Speaker Spotlight

Daniel Padilla is a senior financial-services executive with over two decades of experience building, scaling, and safeguarding regulated businesses across capital markets, brokerage, and advisory platforms.

Most recently, Daniel served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of San Blas Securities, where he led a FINRA-registered broker-dealer and affiliated advisory businesses spanning institutional trading, municipal finance, wealth management, and investment banking. In this dual role, he was responsible for firm strategy, regulatory oversight, operational infrastructure, and partner relationships—balancing growth with rigorous governance in a highly regulated environment.

Throughout his career, Daniel has held senior trading and leadership roles at multiple institutional firms, directing equity and program-trading desks and managing complex market, operational, and compliance risk. His background provides a rare combination of front-office execution expertise and enterprise-level risk and compliance leadership, enabling him to translate regulatory requirements into practical, scalable business solutions.

Daniel is known for viewing compliance and risk management as strategic enablers, not constraints. He has led firm-wide transformations involving technology modernization, supervisory frameworks, and operational process redesign—helping organizations move faster while maintaining trust with regulators, clients, and partners.

Following his tenure at San Blas, Daniel founded Ironwood Strategic Partners, an advisory firm focused on helping financial-services organizations navigate growth, regulatory complexity, and operational change with clarity and discipline.

Daniel brings a long-term, team-first leadership style grounded in accountability, transparency, and execution—values that mirror his belief that durable performance is built through preparation, adaptability, and disciplined decision-making.