Entrepreneur and 'Digital Maverick' Shane Snow to headline BBVA Compass Business Strategy Forum

- Series launches Dec. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla., and includes stops in seven cities

- Snow, founder of Contently, will discuss his new book, "Smartcuts"

- Bank takes media innovator on tour

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Oct 23, 2014, 10:00 ET

HOUSTON, Oct. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Compass announced today that award-winning entrepreneur and technology journalist Shane Snow will headline the bank's second annual Business Strategy Forum series, which puts entrepreneurs and senior executives face to face with leading business thinkers.

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The series, which begins Dec. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla., and includes stops in several cities in the bank's Sunbelt footprint, will combine public appearances by Snow and private speaking engagements for the bank's commercial clients. Snow, co-founder and chief creative officer of technology company Contently, has been named one of Details magazine's "Digital Mavericks," one of Forbes' "30 Under 30 Media Innovators," and among Business Insider's "100 Coolest People in Tech."

"Our goal is to give our clients insight from some of today's most innovative thinkers," said Rafael Bustillo, head of Commercial Banking for BBVA Compass. "We're particularly excited about being able to do that with Shane. He's gotten a lot of praise for his new book, 'Smartcuts,' which shows he's thinking about innovation and marketing in ways that could benefit any business in this digital century."

"Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success," Snow's first book, was published by HarperCollins and released on Sept. 9. The book explains how some startups go from zero to billions in mere months. The Financial Times calls the book "a manifesto for success," while the Huffington Post says it "will make you smarter." New York Times columnist David Carr called Snow a "beautiful writer" who uses history and varied topics to "explain why the pace of innovation continues to grow. ('Smartcuts' is) worth its weight in 10 airport business books."

For his achievements, Snow received Columbia University's 2014 Innovator Award for "furthering the cause of journalism." He also is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts.

Other cities included in the BBVA Compass Business Strategy Forum series are Birmingham, Ala., Dallas, Denver, Fort Worth, Houston and Phoenix. The tour will wrap up on Jan. 23.

About BBVA Group
BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, is the largest financial institution in Mexico and has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt region of the United States. Its diversified business is geared toward high-growth markets and relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at www.bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 673 branches, including 342 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 77 in Arizona, 62 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 20 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration and recently earned the top ranking with customers in American Banker's 2014 annual reputation survey of the top 25 largest U.S. retail banks. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com.