EVP Chief Operating Officer
PeoplesBank
Aleda DeMaria is a seasoned banking executive with a proven track record of leading high performing teams, driving growth and delivering results. As the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of PeoplesBank, she leads the Bank’s strategic initiative in the arenas of digital growth and fintech sponsorships, technology and business solutions, and operations. She is one of the creators of the Bank’s digital-only brand, ZYNLO Bank. Founded in 2020, ZYNLO Bank is a multi-award-winning digital brand featured by Forbes, Fortune, and MarketWatch among others. In 2025, Aleda’s digital team launched PeoplesBank’s second digital-only brand, Union Workers Financial Services. With additional partnerships to launch this year, PeoplesBank is positioned to be a breakout organization in the fields of digital growth and partnerships. Aleda is on the advisory board for Mendon Venture Partners and has been featured in several industry articles, conferences and podcasts and is known for being a strategic thinker and leader.
Aleda is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt and was named to the Business West’s 40 Under Forty class of 2019. She resides in Massachusetts with her daughter, Kyla.
Banks have spent years piloting digital finance initiatives—from tokenization and real-time payments to AI-driven operations—but few have successfully scaled them across the enterprise. This discussion explores what separates experimentation from execution, including governance models, technology architecture, talent, and capital allocation decisions that enable sustainable innovation without introducing unacceptable risk.