, high‑calibre gathering with excellent speakers, working groups, and a focus on shared challenges rather than product pitches. Now entering its fourth year, it has become a signature part of ING’s marketing DNA - a community‑building platform rooted in integrated brand leadership.

Global Influence, Local Relevance

Melissa’s role doesn’t stop at the Americas. She sits on ING’s global communications leadership team, helping shape the bank’s brand direction while ensuring the U.S. perspective is fully represented.

It’s a two‑way exchange: global initiatives flow into the Americas, but Melissa and her team adapt them to the realities of a highly competitive, highly regulated market. The challenge is maintaining ING’s distinctive culture while making the brand resonate in a context that looks very different from Europe.

AI, Creativity, and the Sea of Sameness

AI is reshaping every corner of financial marketing, and Melissa approaches it with a grounded sense of what it can and can’t do. Her team has moved past the novelty stage and is now working out how to weave AI into real workflows - not as a shiny object, but as a tool that should create space for deeper, more strategic work.

AI, she notes, “enhances the sea of sameness,” because when everyone uses the same tools, the outputs start to converge. For her, the real challenge is not adopting AI - it’s refusing to let AI flatten the edges of a brand. Creativity, judgement, and the courage to take a position become even more important when the tools are universal.

That tension is familiar territory. Financial services has always required marketers to balance imagination with compliance, and AI hasn’t changed that equation. Melissa describes it as a constant negotiation: finding the room to be expressive without stepping outside the lines, pushing for ideas that feel fresh even when the guardrails feel tight.

“I like to push the envelope when I can,” she says. “They say no a lot, but I keep trying.”

And like every marketer rolling out a new visual identity, she’s hoping AI will soon solve one of the industry’s most universal frustrations: the rogue PowerPoint. “We need that 'brand cop' agent you mentioned,” she laughs. “If someone figures it out, let me know.”

What Drives Her: Mentorship, Storytelling, and the Long Run

For all the complexity of her role, Melissa’s motivations are disarmingly simple. She loves being close to the action - “in the room where things happen” - but what she really enjoys is helping other people find their voice. She takes pride in mentoring her team, shaping their confidence, and helping them articulate who they are and what they stand for.

“If my team is doing well, that means I’m doing well.”

Outside work, running is her reset button. It’s where ideas settle, decisions clarify, and the noise of the day falls away. And at the centre of everything are her daughters - the reason she pushes, leads, and keeps raising the bar.

“I’m raising two strong, independent girls. Everything I do is for them.”

Changing the Conversation in B2B Financial Marketing

Melissa’s story is a reminder that B2B marketing doesn’t have to be predictable or interchangeable. It can be bold. It can be human. It can build communities that feel real, not manufactured. And it can influence strategy at the highest levels when it’s allowed to sit at the centre of the business rather than the edges.

Her work - from nurturing CFO communities to shaping ING’s brand presence across the Americas - shows what happens when communications and marketing operate as one discipline, not two. It shows the value of long‑term brand investment in a world obsessed with quick wins. And it shows that even in a regulated, risk‑averse industry, there is room for creativity, personality, and courage.

At a time when AI threatens to make everything look and sound the same, Melissa Kanter is making the case for something more enduring: the power of human judgement, community‑building, and integrated brand leadership to move a business forward.