Holly Heglin probably isn’t who you’d imagine when you think of a traditional bank executive. With a love of bodybuilding and cool tattoos covering her arms, Heglin has all the hallmarks of a boundary-pusher.

As Head of AI Product and Strategy at TD and a core member of Layer 6, the Bank’s leading AI research and development lab, pushing boundaries is the name of the game. In her seven years with the bank, Heglin has become one of the many faces of TD’s patent inventors, earning TD awards for both Invention and Inventor of the Year.

Her first patent granted was in auto finance, using machine learning to streamline the criteria for customers looking to get pre-approval on car loans. “It was about removing friction so that we could simplify the process for our customers and serve them in a quicker way,” Heglin explains.

In the last three years, TD has grown its inventor base by over 40 per cent. Heglin is one of more than 1,000 inventors contributing to the bank’s growing patents output and innovating to solve the problems of its customers, colleagues and communities. TD has increased its patents portfolio to 2,500 filings, which is up 110 per cent since 2020. That growth is a result of the Bank empowering its colleagues to pitch ideas, own them, and see them through until they’re in market.

“I always say, we’re not in the patent game, we’re in the innovation game, and patents flow from innovation,” says Josh Death, VP of Intellectual Property and Ideation at TD, who has helped steer the company toward its growing culture of innovation.

 

“We’re not in the patent game, we’re in the innovation game, and patents flow from innovation.”

 

The result is that TD has become Canada’s leading patent filer among financial institutions and it is in the top three among all Canadian companies. Getting there involved creating an environment where every TD colleague is encouraged to contribute to innovation.

According to Death, internal programs like iD8, where the bank crowdsources ideas from colleagues, have emboldened people across the bank to come forward with new, innovative ideas. Other TD programs provide space for brainstorming, help with the patent application process, and reward the best ideas.

Having your name on a patent filing at TD is itself a big deal. “It’s a huge point of pride for a lot of individuals,” Death says. With its community of inventors growing, TD created an Elite Inventor Program to acknowledge colleagues with over 100 patent filings or an Inventor of the Year Award and put them in a mentorship position to help support the next generation of inventors.

“It’s created a really exciting sort of buzz,” Death explains proudly, describing how the company used to have to “pull” ideas for new innovations and possible patents out of people. “Now, they’re reaching out to us on a regular basis, because we have hit that cultural point where people get it, and they’re seeing the value.”

Innovation has become a true company-wide effort, with TD taking a strategic approach to developing new ideas that help the bank find ways to serve customers’ needs while supplying the company with a competitive edge, as shifts in consumer expectations transform the banking industry. That includes a major investment in AI, which came with the acquisition of Layer 6 in 2018, making the new frontier of technology a central focus. It also includes formalizing TD Invent, the bank’s enterprise-approach to innovation, which empowers colleagues to bring their innovative ideas to life and develop human-centered experiences.

Jon Prendergast, Head, US Payments Strategy, TD Bank AMCB, is a “patents centurion” and has over 100 patent filings to his name at TD. One such invention is a patented system for identifying pending issues customers might face, like low funds and overdraft fees. The invention, which is currently under review in the U.S. market, notifies customers of those issues and offers earned wage access — the ability to use money that has been earned but not yet paid during a scheduled payroll cycle — to prevent any negative impact.

To bring a patent like that to life, everything comes down to the people behind it. “Community is the first word that comes to mind,” Prendergast says. Patents usually have multiple names on them, the result of colleagues working together from across the bank.

Through networking programs, inventors are brought together for exciting and energizing brainstorming sessions to bounce ideas off each other and find creative solutions to whatever needs they identify. They are then given the resources to develop and test those ground-breaking ideas and get them to market faster.

Heglin also has plenty of experience forming those kinds of connections. While doing her dissertation in pure math at York University, one of her required external reviewers was in dance at the Fine Arts department. “She just brought such a creativity of thought that really sort of enhanced and enriched the way that I looked at my work,” Heglin recalls. “I’ve always thought about that going forward.”

At TD, that “culture of cross-pollination,” as she puts it, has spread to all areas of innovation at the company, from the formal programs to the mindset of employees. “I think you need diverse perspectives, otherwise you won’t be able to serve diverse communities,” Heglin says.

Throughout the innovation process, TD colleagues are constantly encouraged to bring the value of their diversity to the table. “Part of creating that environment is making sure our inventors are comfortable and can bring their authentic selves to work,” Prendergast says. “We also encourage conflicting opinions and different points of view because they help us make our solutions more impactful.”

Of course, every new solution has to start somewhere. “When I approach a potential innovation, I first look for gaps or inefficiencies in current processes,” Prendergast says. In the end, as he puts it, everything comes down to one simple mantra: “Where there is a problem, there is an opportunity.”